New York bar exam pass rates, 2004 to 2025
February and July exams, first-time takers and all takers
- First-time, 2025
- 75%
- All takers, 2025
- 61%
- NY ABA schools, July 2025
- 87%
- Foreign educated, July 2025
- 54%
In 2025, 75% of first-time takers passed the New York bar exam across its February and July sittings, and 61% of all takers, repeaters included, according to the New York State Board of Law Examiners. The July exam alone: 78% of first-time takers, 87% of graduates of New York law schools, 91% of graduates of other ABA-approved schools and 54% of foreign-educated candidates.
Copied from the Board of Law Examiners’ file and checked against it row by row on Sep 29, 2026. PlainAttorney’s data editor answers for them.
2025 at a glance: who passed
| Exam | First-time | All takers | Repeaters |
|---|---|---|---|
| February | 57% | 39% | 27% |
| July | 78% | 70% | 32% |
| Both, combined | 75% | 61% | 29% |
Source: New York State Board of Law Examiners, “New York Bar Exam Pass Rates 2004-2025” (PDF, modified 2025-10-22).
First-time pass rates, July exams
Source: New York State Board of Law Examiners, “New York Bar Exam Pass Rates 2004-2025” (PDF, modified 2025-10-22).
Every July since 2004
| July | NY ABA | Other ABA | All ABA | Foreign | All |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 87% | 91% | 89% | 54% | 78% |
| 2024 | 87% | 90% | 88% | 55% | 79% |
| 2023 | 83% | 88% | 85% | 54% | 76% |
| 2022 | 82% | 87% | 85% | 53% | 75% |
| 2021 | 86% | 90% | 87% | 46% | 78% |
| 2020 | 87% | 93% | 89% | 70% | 85% |
| 2019 | 85% | 87% | 86% | 53% | 76% |
| 2018 | 81% | 85% | 83% | 50% | 74% |
| 2017 | 86% | 87% | 86% | 57% | 78% |
| 2016 | 82% | 83% | 83% | 45% | 73% |
| 2015 | 79% | 79% | 79% | 42% | 70% |
| 2014 | 83% | 82% | 83% | 44% | 74% |
| 2013 | 88% | 84% | 86% | 46% | 78% |
| 2012 | 85% | 82% | 83% | 46% | 76% |
| 2011 | 86% | 86% | 86% | 46% | 78% |
| 2010 | 86% | 86% | 86% | 47% | 78% |
| 2009 | 88% | 88% | 88% | 46% | 80% |
| 2008 | 91% | 90% | 91% | 55% | 83% |
| 2007 | 88% | 86% | 87% | 46% | 79% |
| 2006 | 87% | 87% | 87% | 45% | 79% |
| 2005 | 81% | 85% | 83% | 43% | 76% |
| 2004 | 81% | 85% | 83% | 48% | 77% |
Source: New York State Board of Law Examiners, “New York Bar Exam Pass Rates 2004-2025” (PDF, modified 2025-10-22).
Method, limits and the data
Copied from the Board of Law Examiners’ annual pass-rate file (nybarexam.org): the July first-time table in full, and the “All Candidates” row of every table for the latest year, each checked against the file.
To cite this analysis: New York bar exam pass rates, 2004 to 2025, PlainAttorney, Sep 29, 2026, plainattorney.com/research/new-york-bar-exam-pass-rates.
The table is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a credit to PlainAttorney: download it as CSV. The full method is on the methodology page.