Politics has a way of turning every single detail of a person’s life into a weapon. Honestly, it’s exhausting. One of the most persistent talking points you’ll see floating around social media or mentioned in heated debates is whether or not Kamala Harris actually passed the California bar exam.
People love a "gotcha" moment.
If you’ve seen the headlines or the viral posts, the narrative usually goes one of two ways. Either she’s a legal powerhouse who breezed through, or she’s a "failure" who couldn't cut it. The reality, as it usually is, sits somewhere in the middle. It’s a human story about a high-stakes test, a major setback, and what happened next.
The Truth About the 1989 Exam
Let’s get the direct answer out of the way: Yes, Kamala Harris passed the California bar exam. But here is the part that people use for political fodder: she didn’t pass it on her first try.
After graduating from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law (now known as UC Law San Francisco) in 1989, Harris sat for the summer bar exam. In November of that year, she received the news that every law student dreads. She failed.
In her memoir, The Truths We Hold, Harris describes that moment as "utter devastation." It’s a feeling anyone who has poured months of their life into a single goal only to fall short can relate to. She had a job lined up at the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, and suddenly, her entire career path was in jeopardy.
Did Kamala Harris Pass the California Bar Exam on the Second Try?
She didn't let the 1989 failure stop her. She went back to the books, hunkered down, and took the exam again in early 1990.
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This time, she passed.
On June 14, 1990, Kamala Devi Harris was officially admitted to the State Bar of California. Her bar number is 146672. If you’re ever bored and want to go down a rabbit hole, you can actually look this up on the public California State Bar website. It shows her status as "Inactive" currently, which is normal for someone serving in high executive office who isn't actively practicing law in a courtroom, but the record of her passing is right there in black and white.
Why the California Bar is a Different Beast
To understand why failing this test isn't exactly the "shameful" secret some make it out to be, you have to look at the numbers. The California Bar Exam is notoriously one of the most difficult in the United States.
Basically, it’s a monster.
In the year Harris took it, the pass rate was hover-around-half territory. Even today, it's common for the pass rate to dip into the 30% or 40% range for certain cycles. It is a grueling multi-day marathon of essays, multiple-choice questions (the MBE), and performance tests.
- First-time takers usually have higher pass rates.
- Repeaters face a much steeper climb statistically.
- The "Three-Day" era (which Harris was part of) was legendary for its intensity.
Failing the California bar on the first attempt puts Harris in some pretty famous company. Michelle Obama failed her first bar exam in Illinois. Hillary Clinton failed the D.C. bar before passing in Arkansas. Even former California Governor Pete Wilson failed it three times before passing on his fourth.
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The Politics of the "Fail"
So, why does this keep coming up?
During the 2024 campaign and earlier, various political opponents used the first-try failure to question her intelligence or her qualifications. It's a classic tactic: take a factual kernel—she failed once—and strip away the context that she passed the next year and then spent nearly 30 years as a prosecutor, District Attorney, and Attorney General.
Kinda feels like judging a marathon runner because they tripped at mile two, even though they eventually finished the race and won a few others later.
In the legal world, once you pass, you're a lawyer. Period. No one asks "how many times did it take you?" when you're standing in front of a judge. They care if you know the law and if you can win the case.
From Failure to Attorney General
What’s actually interesting is how that early failure shaped her career. After passing in 1990, Harris started as a Deputy District Attorney in Alameda County.
She wasn't just "some lawyer." She was rising through the ranks in a very competitive environment.
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- Alameda County (1990-1998): Focused on child sexual assault cases.
- San Francisco DA's Office (1998-2003): Led the Career Criminal Unit.
- District Attorney of San Francisco (2004-2011): First woman and person of color in the role.
- Attorney General of California (2011-2017): Oversaw the largest state justice department in the country.
It’s a bit of a stretch to say someone "couldn't pass" the bar when they eventually became the "Top Cop" of the most populous state in the union. To be the Attorney General, you don't just need a bar card; you need to manage thousands of lawyers and handle massive litigation against big banks and tech giants.
Is Her License Still Active?
As of 2026, her license is listed as Inactive.
Don't let that confuse you. Lawyers move to "inactive" status all the time when they take jobs that don't involve the active practice of law—like being the Vice President of the United States. It saves on bar dues and continuing education requirements. If she ever wanted to go back to private practice, she’d basically just have to pay the fees and fill out some paperwork to flip the switch back to "Active."
The Takeaway for Future Lawyers
If you're a law student reading this because you just failed the bar, honestly, take a breath.
The Vice President of the United States failed the same exam you might be struggling with. It didn't stop her from becoming a DA, a Senator, or the VP. The bar exam is a test of endurance and specific standardized skills; it’s not a psychic reading of your entire future potential.
The story of Kamala Harris and the California bar is less about a "failure" and more about the boring, gritty reality of professional licensing. You study, you take the hit, you get back up, and you try again.
Next Steps for Verifying Legal Credentials:
If you want to look into the status of any attorney in California, you can use the State Bar of California Licensee Search. You’ll need a name or a bar number. It provides a full history of when they were admitted, if they’ve ever faced discipline, and what their current status is. It’s the only way to get the facts straight without the political spin.