Supreme Court Announces AOR Exam Dates for December 2026, Applications Open Only for Re-Appearing Candidates
Updated: 5 minutes ago
The Supreme Court of India has notified the dates for the next Advocates-on-Record Examination, to be held on December 19, 20, 22, and 23, 2026, in New Delhi. This round is not open to first-time applicants. It is restricted only to candidates eligible to re-appear under Regulation 11(i) or 11(ii) of the Regulations regarding Advocates-on-Record Examination, arising out of the June 2025 result or earlier examinations.
Key Details at a Glance
Examination dates: December 19, 20, 22, and 23, 2026, at New Delhi
Eligibility: Only candidates permitted to re-appear under Regulation 11(i) or 11(ii), based on results from the June 2025 examination or earlier
Application window: October 1 to October 15, 2026, up to 5:00 p.m.
Application fee: Rs. 750, payable online through the Supreme Court's Integrated Online Payment System
Mode of examination: Pen and paper only
Notification date: September 25, 2026
Who Can Actually Apply for This Round
This notification is easy to misread, so it is worth being precise about who it covers. Regulation 11(i) and 11(ii) apply to candidates who have already appeared in a previous AOR Examination and are permitted to re-appear, typically in a limited number of papers, based on how they performed earlier. A fresh candidate who has never appeared in the AOR Examination before cannot apply under this particular notification.
Eligible candidates do have a choice, though. They are not restricted to re-appearing only in the paper they are entitled to under Regulation 11. If they prefer, they can opt to appear in the entire examination afresh, across all four papers, instead of just the pending one. This option has to be exercised at the time of submitting the application form, and once made, it is final and binding.
How and Where to Apply
Applications have to be submitted physically at the AOR Examination Cell, Room No. 308, 3rd Floor, B-Block, Administrative Buildings Complex, Supreme Court of India, New Delhi, between October 1 and October 15, 2026, during office hours. No application will be accepted after 5:00 p.m. on October 15.
Fill and sign the Application Form (Annexure A), with a recent photograph affixed
Attach a self-attested copy of the Enrolment Certificate
Pay the Rs. 750 examination fee online through the IOPS portal and Bharatkosh, and attach the payment receipt
Submit the complete physical set at the AOR Examination Cell, or send it by post or courier
Candidates who require the assistance of a scribe under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 must submit supporting medical certification at least fifteen days before the examination, along with the scribe's declaration, to be eligible for the facility and the accompanying compensatory time of twenty minutes per hour.
The Four Papers
The AOR Examination continues to test candidates across the same four papers prescribed under Regulation 4(a): Practice and Procedure of the Supreme Court; Drafting, covering petitions for special leave, statements of case, decrees, orders, and writs, along with plaints, written statements, review petitions, transfer petitions, and contempt petitions; Advocacy and Professional Ethics; and Leading Cases, drawn from a list of eighty six landmark judgments that the Registry provides as head notes inside the examination hall itself.
The Rules That Trip Candidates Up
A few regulations in this notification carry real consequences and are worth flagging. Under Regulation 11(iv), no candidate gets more than five chances at the examination, and merely appearing in even one paper counts as a chance. Candidates who have already used up all five chances are not eligible to apply for this round, though a one-time relaxation under a 2024 circular means the December 2021 examination does not count towards that limit, giving affected candidates one additional chance.
Under Regulation 5(b), a candidate who is issued a roll number but does not show up for the examination is treated as not sufficiently prepared, and can be barred from sitting in any future examination without special permission from the Board of Examiners. Under Regulation 11(iii), a candidate who fails all papers in an examination cannot appear in the next one. And candidates who appear in only some papers and fail any of them are treated as having failed all papers, including the ones they did not attempt.
Why This Matters for Practice
For advocates working through the AOR process, Paper II, Drafting, is often the paper that decides the outcome, since it tests the same skills used every day in Supreme Court practice: framing a special leave petition, a writ, a review petition, or an interlocutory application so that it holds up on first reading.
Building exactly that drafting discipline, across special leave petitions, writs, review and transfer petitions, and interlocutory applications, is covered in ILW's Advanced Legal Drafting course, for advocates preparing for the AOR Examination and for anyone building a Supreme Court practice.
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Keywords
AOR Examination December 2026, Advocate on Record exam eligibility, Regulation 11 AOR re-appear, Supreme Court AOR application form, Advanced Legal Drafting course
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible to apply for the AOR Examination in December 2026?
Only candidates who are eligible to re-appear under Regulation 11(i) or 11(ii) of the Regulations regarding Advocates-on-Record Examination, based on the result of the June 2025 examination or earlier examinations, can apply for this particular round. First-time candidates cannot apply under this notification.
What is the last date to submit the AOR Examination application form?
Applications must be submitted at the AOR Examination Cell between October 1 and October 15, 2026, and no application will be accepted after 5:00 p.m. on October 15, 2026.
Can an eligible candidate choose to appear in all four papers instead of just the pending one?
Yes. Candidates eligible to re-appear under Regulation 11(i) or 11(ii) can choose to appear in the entire examination afresh instead of only the paper they are permitted to retake. This choice must be made at the time of applying, and it is final and binding once submitted.
How many chances does a candidate get to clear the AOR Examination?
Under Regulation 11(iv), a candidate gets a maximum of five chances, with appearance in even a single paper counting as one chance. As a one-time relaxation, the December 2021 examination does not count towards this limit for affected candidates.
What happens if a candidate is issued a roll number but does not appear for the examination?
Under Regulation 5(b), such a candidate is treated as not sufficiently prepared for the examination and can be barred from sitting in any subsequent examination without the express permission of the Board of Examiners.
Read the Full Notification
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