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.
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.
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.
Particulars | Details |
Educational qualification |
|
Minimum passing marks | No minimum AIBE eligibility marks |
Enrolment | Candidates without an enrolment certificate can also register for AIBE |
Age limit | No age limit |
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 Session | Examination Date |
AIBE XXI (21) | June 7, 2026 (Upcoming) |
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.
On Question asked by student community
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.
The AIBE 21 exam will be conducted on June 7, 2026. You can check the previous year AIBE question papers here.
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