Aspiring lawyers taking the bar exam in July in D.C. will be allowed to use their laptops for the essay portion, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals announced Monday.

The District is playing catch-up to other jurisdictions. The company providing the bar exam software for the D.C. bar exam, Extegrity, includes links on its website for software downloads for every state. Another widely used software company, ExamSoft Worldwide Inc., says its software has been used for bar exams in at least 43 states.

The D.C. Court of Appeals, which administers the bar exam through its Committee on Admissions, changed the local rules on May 1 to permit test takers to register to use their personal computers, in time for the July exam. Test takers have to register by June 30 if they want to use their laptops. Registration began on June 19.

Use of laptops for the bar exam is commonplace, but it is not without hiccups. Last year, bar takers across the country sued ExamSoft after experiencing technical problems during the July 2014 examination—a scandal referred to as “Barmaggedon.” Facing a consolidated class action in federal district court in Florida, ExamSoft in May agreed to a $2.1 million settlement. Eligible individuals can receive $90.

The downloadable software that companies such as ExamSoft and Extegrity provide blocks test takers from accessing the internet or other programs on their computers during the bar exam. In D.C., the software download for next month's exam will cost test takers $92.