Singapore Bar Exam Explained: Part A vs Part B, and in What Order

Independent — not affiliated with SILE (the Singapore Institute of Legal Education) or the Ministry of Law. The exam facts on this page come from SILE’s own web pages and its 2027 Session 1 application guide, read on 31 October 2026 and listed at the end. Our practice questions are written by us from Singapore legislation; they are not SILE questions.

Two overlaps in that order often surprise people. First, the relevant legal training does not have to wait for Part A results: SILE says it can be done before, during or after Part A, as long as it comes after you pass your final law degree examination, and no registration with SILE is needed to begin. It must fit SILE’s definitions (supervised training with a law practice, practice as a lawyer, or in-house work at a listed company, for example), and days of absence generally push the end date back by the same number of working days (a day off in lieu of a Saturday public holiday does not count as an absence). Second, a practice training contract can start once you have satisfactorily completed the Part B Course, before your Part B results are out. That contract is different: the Singapore law practice or qualifying entity must lodge its registration with SILE no later than 14 days before training begins and obtain SILE’s approval before you start; if registration is late, time served before it was lodged does not count.

Part A tests five areas of Singapore law: Company Law, Criminal Law, Evidence Law, Land Law and the Singapore Legal System. There is also a sixth compulsory subject, Ethics, examined only by an online quiz on which you need 100% before you may sit the papers. Every paper is open book, and in the 2027 Session 1 guide each is 60 multiple-choice questions from 2.30pm to 4.30pm.

Part A is the one part of the Bar exams you can prepare for mostly on your own: the Course is optional, the format is multiple choice, and practising full papers against the clock is the closest thing to the real day.

Part B is run by SILE for qualified persons seeking admission as a Lawyer (Non-Practitioner). Attending the Part B Course and passing the Part B Examinations are both requirements under sections 13(d) and (e) of the Legal Profession Act 1966. The course is built around six compulsory modules, with practice sessions and contact sessions as well as self-study; attendance at the three Ethics & Professional Responsibility practice sessions is mandatory.

Part B is not something we sell practice for. It is SILE’s own compulsory course with its own materials. This page describes it so you know where Part A leads.

For Part A, there is no appeal process, and you cannot attend Part B until you have passed Part A and become a qualified person. SILE published a commendation list naming top candidates for 2026 Part A Session 1, but we found no examination pass rate, pass mark or cohort size for either part on SILE’s pages, so we do not quote one. For Part B, a pass is valid for five years for the purpose of applying for admission as a Lawyer (Non-Practitioner), so apply within that window.

Local graduates who meet the requirements in Part II of the QP Rules become qualified persons without Part A and go on to Part B, unless exempted from it. Foreign-qualified lawyers who want to practise in permitted areas of Singapore law have a separate route, the Foreign Practitioner Examinations, which SILE says is under comprehensive review with no future dates announced. Anyone who does not meet a requirement can apply to the Minister for Law for an exemption; the Ministry of Law lists Part A among the requirements it may exempt and says exemptions are granted sparingly. For exemption from Part B and the practice training period, it sets extra conditions: an approved degree and all the other qualified-person requirements, admission to practise in a common law jurisdiction, and at least 2 years of relevant legal practice, work or training. Even then, approval is not automatic.

Independent — not affiliated with SILE (the Singapore Institute of Legal Education) or the Ministry of Law. The exam facts on this page come from SILE’s own web pages and its 2027 Session 1 application guide, read on 31 October 2026 and listed at the end. Our practice questions are written by us from Singapore legislation; they are not SILE questions.