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    BCI Informs Supreme Court: AIBE to Be Held twice a year, Final-Year Students Eligible
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    • BCI Informs Supreme Court: AIBE to Be Held twice a year, Final-Year Students Eligible

    BCI Informs Supreme Court: AIBE to Be Held twice a year, Final-Year Students Eligible

    JasmineUpdated on 20 Jan 2026, 07:48 PM IST

    The Bar Council of India (BCI) has introduced new rules for the All India Bar Examination (AIBE). The AIBE XXI exam will now be conducted twice a year, and final year students are now permitted to appear for the exam. This new development was made as a writ petition was filed in 2024, as final year students were not allowed to appear for the AIBE exam.

    BCI Informs Supreme Court: AIBE to Be Held twice a year, Final-Year Students Eligible
    BCI Informs Supreme Court: AIBE to Be Held twice a year, Final-Year Students Eligible

    The AIBE XXI is scheduled to be held on June 7, 2026. This is a certification exam that is mandatory for law graduates to practice in India. The AIBE 21 exam will be conducted in an offline, OMR-based format across 56 cities. This article discusses the updates introduced by BCI on the AIBE XXI exam.

    Updated AIBE XXI Eligibility Criteria

    AIBE XXI eligibility criteria have been updated as the Supreme Court of India has passed a judgment to allow final-year law students to register and appear for the AIBE exam. Final year students must pass all of the subjects in their law program. Candidates with a backlog from previous semesters will not be eligible for the AIBE 21 exam. The table below details the AIBE XXI eligibility criteria.

    AIBE 21 (XXI) Eligibility Criteria

    Particulars

    Details

    Educational qualification

    • Final-year law students without backlogs are also eligible to apply.

    • 3-year LLB or five-year integrated LLB degree from an institute recognised by the BCI.

    Minimum passing marks

    No minimum AIBE eligibility marks

    Enrolment

    Candidates without an enrolment certificate can also register for AIBE

    Age limit

    No age limit

    How Many Times Will the AIBE Exam Be Conducted?

    The AIBE exam generally occurs once a year. However, it has been conducted twice in previous years. With the new development introduced by BCI, the AIBE exam will now regularly be conducted twice a year. The table below details the past years' schedule for the AIBE exam.

    AIBE Exam Past Year Exam Timeline

    AIBE Session

    Examination Date

    AIBE XXI (21)

    June 7, 2026 (Upcoming)

    AIBE XX (20)

    November 30, 2025

    AIBE 19

    December 22, 2024

    AIBE 18

    December 10, 2023

    AIBE 17

    February 5, 2023

    AIBE 16

    October 31, 2021

    AIBE 15

    January 24, 2021

    AIBE 14

    September 15, 2019

    These new developments will result in a reduction in career delays and increase the opportunities for law graduates and final year students to qualify for their professional careers.

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    Questions related to AIBE

    On Question asked by student community

    Have a question related to AIBE ?

    Hello Student,

    You can download the question papers and the solutions for AIBE 18 from the following link -

    E-Book Link - AIBE 18 Question Paper with Solutions PDF

    Hope this was helpful!

    The required documents for the AIBE 21 (2026) exam for the final year law students are:

    • Marksheets (Self-Attested & Scanned): All previous semester marksheets (Semester I to V for 3-year LLB; Semester I to IX for 5-year Integrated LLB).

    • Undertaking Form: A signed, scanned undertaking form indicating you are in

    AIBE 21 (XXI) 2026 registration has started, with the exam scheduled for June 7, 2026. Please visit this link to find the previous year's question papers of AIBE with answers to help you with your preparation.