Free Practice Questions for CAPA Avocat

The Certificat d'Aptitude à la Profession d'Avocat (CAPA) is the compulsory professional certificate required under Loi n° 71-1130 to take the advocate's oath and be inscribed on the roll of a French bar association (Barreau). It is prepared over 18 months in an École d'Avocats (EDA) following success in the national CRFPA entrance examination.

Applying from the 2026 session, the reform establishes a framework totaling 5 coefficients: continuous assessment (coefficient 2) covering ethics, oral advocacy, and drafting a consultation, procedural act, and legal act, with foreign-language assessment only for candidates who elected it; an oral pleading examination (coefficient 1, 2 hours preparation, about 20 minutes); and an oral examination on professional status, deontology, regulation, and training reports (coefficient 2, 30 minutes preparation, about 40 minutes).

To be awarded the CAPA, candidates must achieve a weighted overall average of at least 10 out of 20 across all continuous assessment and terminal oral examination components. Candidates who do not achieve 10/20 may be authorized by the board of the EDA to repeat certain components or sit a catch-up session under regulatory conditions.

France has 11 regional lawyer training schools (CRFPA/EDA, including the EFB in Paris, HEDAC in Versailles, EDA Sud-Est, etc.). The course lasts 18 months and is divided into three consecutive six-month modules: 6 months of fundamental vocational and procedural training at the school, 6 months dedicated to an Individual Pedagogical Project (PPI) in an enterprise, court, foreign firm, or public body, and 6 months of final internship in a law firm (cabinet d'avocats).

Under Article 3 of Décret n° 2023-552 and the Règlement Intérieur National (RIN), the French advocate exercises functions with dignity, conscience, independence, probity, and humanity. Lawyers must adhere to strict professional secrecy (Article 66-5 of Loi n° 71-1130), absolute confidentiality of correspondence between advocates (unless expressly marked non-confidentiel), and prevent conflicts of interest.

The CARPA (Caisse des Règlements Pécuniaires des Avocats) is the statutory escrow financial institution of the French bar. Under statutory rules, an advocate cannot handle client funds directly in a personal or operational bank account; all settlement proceeds, escrow amounts, and dispute funds must be deposited into a dedicated CARPA sub-account to guarantee transparency, traceability, and client protection.

The CRFPA is the competitive entrance examination sat after a Master 1 or Master 2 in law to gain admission into an École d'Avocats. The CAPA is the certifying final exit qualification awarded at the completion of the 18-month vocational program, conferring the statutory right to be admitted to the Bar.

The official CAPA training and examinations are conducted in French. OpenExamPrep publishes an English-language MCQ study adaptation designed for international and bilingual practitioners, researchers, and candidates who wish to test their understanding of French legal ethics, procedure, drafting, and professional regulations through objective scenario-based questions.