Written by: Katie Linder

The Iowa Judicial Branch released the results of the July 2025 Iowa Bar Exam. Of the 46 University of Iowa College of Law graduates who sat for the exam, 44 passed—resulting in an overall passage rate of 96% and a near-perfect first-time passage rate of 98%.

Graduates from nearly 40 different institutions took the exam in July, with a collective passage rate of 79%.

Iowa Law supports several initiatives focused on bar preparation, including a popular bar prep course that was introduced in 2023 and a summer support program available to graduates ahead of the July exam. Additionally, the college’s Academic Success Program works closely with students to help them develop strong legal study and exam-taking skills.

This year’s success builds on the college’s momentum from overall bar passage rates in Iowa of 93% in July 2024 and 92% in July 2023. The college’s bar passage rates have improved by approximately 20 percentage points since July 2022.

“Virtually everyone in our college helps prepare our graduates to sit for this exam, and I want to thank them for those efforts,” Dean Todd Pettys said. “I also want to congratulate our graduates on a wonderful outcome and for working hard to develop the skills, instincts, discipline, and work ethic necessary to pass the Iowa Bar Exam.”

Iowa Law takes pride in the success of its graduates. Last year, 99% of its graduates were employed or enrolled in graduate school within six months of graduation, and 91% passed the bar on their first attempt across multiple states. Currently, more than 11,000 Iowa Law alumni are working across all 50 states and in 50 countries worldwide.