The Certified Legal Manager exam is taken by legal administrators and managers who want ALA certification for the business side of a law firm or legal department. This page gives you free practice sets by topic, a summary of the exam format, fees, retakes and renewal, and a study plan to use alongside the official material.
The CLM has 125 questions, takes about 4 hours and costs $550[1][2][3] (American Bar Association? No — ALA, verified Oct 24, 2026).
Numbers in brackets link to the official sources listed under Sources & last verified. Dates that have passed are removed automatically.
| Item | Detail | Source · Verified |
|---|---|---|
| Number of questions | 125 questions (25 unscored pilot)[1] | American Bar Association? No — ALA · Oct 24, 2026 |
| Time limit | 4 hours[2] | American Bar Association? No — ALA · Oct 24, 2026 |
| Passing score | Criterion-referenced (Angoff method); no fixed score published[4] | American Bar Association? No — ALA · Oct 24, 2026 |
| Exam fee | $550 ALA members / $675 nonmembers[3] | American Bar Association? No — ALA · Oct 24, 2026 |
| Retake fee | $275 per retake[3] | American Bar Association? No — ALA · Oct 24, 2026 |
| Retake policy | Up to 2 retakes within 48 months of application[4] | American Bar Association? No — ALA · Oct 24, 2026 |
| Validity | 3 years; $225 recertification fee plus $60 annual maintenance[5] | American Bar Association? No — ALA · Oct 24, 2026 |
| Renewal | 36 hours of coursework every 3 years[6] | American Bar Association? No — ALA · Oct 24, 2026 |
| Score release | Pass/fail by email within two weeks[4] | American Bar Association? No — ALA · Oct 24, 2026 |
| Registration deadline (Fall 2027) | September 6, 2027[5] | American Bar Association? No — ALA · Oct 24, 2026 |
| Registration deadline (Spring 2027) | April 4, 2027[5] | American Bar Association? No — ALA · Oct 24, 2026 |
| Testing window (Fall 2026) | November 2–25, 2026[5] | American Bar Association? No — ALA · Oct 24, 2026 |
| Testing window (Fall 2027) | November 1–26, 2027[5] | American Bar Association? No — ALA · Oct 24, 2026 |
| Testing window (Spring 2027) | May 3–28, 2027[5] | American Bar Association? No — ALA · Oct 24, 2026 |
According to American Bar Association? No — ALA, “The passing score for the CLM exam will be determined using an Angoff Method-based criterion-referencing process.”[4]
The Certified Legal Manager credential is offered by ALA for people who run the business side of legal work: budgets, people, operations and the management of a law firm or legal department. The exam has 125 questions, of which 25 are unscored pilot items, and you have 4 hours to finish it.
The exam is delivered in set windows rather than on any day you choose. Published windows include November 2–25, 2026, May 3–28, 2027 and November 1–26, 2027. The application deadline is April 4, 2027 for the spring window and September 6, 2027 for the fall window. The exam fee is $550 for ALA members and $675 for nonmembers.
Scoring is criterion-referenced, using the Angoff method. ALA publishes no fixed passing score, so there is no percentage to aim for. Pass or fail notices are sent by email within two weeks of the exam date.
If you do not pass, you can retake the exam up to 2 times within 48 months of your application date. Each retake costs $275. Certification is valid for 3 years. Recertifying costs $225, plus $60 annual maintenance, and requires 36 hours of coursework during the prior 3 years.
Eligibility rules are set by ALA and can change, so read the application requirements page on alanet.org before you apply. Our practice questions are written with AI tools. They are not real exam questions.
The content areas below are copied from the official CLM content outline published by American Bar Association? No — ALA, with the share of the exam each area carries. The right-hand column shows which of our practice sets covers it.
| Official content area | Weight | Practice on this site |
|---|---|---|
| Financial Management[7] | 29% | CLM Financial Management & Legal Budgeting Practise budgeting, billing and cost control questions, and be ready to say which figure or process answers the situation described. |
| Human Resources/Talent Management[7] | — | CLM Employment Law & Labor Relations Practise hiring, supervision, discipline and employment-law scenarios, and choose the response that is fair, documented and lawful. |
| Legal Industry/Business Management[7] | 17% | CLM Risk Management & Legal Ethics Practise how legal organizations are structured and run, including risk, ethics and professional-conduct questions. |
| Operations Management[7] | 23% | CLM Legal Administration & Operations Practise workflow, technology, office systems and process-improvement scenarios, and pick the option that keeps the practice running reliably. |
Prepare for the CLM - Certified Legal Manager exam with our free practice test modules. Each quiz covers key topics to help you pass on your first try.
These are practice questions written for this site, not questions from the real exam. Each explanation shows why the right answer is right and why the others are wrong.
Question: What is the relationship between Family Law & Domestic Relations and ethical professional conduct?
Answer: A. Ethical considerations are integrated into all aspects of professional practice in this area
Explanation:
The correct answer is that ethical considerations are built into every part of professional practice in this area. Family law work involves sensitive personal information, conflicts of interest and clients under stress, so conduct standards apply to routine tasks as well as to unusual ones.
The option saying ethics applies only to separate, unrelated decisions is wrong because ethical duties run through daily work. The option claiming there is no connection between technical knowledge and ethics is wrong because the two are applied together. The option saying ethics matters only when legal issues arise is wrong because ethical duties exist before any problem appears.
Rule to remember: when a question asks how ethics relates to a practice area, choose the answer that treats it as part of everything you do, not as an occasional add-on.
Question: Which cybersecurity framework is most widely referenced for assessing and improving law firm information security programs?
Answer: B. NIST Cybersecurity Framework
Explanation:
The correct answer is the NIST Cybersecurity Framework. It gives standards, guidelines and best practices for managing cybersecurity risk, which is why law firms often use it to assess and improve their information security programs.
ISO 9001 is wrong because it addresses quality management, not information security. COBIT 5 is wrong because it is a framework for governing and managing enterprise IT, so it is broader than the security question asked here. ITIL v4 is wrong because it covers IT service management, such as how support and service delivery are organized.
Rule to remember: match the framework to its job. Security risk points to NIST, quality points to ISO 9001, IT governance points to COBIT and service delivery points to ITIL.
Question: What common challenge do professionals face when applying Criminal Law & Procedure principles?
Answer: A. Balancing theoretical best practices with practical constraints and real-world conditions
Explanation:
The correct answer is balancing theoretical best practices with practical constraints and real-world conditions. In criminal law and procedure, the ideal approach on paper often has to be adjusted for deadlines, limited resources and the facts of a particular matter.
Finding the relevant textbook chapter is wrong because it is a minor inconvenience, not a challenge of applying the principles. Obtaining permission to use the principles is wrong because legal principles do not need anyone's permission. Saying the principles are too simple to present any challenge is wrong because absolute claims like this rarely hold up in practice.
Rule to remember: when asked about a common challenge, prefer the answer that describes a real tension between theory and practice over answers that are trivial or absolute.
Start with the official material. Read ALA's exam prep and study tips page and the content outline, and note which areas you manage every day and which you rarely touch. Then use the practice sets to test that self-assessment.
Remember that ALA publishes no fixed passing score. Treat our results as a guide to where to study next, not as a prediction.
The exam fee is $550 for ALA members and $675 for nonmembers. Retakes cost $275 each. Check the ALA application requirements page for the current fee before you apply, since fees are set by ALA and not by this site.
The exam has 125 questions, of which 25 are unscored pilot questions. You have 4 hours to complete it. The pilot questions are not marked in the exam, so answer every question as if it counts.
ALA does not publish a fixed passing score. The exam is criterion-referenced and the passing score is set with an Angoff method-based process. Pass or fail results are emailed to your preferred address within two weeks of the exam date.
Yes. You can retake the exam up to 2 times within 48 months of the date of your application. Each retake costs $275. Read ALA's page on what to expect after the exam for the current process.
Certification is valid for 3 years. Recertification requires 36 hours of coursework during the prior 3 years, a $225 recertification fee and $60 annual maintenance. ALA's recertification pages list which education counts.
No. The questions are written by us with AI tools to help you practise each topic. They are not taken from the real exam, and they do not predict your result. Use them alongside ALA's official study material.
How we verify: editorial & fact-checking policy. Report an error: contact us.