Most of what candidates ask about the 2027 Examinations is answered in one document: Bar Bulletin No. 1-2027. This article collects the questions that keep coming up, answers them from that bulletin, and flags what has not been announced yet.
One caution first. Application procedures, software specifications, testing-centre assignments and other conduct details are set out in subsequent bulletins and issuances. If a detail is not in the answer below, it is because it is not in the first bulletin — check the official sources, listed at the end.
When is it?
Three days: 5, 8 and 12 September 2027 — a Sunday, a Wednesday and a Sunday. Two sittings each day, morning (8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon) and afternoon (2:00 to 6:00 p.m.).
What is examined, and in what order?
| Day | Morning | Afternoon |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Sept (Sun) | Political and Public International Law — 15% | Commercial and Taxation Laws — 20% |
| 8 Sept (Wed) | Civil Law and Land Titles and Deeds — 20% | Labor Law and Social Legislation — 10% |
| 12 Sept (Sun) | Criminal Law — 10% | Remedial Law, Legal and Judicial Ethics, with Practical Exercises — 25% |
Six subjects, two a day, in that order.
What is the format?
Twenty essay problems per subject, in a four-hour sitting, on a secure electronic assessment platform. A single-question problem carries 5% of the subject; a two-question problem carries 5% combined.
How is it graded, and what passes?
Each problem is weighted as above; the result is a weighted general average, and 75% is required to pass. The weights are the ones in the table.
The bulletin also says what the questions 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. That sentence is the most useful description of the marking standard available.
What is the cut-off?
Laws, rules and issuances in force, and jurisprudence promulgated, as of 30 June 2026. Nothing after that date is examinable.
Two further rules in the same passage: only doctrines and dispositions in the main opinion are examinable, and computations, if required, involve only basic arithmetic — with no arithmetic on penalty periods in Criminal Law.
Who sets and marks it?
A committee composed of the Bar Chairperson and the Bar Examiners conducts the examinations. Four examiners are assigned to each subject, and their identities remain confidential until the results are officially released.
That is worth knowing for one practical reason: nobody outside that committee knows what will be asked, and any claim to the contrary is not credible.
Is it open book? What may I bring?
Not addressed in the first bulletin. The examination is administered electronically, and the rules on materials, devices and conduct are set out in the issuances on the conduct of the examination. Read them for your year; do not rely on what a previous cycle allowed.
Where is my testing centre?
Not yet announced in the first bulletin. Venues of local testing centres are among the matters the bulletin defers to subsequent issuances.
What about the practical exercises?
They sit inside the Remedial Law and Legal and Judicial Ethics sitting — 25% of the result, on the last afternoon. For what they involve and how to prepare, see the practical exercises sitting.
How do I apply?
The bulletin defers application requirements and procedures to subsequent issuances. The Office of the Bar Confidant is the body to ask, and the official channels below are where the issuances will appear.
Where do official announcements appear?
The bulletin names these as the only official online sources:
- Microsite:
sc.judiciary.gov.ph/bar-2027 - Facebook: facebook.com/SupremeCourtPhilippines
- Instagram: instagram.com/supremecourtph
- X: x.com/SCPh_PIO
- Viber channel: the link published in the bulletin
- Office of the Bar Confidant Helpdesk: (02) 8552 9690
Everything else — including review centres, group chats, and articles like this one — is second-hand. When a detail matters, verify it there.
What should a candidate do this month?
Three things, all from the bulletin rather than from a summary:
- Read the bulletin itself, once, slowly.
- Read the syllabus for your weakest subject, and mark it honestly — see reading the 2027 syllabus.
- Put the three dates in the calendar and work backwards: the last ninety days are consolidation, and the twelve months before that are the plan in the twelve-month review plan.
What this article will not tell you
What will be asked, which doctrines are due, how many candidates will pass, or what a particular answer will score. Nobody outside the committee knows the first, and nobody can promise the rest. What can be promised is that the paper will have twenty problems per subject, twelve minutes each, and that the candidates who have practised producing answers will do better than those who have only read.