How Long

The agency that licenses and regulates attorneys will have a list of attorneys licensed to practice law in that state. Generally, that agency is an office of the highest court in that state. (Washington, DC is an exception; it is not a state but it does license attorneys.)

You likely can search for the website of the licensing ageny by search for the phrase " state bar association". The search result may also lead to sites that belong to bar associations whose membership is voluntary. You want to make sure that the site you find is the official site of the licensing agency.

For FL, the official site is at: http://www.floridabar.org/tfb/flabarwe.nsf .

After passing the bar exam, an applicant generally must attend a ceremony to be sworn in as an attorney. With all the procedures, it may take more than five months between the time of taking the bar exam and the time that a person may practice as an attorney.