AIBE All India Bar Examination
Law · PG · All India
Overview
Eligibility
The All India Bar Examination is conducted by the Bar Council of India. It is not an admission test — it is the examination a law graduate clears to be granted a Certificate of Practice.
- Who sits it: anyone holding an LL.B. from a Bar Council-recognised institution who has enrolled as an advocate with a State Bar Council.
- Enrolment first: you must be enrolled with a State Bar Council before appearing. Enrolment and the examination are two separate steps.
- Attempts: unlimited. There is no restriction on how many times the examination may be taken.
- Age: no limit.
Exam Pattern
Syllabus
Constitutional Law
10%FRs, DPSP, Judiciary, Amendments
Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC)
10%FIR, Arrest, Bail, Trial, Appeal
Civil Procedure Code (CPC)
10%Suits, Pleadings, Jurisdiction, Appeals
Indian Penal Code (IPC)
8%Offences, Punishments, Exceptions
Indian Evidence Act
8%Evidence, Proof, Witnesses
Law of Contracts
8%Contract Essentials, Breach, Remedies
Family Law
8%Marriage, Divorce, Succession
Property Law
6%Transfer, Sale, Lease, Mortgage
Company Law
4%Incorporation, Directors, Winding Up
Public Interest Litigation (PIL)
4%Locus Standi, Judicial Activism
Labour & Industrial Law
4%Industrial Disputes, Trade Unions
Professional Ethics & BCI Rules
4%Advocate Duties, Misconduct
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
4%Arbitration, Mediation, Lok Adalat
Administrative Law
4%Natural Justice, Judicial Review
Environmental Law
3%EP Act, Pollution Laws
Cyber Law
3%IT Act, Cyber Crimes
Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
2%Copyright, Trademark, Patent
How to Apply
The application is an online form on the Bar Council of India’s AIBE website. Everything below is done in one sitting or saved and returned to; nothing is done on paper.
Register
Enrolment with a State Bar Council comes first. AIBE registration asks for the enrolment number, and a candidate who has not yet enrolled cannot complete the form.
Fill the form
Personal details, academic record from class 10 onwards, category, and work experience where it applies. The academic figures must match your marksheets exactly, because they are verified later against the originals.
Choose test cities
Cities are given in order of preference and allotted on availability, so the first choice is not guaranteed. Pick somewhere you can reach the morning of the exam without an overnight journey.
Upload photograph and signature
Both have to meet the format, size and background stated in the notification. A rejected upload is the most common reason a form is left incomplete past the deadline.
Pay the fee
Online, through the official portal only. The amount is set afresh in each year’s notification and is lower for SC, ST and PwD candidates. Keep the payment receipt.
Submit, then check
Print the completed form. A correction window usually opens afterwards -- it is limited, and it rarely covers every field, so it is a repair, not a second chance.
Apply only through the official portal. No agent can register you, and nobody can change a score once it is declared.
Important Dates
Selection Process
AIBE is a qualifying examination, not a competitive one. There is no rank, no merit list and no cut-off that moves with the candidate pool — you clear it or you do not.
- It is open book. Candidates may carry bare Acts and study material into the hall, within the rules the Bar Council states. Annotated material is generally not allowed.
- The paper covers the major practice subjects — constitutional law, criminal law, civil procedure, evidence, contract, and professional ethics among them.
- There is no negative marking.
- Clearing it produces a Certificate of Practice, which is what permits an enrolled advocate to appear before courts.
Being open book changes the preparation entirely: the skill is finding a provision quickly, not remembering it. Candidates who arrive with unfamiliar, unindexed books tend to run out of time.
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