The Supreme Court (SC) En Banc, in a Resolution dated August 12, 2025, in A.M. No. 24-10-05-SC, approved the 2025 Proposed Amendments to Rule 138 of the Rules of Court (Amended Rules), formally adopting electronic and regionalized bar examinations as the standard mode of admission into the practice of law.

The Amended Rules are the product of the extensive study and deliberation by the Subcommittee on the Admission to the Bar, chaired by Associate Justice Ramon Paul L. Hernando. The Subcommittee includes Associate Justices Rodil V. Zalameda and Maria Filomena D. Singh as Co-Vice Chairpersons, Associate Justices Jhosep Y. Lopez, Japar B. Dimaampao, and Antonio T. Kho, Jr. as members, as well as justices from the Court of Appeals, Sandiganbayan, and Court of Tax Appeals, representatives from the Legal Education Board, the Philippine Judicial Academy, the Asia Foundation, Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Office, the Philippine Association of Law Schools, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, and deans of various law schools across the country.

The Amended Rules promote a policy of inclusiveness, fairness, and non-discrimination, and ensure integrity, efficiency, and the technology-driven administration of the bar examinations.

Under the Amended Rules, the bar examinations will be conducted electronically through a secure and reliable assessment platform. The examinations will be administered in English and will be uniform for all examinees.

Examinees must answer the questions personally. For those with special needs, the Bar Chairperson may issue separate guidelines, which will be included in the bar examination manual. This manual outlines the rules of conduct, test procedures, and other relevant information.

The examinations will be held over three days in September at designated local testing centers nationwide. The schedule and subjects are:

First Day:             Morning: Political and Public International Law

Afternoon: Commercial and Taxation Laws

Second Day:          Morning: Civil Law and Land Titles and Deeds

 Afternoon: Labor Law and Social Legislation

Third Day:            Morning: Criminal Law

 Afternoon: Remedial Law, Legal and Judicial Ethics,  with Practical Exercises

The Amended Rules also require the completion of the Clinical Legal Education Program under Rule 138-A or the Law Student Practice Rule, as part of the prescribed law degree courses for admission to the bar.

The bar examinations serve as the qualifying licensure test for admission to the legal profession. Applicants are assessed on their knowledge of the law, ethical standards, and practice-readiness.

To pass the bar examinations, an examinee must obtain a general average of 75% in all subjects, unless the SC En Banc sets a different passing rate. The subjects carry the following relative weights:

Applicants must also possess good moral character and must not have any charges involving moral turpitude that have been decided with finality against them. If an applicant is charged with such an offense after taking the exams but before the release of the results, they must inform the SC in a sworn statement within five (5) calendar days from notice. The same rule applies to an applicant who has passed the bar examinations but against whom a case is filed after the release of the examination results but before the taking the Lawyer’s Oath and signing the Roll of Attorneys. The SC may defer the applicant’s oath-taking or impose other preventive measures.

Providing false or inaccurate information, or failing to disclose required details, may result in denial of the application, disqualification from the examinations, delisting from the list of passers, or other disciplinary sanctions.

Under the 1987 Constitution, the SC has the authority to promulgate rules concerning the admission to the practice of law, including the administration of the bar examinations. Traditionally paper-based, the SC began implementing digital bar examinations in 2022 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With these amendments, electronic and regionalized testing is now the standard mode of administering the bar examinations. This reform aligns with the SC’s commitment to efficiency and innovation through enhanced legal education and bar reform initiatives under the Strategic Plan for Judicial Innovations 2022-2027.

The Amended Rules will take effect on November 3, 2025, following its complete publication in the Official Gazette or in two newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines. (Press release courtesy of the SC Office of the Spokesperson)

This press release is prepared for members of the media and the general public by the SC Office of the Spokesperson as a simplified summary of the SC’s Resolution. Read the full text of the Resolution in A.M. No. 24-10-05-SC (Re: 2025 Proposed Amendments to Rule 138 of the Rules of Court, August 12, 2025).