Republic of the Philippines

Supreme Court
Manila

OFFICE OF THE 2022 BAR CHAIR

BAR BULLETIN NO. 3, S. 2022

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE BAR EXAMINATIONS
FOR ALL APPLICANTS

Applications for the 2022 Bar Examinations will be through the Bar
Personalized Login Unified System (Bar PLUS) platform, supported by the
submission of additional documentary requirements. All applicants are required to
accomplish the Application to Take the 2022 Bar Examinations (Application Form),
which will be generated in the Bar PLUS platform.

The additional documents that should be submitted together with the

Application Form, are the following:

(1) A legible original copy of the Birth Certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics
Authority (PSA).

If the PSA copy is not legible, the applicant must submit, in addition to the PSA-
issued Birth Certificate, a legible original copy of the Birth Certificate issued by
the Local Civil Registrar (LCR).

If the applicant has no record of birth with the PSA, the applicant must submit a
legible original copy of the Birth Certificate issued by the LCR.

If the applicant has no record of birth with the PSA and the LCR, the applicant
must instead submit:

a. a Negative Results Certification issued by the PSA; and

b. an Affidavit for Delayed Registration executed by the applicant's father,
mother or guardian, explaining the reason(s) therefor.

In cases where there are erroneous entries in the Birth Certificate, the applicant
must first have the Birth Certificate corrected accordingly and submit the
corrected original certificate issued by the PSA.

For applicants born abroad, the applicant must submit the original or certified
true copies of the following:

a. Foreign Birth Certificate (if not written in English, the applicant must
submit an official English translation duly notarized and authenticated in
the country of birth); and
b. Report of Birth issued by the PSA.

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 For applicants who acquired Philippine Citizenship through Naturalization or
other means, the applicant must submit the original or certified true copies of the
following:

a. Birth Certificate issued by the PSA or Foreign Birth Certificate, whichever

is applicable; and
b. Other pertinent documents relating to the applicant's acquisition of
Philippine citizenship.

(2) For married female applicants, the original Marriage Contract issued by the
PSA must also be submitted. If married within the last six (6) months, the
original Marriage Contract issued by the LCR must be submitted.

(3) Certificate of completion of all the requirements of the law degree, to be issued
by the Law School or University where the applicant graduated. Prior to taking
the Lawyer’s Oath and after passing the Bar Examinations, the applicant must
also submit the official Law Degree Transcript of Records (TOR).

For Foreign Law Graduates, the applicant must submit the following
documents, per Bar Matter No. 1153 (Re: Letter of Atty. Estelito P. Mendoza
Proposing Reforms in the Bar Examinations through Amendments to Rule 138
of the Rules of Court):

a. Proof of completion of all courses leading to the degree of Bachelor of

Laws or its equivalent degree;
b. Recognition or accreditation of the Law School or University by the
proper authority; and
c. Completion of all fourth year subjects in the Bachelor of Laws academic
program in a Law School or University duly recognized by the Philippine
Government.

(4) Certificate of No Derogatory Record (CNDR) duly signed by the Law Dean.
For foreign graduates, the CNDR must be issued by the Law Dean of the Law
School where they took their fourth year subjects.

(5) Government or latest Law School-issued ID bearing the photo and signature of
the applicant.

(6) Unretouched photo (1 1/2 x 1 1/2) of the applicant, with white background, taken
not more than six (6) months prior to the submission of the Application Form,
with the handwritten name and signature of the applicant appearing at the
bottom of the photo.

The name must follow this format: Surname, Given Name, Middle Initial,
Suffix.

(7) Testimonial of Good Moral Character executed by two (2) different members of
the Philippine Bar who are not related to the applicant by consanguinity or
affinity within the fourth (4th) civil degree, to be submitted by the applicant
before taking the Lawyer's Oath, should the applicant pass the Bar
Examinations.

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 In addition to the foregoing requirements, the applicant must also submit
the following when applicable:

(8) For applicants with PENDING CASES of whatever nature before any
jurisdiction, they must submit a LIST of all the pending cases, together with:

a. Complaint/Information (Original or Certified True Copy of the Court,

Prosecutor’s Office or Agency concerned); and
b. Certification as to the pendency and status of the case.

For applicants with DECIDED CASES of whatever nature that were filed
against them before any jurisdiction, they must submit a LIST of all decided
cases, together with:

a. Judgment/Decision/Order/Resolution, whichever is applicable (Original

or Certified True Copy of the Court, Prosecutor’s Office or Agency
concerned);
b. Entry of Judgment/Certificate of Finality, whichever is applicable;
c. Clearance from the Court, Prosecutor’s Office or Agency concerned,
which attests that the applicant has no pending case as of the time of
application.

The list of pending and/or decided cases must follow this format:
Case Number, Title, Nature of the Case, Status (whether pending or decided).

(9) For refreshers, or those who did not pass the Bar Examinations for three (3) or
more times, the applicant must submit all of the following as proof of
completion of the refresher course:

a. Notarized Certification issued by the University or Law School that the

applicant passed the following subjects, with the applicant’s
corresponding grades indicated therein:

• Political/Constitutional Law Review

• Labor Law Review
• Civil Law Review I
• Civil Law Review II
• Taxation Law Review
• Commercial Law Review
• Criminal Law Review
• Remedial Law Review I
• Remedial Law Review II

In cases where the above subjects were completed in different

Universities or Law Schools, the applicant shall submit the Notarized
Certification issued by the individual professors of each of the subjects,
with the corresponding grades of the applicant.

b. Notarized Certification issued by the School Registrar and duly noted by

the Law Dean stating that the professors mentioned are bona fide
professors of the Law School or University where the refresher courses
were taken and completed;

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 c. Notarized Certification issued by the School Registrar that the applicant
completed the Pre-Bar Review Course (to be submitted after completion
of the course). The refresher courses may be taken and completed online.

All the foregoing required documents shall be submitted in both

scanned/digital and physical formats. Except for the Testimonials of Good
Moral Character and the Law Degree TOR, the scanned/digital copies of the
documentary requirements shall be uploaded in the Bar PLUS platform, while
the physical copies shall be submitted to the Office of the Bar Confidant
(OBC) no later than ten (10) working days after the approval of the online
application.

All applicants are further reminded as follows:

(1) The Application Form will NOT be accepted under any of the following
instances:

a. if any of the blank spaces therein is not properly filled;

b. if not accompanied by the required documents or papers, including payment
of the Bar Examinations and other fees;
c. if the applicant fails to present or attach copies of either a government or
latest law school-issued ID clearly showing his or her face, name and
signature;
d. if it does not strictly conform with the above form; and
e. if it is filed beyond the deadline set by the Court.

(2) The Application Form must be submitted in the form prescribed by the
Supreme Court. Any alteration, revision, or deletion of any of its provisions is
strictly prohibited and may be a ground for disqualification in taking the Bar
Examinations.

(3) The "Date" on page 1 beside the applicant's signature and the "Date
Accomplished" on page 2 below the applicant's signature refer to the date when
applicants affix their wet signature on the Application Form.

(4) Please print each page of the Application Form on separate sheets of 8.5" x 13"
paper (not back-to-back). Except for the Testimonials of Good Moral Character
and the Law Degree TOR, the printed Application Form and the physical copies
of the documentary requirements stated herein must be submitted to the OBC
no later than ten (10) working days after the approval of the online
application.

After passing the Bar Examinations, the applicant must submit the physical
copies of the Testimonials of Good Moral Character and the Law Degree TOR
prior to taking the Lawyer’s Oath.

(5) All applicants who have submitted their Application Forms and supporting
documents, and paid the Bar application fees by July 15, 2022 shall be deemed
to have filed their applications within the deadline. Those whose Bar
application fee payments are pending confirmation as of July 15, 2022 are also
deemed to have filed their applications on time.

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Bar Application Fee

The Bar application fee for all applicants, whether new, a repeater, a refresher
or a re-applicant is Php10,000.00. The Bar application fee may be paid through the
Bar PLUS platform. All payments shall be made by every applicant individually.
Joint payments for more than one applicant will not be accepted.

The application period shall be from June 13 to July 15, 2022. All interested
applicants are highly encouraged to begin their application process at the soonest
possible time.

Requests for refund for those who took the 2020/21 Bar Examinations will be
processed separately.

Refresher Courses

The Resolution dated August 26, 2020 in B.M. No. 3756 shall remain in effect
such that refresher courses may be taken online. Refresher courses for examinees
who have failed three or more bar examinations are required, without exceptions.

Exam Venue

Once submitted, the applications will be processed and approved by batch,

with each batch corresponding to each round of en banc approval of applications.
The matter of selection assignment of an applicant’s exam venue site will be
processed on a “first come, first served” basis, i.e., applicants who submitted their
applications earlier will be assigned to the earlier batches, and thereby processed for
approval by the en banc earlier.

The 2022 Bar Examinations will be held in November, barring unforeseen

circumstances and contingencies which may necessitate a rescheduling of the same.
Further details with respect to the exact dates of the Bar Examinations, as well as
those pertaining to the Bar PLUS platform and the exam venue selections will be
announced in a later bulletin.

For your information and guidance.

May 31, 2022.

ALFREDO BENJAMIN S. CAGUIOA

Associate Justice
2022 Bar Examinations Chair