Take the first state examination in law

If you have passed both parts of the examination, i.e. the university specialization examination and the state compulsory subject examination, you submit the certificate for the passed university specialization examination to the Examination Office. You will then be issued with a certificate for passing the first examination.

If you have passed your compulsory state examination in Rhineland-Palatinate, please contact the State Examination Office for Lawyers at the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Justice.

State Examination Office for Lawyers at the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Justice

You must have passed both the state compulsory subject examination and the university specialization examination.

Since the certificate for the state compulsory subject examination is available at the Examination Office, you only need to submit the certificate for the passed university specialization examination to the Examination Office.

There are no fees.

There are no deadlines to be observed, but in your own interest you are advised to submit the certificate of having passed the university specialization examination to the Examination Office as soon as it is issued to you by the university so that you can apply for the preparatory legal service as soon as possible.

The processing time is usually 1 to 3 days.

• German Judges Act (DRiG)
• State law on legal education (JAG)

You can file a complaint with the administrative court. If the certificate has obviously been issued incorrectly, e.g. wrong university named or incorrect grade transfer/calculation, please inform the Examinations Office. A correction will then be made immediately and you will be issued with a new certificate for the first examination.

Application for the issue of the first examination certificate

If you have passed the first examination, you are authorized to use the title "Refendarin jur. (Ref. jur.)" or "Referendar jur. (Ref. jur.)". You can apply for admission to the legal traineeship with your First Examination Certificate.

06.08.2021

What do I have to do if I have successfully attempted to improve my grades?

If you have improved your grade in the compulsory state examination, you do not need to do anything else if you have a certificate from the Examinations Office confirming that you have passed the university specialization examination. The new certificate for passing the first examination will be issued and sent to you unsolicited by the Examinations Office.

If you have improved your score in the university specialization examination, you must submit the certificate for this examination to the Examination Office for Lawyers so that a new certificate for passing the first examination can then be issued and sent to you.