The All India Bar Examination (AIBE) XXII will be held on Sunday, 29 November 2026, and the admit cards are now out. Before the exam, every candidate should know exactly how the paper is structured — because the AIBE is unlike most competitive exams in India: it is open book, it has no negative marking, and it is a qualifying exam rather than a ranking exam.
AIBE 22 Exam Pattern 2026 at a Glance
| Component | Details |
|---|---|
| Conducting body | Bar Council of India (BCI) |
| Exam name | All India Bar Examination XXII (AIBE 22) |
| Exam date | 29 November 2026 (Sunday) |
| Mode | Offline, pen-and-paper, OMR-based |
| Total questions | 100 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) |
| Total marks | 100 |
| Marks per correct answer | 1 mark |
| Negative marking | None |
| Duration | 3 hours 30 minutes |
| Nature | Qualifying (pass/fail) examination |
| Open book | Yes — Bare Acts allowed (see rules below) |
No Negative Marking — Attempt All 100 Questions
Each correct answer carries one mark, and wrong or unattempted answers score zero. Because there is no negative marking, candidates should answer all 100 questions — a wrong answer costs nothing, while a guess can still earn a mark. With 3 hours 30 minutes for 100 questions, candidates get roughly two minutes per question.
AIBE 22 Passing Marks
The AIBE is a qualifying examination, not a rank-based entrance test. There is no merit list and no All India Rank — candidates either pass or fail. The minimum qualifying marks are:
| Category | Minimum qualifying marks |
|---|---|
| General / OBC | 45 out of 100 (45%) |
| SC / ST | 40 out of 100 (40%) |
| Persons with Disabilities (PwD) | 40 out of 100 (40%) |
Candidates who qualify are awarded the Certificate of Practice (CoP) to practise law in India.
AIBE 22 Syllabus 2026
The Bar Council of India has notified the AIBE 22 syllabus, and the paper will carry 100 questions. The syllabus covers 19 subjects, including Constitutional Law, the criminal codes, the Civil Procedure Code, evidence law, family law, professional ethics and other core areas of law that a practising advocate is expected to know.
Open-Book Rules: What You Can Carry
The AIBE is an open-book examination, but "open book" has a specific meaning here. The instruction printed on the question paper reads: "Bare Acts without notes are allowed. In case of unavailability of Bare Acts without notes, Bare Acts with least short Notes will be allowed subject to the discretion of the Examiner/Invigilator."
In practice, this means:
- Bare Acts without notes or comments are allowed inside the hall.
- If a clean Bare Act is unavailable, one with the least short notes may be allowed at the invigilator's discretion.
- Textbooks, coaching material, commentaries and handwritten notes are not allowed.
The open-book format rewards familiarity, not memorisation: with about two minutes per question, the Bare Act only helps if the candidate already knows which Act — and roughly which section — the answer lives in. Candidates should carry the ten to twelve Bare Acts they know well and have indexed, rather than a pile they have never opened.
Candidates should always follow the latest AIBE XXII notification and the instructions printed on their admit card and question paper, as the Bar Council of India can update the examination instructions.
AIBE 22 Exam Pattern: Key Takeaways
- 100 MCQs, 100 marks, 3 hours 30 minutes, no negative marking.
- 45 marks to pass for General and OBC candidates; 40 for SC, ST and PwD candidates.
- Open book, but only Bare Acts — no textbooks or notes.
- Qualifying exam: pass and receive the Certificate of Practice; there is no ranking.