Here are the topics and schedule of the 2027 Bar Exams
The Supreme Court of the Philippines, through the Office of the 2027 Bar Chairperson, released the topic coverage and schedule of the 2027 Bar Exams.
According to Bar Bulletin No. 1-2027, it will be held for three days—Sept. 5, 8, and 12, 2027—at local testing centers throughout the country. As in previous exams since 2020, the 2027 Bar Exams will be administered electronically.
All morning sessions will run from 8 a.m. to 12 noon; in the afternoon, the exams will be given from 2 to 6 p.m.
Six subjects will be covered, with two examined per day.
On the first day, Sept. 5, Sunday, the morning session will cover political and public international law, which will make up 15% of the total score. The afternoon session will cover commercial and taxation laws, with a weight of 20%.
On the second day, Sept. 8, Wednesday, the morning session will be on civil law and land titles and deeds, making up 20% of the score. The afternoon session will be on labor law and social legislation for 10% of the score.
On the third day, Sept. 12, Sunday, the morning session will cover criminal law for 10% of the score. The afternoon session will tackle remedial law, legal and judicial ethics, with practical exercises for a weight of 25%.
Per the Bar syllabus, the exams will cover "only laws, rules, and issuances in force, and jurisprudence promulgated as of June 30, 2026...As to jurisprudence, only the doctrines and dispositions set forth in the main opinion are examinable."
Each subject will have 20 essay problems. Each problem, whether it has one or two questions, will carry a weight of 5%.
If required, computations within the exams will involve only basic math. In the criminal law session, Bar takers will not be expected to compute for "specific periods of penalties expressed in years, months, or days."
"The questions will test what a beginning lawyer is expected to know and be able to do: understand the governing principles, apply them to the facts, and articulate the legal reasoning connecting the two," per the Bar Bulletin.
To pass, an examinee needs a weighted general average of 75% in all subjects.
Further details, including application requirements and procedures, software specifications, and venues of local testing centers, will be released in subsequent Bar bulletins and official announcements posted on the 2027 Bar Examinations microsite.
Only the announcements on the microsite are legitimate.
The Bar chairperson, Associate Justice Ricardo R. Rosario, left Bar applicants and examinees a note of encouragement as well.
"The Bar is an important gate, but it is not the whole road. At the end of the day, know that it is a mere test, the likes of which you have taken multiple times throughout law school. You have done the heavy work and made the hard sacrifices to reach this moment," he wrote.
Rosario emphasized that the Supreme Court is not after lawyers who can recite "the most laws or rules verbatim."
"We are looking for human lawyers who are ethical, competent, worthy of public trust, and can aid the Court in administering meaningful justice," Rosario wrote.
Find the full 2027 Bar Exams syllabus here.
