Advocates-on-Record Examination, December 2026 at the Supreme Court of India, New Delhi (Only for Re-appear Candidates under Regulation 11(i)/11(ii); Fee Rs 750)

The Supreme Court of India has notified the next Advocates-on-Record (AOR) Examination by Notification F. No. AOR Exam./Dec./2026 dated 25 September 2026, issued under Rules 5(i) and (ii) of Order IV of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013 and Regulation 2 of the Regulations regarding Advocates-on-Record Examination. Only an Advocate-on-Record may file matters and plead on behalf of a party in the Supreme Court, and passing this examination is a condition for registration as one.

The examination will be held at New Delhi on 19, 20, 22 and 23 December 2026 and will be conducted in Pen and Paper mode only. The notification is signed by Aarti Singh, Registrar (J) and Secretary, Board of Examiners, Advocates-on-Record Examination.

This is a limited sitting. It is open only to candidates who are eligible to re-appear under Regulation 11(i) or 11(ii) of the Regulations regarding Advocates-on-Record Examination, arising out of the result of the AOR Examination of June 2025 as well as earlier examinations. It is not a fresh intake for first-time candidates.

• A re-appear candidate may choose to sit only the paper he or she has permission to repeat, or to take the entire examination afresh. The option is exercised finally in the application form and is binding.
• Under Regulation 11(iii), a candidate who failed in all the papers of the examination may not appear in the next examination.
• Under Regulation 11(iv), no candidate is allowed more than five chances, and appearing in even one paper counts as a chance. Candidates who have already availed five chances are not eligible. Under Circular F. No. 17/AOR Exam. dated 17 May 2024, the December 2021 examination is not reckoned as a chance, which allows eligible candidates one more chance as a one-time relaxation.
• An applicant found ineligible at any stage will have the application rejected.

Under Regulation 4(a), the examination comprises four papers:

• Paper I: Practice and Procedure of the Supreme Court.
• Paper II: Drafting, covering petitions for special leave and statements of cases, decrees, orders and writs, and, as clarified in Notice I, petitions of appeal, suits under Article 131, review petitions under Article 137, transfer petitions, contempt petitions under Article 129 and interlocutory applications such as bail, condonation of delay, exemption from surrendering and revocation of special leave.
• Paper III: Advocacy and Professional Ethics, with the suggested topics set out in Notice II, including the Advocates Act, 1961, the Bar Council of India rules on professional conduct, lawyer-client privilege under Section 132 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, and the duties of an Advocate-on-Record.
• Paper IV: Leading Cases, from the list of 86 cases in Notice III. Bound head notes are supplied in the examination hall and must be returned unmarked at the end.

The Registry will not supply books to any candidate.

The prescribed AOR Examination fee is Rs 750, paid online through the Integrated Online Payment System (IOPS) on the Supreme Court website (sci.gov.in, then e-Services, then Integrated Online Payment System). Select the AOR Registration/Exam Fees tab and the relevant purpose; the system redirects to the Bharatkosh portal, where the depositor category, amount, personal details and payment method (NEFT/RTGS and others) are entered. The step-by-step procedure is at Annexure C of the notification.

The application is a physical proforma petition addressed to the Chief Justice of India, appended to the notification as Annexure A. After paying the fee, submit the following at, or send by post or courier to, the AOR Examination Cell, Room No. 308, 3rd Floor, B-Block, Administrative Buildings Complex, Supreme Court of India, New Delhi 110001, during office hours between 1 October and 15 October 2026:

• The application form, legibly filled, signed, with every field completed (strike out those not applicable) and one recent photograph pasted at the top right.
• A self-attested, legible copy of the enrolment certificate.
• The receipt of payment of Rs 750.

Incomplete or illegible forms will be summarily rejected. Final acceptance is subject to receipt of the hard copy, and no application will be accepted after 5.00 p.m. on 15 October 2026. The Registry is not responsible for delays.

Persons with Benchmark Disabilities in the categories of blindness, locomotor disability (both arms affected) and cerebral palsy are eligible for a scribe. Other persons with benchmark disabilities under Section 2(r) of the RPwD Act, 2016, and persons with specified disabilities under Section 2(s) with less than 40 per cent disability who have difficulty in writing, are eligible on producing the medical certificate in the proforma at Annexure B or B1.

• The candidate arranges the scribe at his or her own cost, with details in the declaration at Annexure B2.
• The scribe must not be a law graduate or a law student and must hold a qualification one level below the candidate's.
• All supporting documents must be produced at least 15 days before the examination.
• A candidate using a scribe gets 20 minutes of compensatory time for each hour of the examination.

• A candidate given a roll number who stays away from the examination will be treated as not sufficiently prepared and dealt with under Regulation 5(b), and may not sit a later examination without the express permission of the Board of Examiners.
• A candidate who does not appear in all the papers and fails in any paper taken is treated as having failed in all papers, including those not taken.
• Under Regulation 12, no application for re-evaluation of answer sheets is entertained. Other representations are not entertained beyond 30 days from the declaration of the result.