What You Need to Know about the Ontario Bar Exams (2026)
The Ontario Bar Exams (which consist of two exams, the Barrister Exam and the Solicitor Exam) are a pivotal step in becoming a licensed lawyer in the province, and understanding what you’re getting into can make a huge difference in your confidence and performance. Whether it’s the Barrister Exam or the Solicitor Exam, knowing the structure, expectations, and common pitfalls ahead of time gives you a major advantage.
When can you write?
You can write the bar exams, which happen in-person, at any point during your lawyer licensing term, including before, during, or after your articles. You have three years from when you start the licensing process to pass both exams and complete articling. The LSO runs three sittings a year:
Bar Exam Eligibility, Registration, and Logistics
Summer (June) — Toronto, Windsor, or Ottawa
Fall (November) — Toronto or Ottawa
Winter (February) — Toronto or Ottawa
One exam at a time or both together?
You can write both exams in the same sitting or split them up. Some students split them because focusing on one thing at a time keeps them sane. If you write both in the same sitting, they don't happen back-to-back on the same day (thankfully!). There are two weeks between the two exams in each sitting, which gives you a bit of breathing room to regroup before the second one.
Others write both together in the same sitting because they want to rip off the band-aid and get on with their lives — also a completely valid life choice.
What matters is being honest about your situation. Are you articling? Working? Do you have kids or family responsibilities pulling at your attention? The best schedule is the one that actually works for your life, not the one that looks like you have everything together.
What does it cost to write each exam?
The registration fee for each exam is around $865. Once you’ve registered for the exam, the LSO will provide you with a PDF version of the exam study materials, that you’d have to print out (at your expense). Printing your materials runs anywhere from $200 to $600, depending on how much you print (and trust us, you will be printing lots). Those booklets/binders are heavy. Your bag will feel like you're moving apartments. Plan for the printing cost early because doing it last minute adds a layer of stress that nobody needs.
The golden rule: register on time, pay on time. Missing deadlines pushes your entire licensing timeline back and the LSO will likely not be moved by a sob story.
What Subjects are Covered on the Solicitor and the Barrister Exam?
Two exams, both open-book, and each testing different subjects through 160 multiple-choice questions.
The Barrister Exam:
Covers professional responsibility, criminal law, civil litigation, family law, and public law. Think courtrooms, Charter rights, and procedural rules. The kind of law you imagined when you applied to law school — minus the slow-motion walking and dramatic music.
The Solicitor Exam:
Covers business law, real estate law, wills and estates, and professional responsibility from a solicitor's perspective. Think transactions, corporate structures, property transfers, and making absolutely sure nobody accidentally sells a house twice.
Both exams test applied knowledge, not memorization. More on that below.
The LSO publishes a full list of entry-level competencies for each exam, and some students walk right past it. The list is basically the LSO telling you what's going to be on the exam. For free.
The Barrister Exam Competencies
The barrister competencies cover seven areas
Ethics & Professional Responsibility: covers topics including conflicts of interest, confidentiality, fiduciary duties, and duties to the court
Knowledge of the Law: covers topics including jurisdiction, limitation periods, evidence, statutory interpretation, public law, criminal procedure, family law, and civil litigation
Barrister-Client Relationship: covers topics including identifying the client, conflicts, interviewing, retainer, and communications
Problem & Issue Identification: covers topics including case analysis, information gathering, and theory of the case
Alternative Dispute Resolution: covers topics including negotiation, mediation, and ADR processes
Litigation Process: covers topics including disclosure, motions, trial prep, and appeals
Practice Management: covers topics including file management, time management, and professional obligations
What makes this useful is the depth. It's not just "know family law" — it tells you which aspects of family law matter, from the Divorce Act to child protection to domestic contracts. That's the difference between studying with a plan and just hoping you covered enough.
→ Full LSO Barrister Competencies
The Solicitor Exam Competencies
The solicitor competencies cover five areas:
Ethics & Professional Responsibility: covers topics including conflicts of interest, trust accounts, and client communications
Knowledge of the Law: covers topics including real estate, wills & estates, and business law
Solicitor-Client Relationship: covers topics including client identification, conflicts, retainer, and communications
Fulfilling the Retainer: covers topics including file administration, gathering information, and executing the action plan
Practice Management: covers topics including time management, file systems, and professional obligations
The knowledge of law section is the big one. The real estate competencies alone reference over 20 primary statutes, such as the Land Titles Act, the Residential Tenancies Act, the Mortgages Act, and many more that will start blending together around week three of studying. Business law covers corporate structures, shareholder agreements, and secured transactions. Wills and estates goes deep into capacity law, estate administration, and taxation at death.
It is a lot. Cross-referencing the competency list against your study materials is a solid way to make sure nothing important slips through the cracks. And if staring down that statute list is making you want to lie on the floor for a while, then having summaries and charts that condense the key rules into something your brain can make a meaningful difference for you. Check out our study aids if you want something more digestible than 900+ pages of walls of legal text.
What the LSO expects you to know
How Do You Prepare for the Exams?
That's a whole other conversation…and we have it.
Our article How to Pass the Ontario Bar Exams, which walks you through study strategy, practice questions, exam day tactics, and how to keep your brain functioning in the final week when everything starts to feel like static.
