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- Prior to applying for the examination, you should carefully review the rules pertaining
to how you will qualify to sit for the exam (Section 520.3, 520.4, 520.5,
520.6 or 520.17
of the Rules of the Court of Appeals) to confirm that you will be in compliance.
As part of your application for the bar examination, you will be required
to certify that you have reviewed the Court Rules, that you are in compliance with
the Court Rules, and that the information which you provide in your application is true and accurate.
- Commencing with July 2016 bar examination, the New York bar examination
consists of the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE). The UBE is a high quality, uniform
battery of tests that are administered contemporaneously in every other jurisdiction
that has adopted the UBE. The UBE consists of the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), the Multistate Performance
Test (MPT), and the Multistate Essay Examination (MEE). More information regarding
the UBE,
including the list of jurisdictions that have adopted the UBE, is available
at the website of the National Conference of Bar Examiners at https://www.ncbex.org/exams/ube/.
The UBE is uniformly administered, graded and scored,
and it results in a score that can then be transferred to other UBE jurisdictions
or an applicant may take the exam in another UBE jurisdiction and transfer that
score to New York provided that the applicant achieves the minimum passing score.
For example, an applicant may take the UBE in New Jersey, New Hampshire, Connecticut,
Washington, DC, or another UBE jurisdiction provided the applicant
meets that jurisdiction's eligibility requirements, and then transfer the UBE score
to New York.
- Factors to consider in making the decision where to sit for the UBE.
There may be
various factors including costs, convenience, personal choice that
may influence an applicant's decision where to sit for the UBE. Some applicants
may find it more convenient to take the UBE in a jurisdiction closer to their permanent
residence or to the law school they attended. Some applicants may find that it is
cheaper to take the UBE in one jurisdiction instead of another jurisdiction. Applicants
may wish to consider the following information in making their decision where to
sit for the UBE.
- Applicants should consult the eligibility rules in a jurisdiction
before making application to that jurisdiction.
- New York does not permit applicants to take the UBE in New York merely as a convenience,
that is, the applicant cannot sit for the UBE in New York unless the applicant intends
to apply for bar admission in New York.
- Applicants who are not residents of New York State at the time of filing their application
will be assigned to sit for the UBE in Albany, Buffalo or Saratoga Springs. Applicants
should be prepared to produce proof of residency upon request by the Board.
- In addition to the application fee set forth below in paragraph 4, out-of-state
residents should also take into account the costs of transportation, lodging, meals,
and other incidental costs associated with taking the examination in Albany, Buffalo
or Saratoga Springs.
- BAR EXAMINATION APPLICATION FEE – (by method of qualifying – see Judiciary
Law section 465)
$250- Section 520.3 (JD degree received from
an ABA approved law school in the U.S.)
$250- Section 520.4 (law office study) $250- Section 520.5 (unapproved law schools)
$750- Section 520.6 (study of law in foreign country)
If an applicant should elect to take the UBE in another jurisdiction and transfer
the UBE score to New York the application fees for Admission by Transferred UBE
Score are the same as above. NCBE also charges a $25 Score Transfer Fee to applicants
transferring a UBE score to New York or from New York to another UBE jurisdiction
- Application Deadline: The application period for the July 2017
examination opens on Saturday, April 1, 2017 and closes at 11:59 pm on Sunday, April
30, 2017. We strongly encourage you to apply during normal business hours
on or before Sunday, April 30, 2017 so that you can contact the Board in the event
of technical difficulties.
- Juris Doctor Applicants from ABA-Approved Law Schools: Before
you access the online bar exam application, we recommend that you have available
copies of the following two documents which you will need to answer questions on
the application: (a) your law school transcript and (b) Instructions for JD Applicants
for Completing Curriculum Questions on Bar Exam Application. You will be required
to answer questions about the credits you completed in law school and your answers
will be used to generate the Law School Certificate of Attendance form, which will
be emailed to you. You will be required to submit the form to your law school to
certify and mail to the Board by February 1 for a February examination or by June
15 for a July examination.
- Before completing the Bar Exam Application, you will be required to create
an account using a valid email address. Upon creation of the account you
will be assigned a unique BOLE Identification Number (BOLE ID). Please save your
BOLE ID in a safe and accessible location as you will be required to use the BOLE
ID in all future communication with the Board. If you are a re-applicant for the
bar exam or if you already created a BOLE Account for either the NYLC or the Foreign-Educated
Evaluation Form do not create a new BOLE account. To complete the application, you
must login using the email address and password you used when you created your account.
All communications from the Board will be sent by email only to
the email account furnished at the time of application. It is your responsibility
to notify the Board should your email address change and to monitor your email for
messages from the Board..
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Foreign-Educated Applicants: Before applying for the New York bar examination, all first-time applicants who have studied law in a
country other than the United States and who are applying under Section 520.6 of
the Rules of the Court of Appeals MUST complete the online
Foreign Evaluation Form at www.nybarapply.org/feval.
Foreign-Educated applicants who are required under Section 520.6 to complete an
LL.M. degree at an approved law school in the United States MUST have completed
the online Foreign Evaluation Form AND have submitted all of their
foreign documentation to the Board at least six months prior to the first day of the application
filing period for the exam that they wish to take. If you are applying for the July 2017
examination your Foreign Evaluation
Form and supporting eligibility documentation
must have been received by the Board on or before October 1, 2016. If you submit an application to sit for the bar examination
prior to receiving an advance determination of your eligibility from the Board,
you do so at your own risk, and the $750 application fee will not be refunded or
credited if it is later determined that you are not eligible to sit for the New
York bar examination. Re-applicants may proceed to the bar exam application
using their existing BOLE ID.
- Withdrawals/Absences: Should you decide to withdraw from the examination,
you must notify the Board in writing, by fax or by mail as soon as possible. The
application fee is non-refundable except in extremely limited circumstances. Any
applicant who has withdrawn from or failed to appear for any two examinations must
apply to the Board for permission to re-apply before applying for another examination.
Applications to re-apply must be received in the Board's office
two weeks before
the filing deadline of the exam you wish to take (April 15 for the July exam and
November 15 for the February exam). Applications must be in the form of an affidavit
and set forth, among other things, the facts which caused the withdrawals or failures
to appear, and the facts which support the request to re-apply. Supporting documentation,
such as medical documentation, police reports, death notices, employer letters,
etc. should be included. Relief is in the sole discretion of the Board.
- Website, Security Policy & Civility Policy: The Board’s website
contains comprehensive information about the bar exam and should be reviewed by
applicants prior to making an application for the exam.
In addition, all applicants
should carefully read the Security Policy for the exam and the Civility Policy which
are available on the Board’s website.
- Supporting Documentation: With the exception of the foreign documentation
for LL.M. applicants discussed above in paragraph 8, all first-time applicants (and
re-applicants who did not provide the necessary documentation with the initial application
to sit for the exam) must provide the necessary law school “proofs” to support their
eligibility to sit for the exam as soon as it is available but in any event by FEBRUARY
1ST FOR A FEBRUARY EXAM AND JUNE 15TH FOR A JULY EXAM. If you do not qualify to
sit for the examination, or if you fail to provide the necessary documentation by
the required deadline, you will be withdrawn from the exam, and your application
fee will be forfeited.
- Re-Applicant Change of Address: If you are a re-applicant
and your address has changed since the last time you took the examination, you must
submit a Change of Address Request using our online request form at http://www.nybarexam.org/ChangeOfAddressRequest.html.
Please note that in many cases, you will receive a follow-up email from the Board
asking for proof of your residence address. Such proof must be received in the Board’s
office within two weeks of the date of the email from the Board. Furthermore, you
must submit your change of address by the close of the application filing period.
Requests received after the close of the application period will not be processed
until after the examination.
- Disability/Test Accommodations: If you are applying or re-applying
for test accommodations based on a disability, a separate paper test accommodations
application must be filed. A fillable PDF application is available on the Board’s
website. You should also consult Board Rule 6000.7 and the Test Accommodations Handbook
which may be downloaded from the Board’s website. The application or re-application
for test accommodations must be received in the Board’s office by April 30th for
a July exam; November 30th for a February exam. This is NOT a “post-marked” by deadline.
NOTE: If the filing deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or public holiday, the filing deadline will be extended to the next business day. Applicants are strongly
advised to use carriers with tracking and delivery confirmation. That a carrier’s
delivery took longer than anticipated will not excuse an application received after
the deadline.
- Please note that, effective March 1, 2015, all Court orders permitting applicants
to sit for the bar examination in New York will apply to any future bar examination,
subject to the rules and procedures of the New York State Board of Law Examiners.
In addition, the Court will no longer require re-petitions from applicants who previously
received exam-specific orders for earlier administrations of the bar exam.
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