Admission to the Bar
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Virginia Bar Application and Certification
*FILING DEADLINES: For February Bar Exam
- December 15th
For July Bar Exam - May 10th
(*Date by which required forms must be
received in the Office of the Secretary of
the Board of Bar Examiners.) All Virginia Bar application
materials are available at the Law Records Office
( Room 341) and sample copies are posted on the
bar information bulletin board outside the office.
Forms may also be accessed on the Virginia
Bar website.
TWO SEPARATE FORMS, WITH SEPARATE FEES, ARE REQUIRED:
1. Character & Fitness Questionnaire:
- Must be typewritten; and filed in duplicate
(original plus one photocopy); and both copies
must be notarized.
- Must include a current credit report and transcripts
of driving records.
- Must include appropriate fee payment.
The Virginia Board of Bar Examiners encourages early
filing of the character & fitness questionnaire
and offers a fee reduction if the questionnaire is
submitted within the first 14 consecutive calendar
months of law school enrollment. The questionnaire
is extensive, and while early submission is optional,
students should not postpone working on it. A completed
questionnaire, if not previously submitted, must
accompany the bar application, which is to be filed
closer to the planned exam date.
2. Bar Application:
Must be typewritten and notarized. Will not
be accepted without an accompanying (or previously
filed) Character & Fitness Questionnaire.
Must include two (2) passport-style photographs
and a completed fingerprint card, as prescribed
by the bar examiners. Fingerprinting must be done
by an authorized police official or through a U.S.
Government agency. As a service to students, fingerprinting
is done by University Police at the Arlington Campus.
The specially required fingerprint cards are available
at the Law Records Office and they are also furnished
at the law school University Police Office.
Must include appropriate education certification,
as follows:
- Currently enrolled students must
enclose a law school certificate
of enrollment, which is prepared by the Law Records
Office
and which is obtained by filling
out the "yellow" bar
certification request form. After
confirmation that degree requirements have been
met, the Law Records Office will prepare a certification
of degree award for each applicant
and will mail the certifications directly to the Board
of Bar Examiners.
- Bar applicants who have already graduated
must enclose a law school
certificate of graduation, which may be obtained
by contacting
the Law Records Office.
Must include payment of bar application fee.
Note: The GMU School of Law School Code for
the Virginia Bar is: 166.
3. Fee Payment:
Payment is required at time of filing and must be
made by money order, cashier's check, or certified
check made payable to the "Virginia Board
of Bar Examiners." For current fee schedule
refer to Virginia
Bar website. When the questionnaire and application
are mailed together in the same envelope, the required
fees may be combined in a single payment. If filing
the questionnaire early, pay only the questionnaire
fee and DO NOT "pre-pay" the application
fee.
Multistate Professional Responsibility
Examination
Most jurisdictions, including Virginia, require
the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination
(MPRE)
for admission to the bar. Check individual bar examiner's
rules concerning established passing score and specified
time frame for taking the exam. In registering for
the MPRE, which is typically scheduled in March,
August and November, note that the "Regular
Application" receipt deadline sets a lower filing
fee. Registration packets are available at the Law
Records Office counter and on the information rack
outside the Office. Applicants can also register
on-line.
Bar Admission in Other States
Each state has its own rules for admission to the
bar and certain procedures for making application.
Students considering other bars should plan ahead
to determine the particular requirements of those
states in which they have an interest and must obtain
their application materials directly from the bar
examiners. The Law Records Office processes all of
the law school certification as needed for each state
bar but does not distribute application packets for
jurisdictions other than Virginia. When making application
to another state bar, it is the student's responsibility
to provide any required law school certification
forms to the Law Records Office in sufficient time
to meet filing deadlines. Contact information for
each jurisdiction is listed below. For a general
guide to individual state bar requirements, visit
the Bar-Bri website.
Contact the following state bar associations or
state bar examiners for information on being admitted
to the respective jurisdiction.
Alabama State Bar
Admissions Office
P. O. Box 671
Montgomery, AL 36101
TEL: (334) 269-1515
http://www.alabar.org
Alaska Bar Association
P. O. Box 100279
Anchorage, AK 99510-0279
TEL: (907) 272-7469
http://www.alaskabar.org
Arizona
Committee on Examinations
Supreme Court of Arizona
1501 W. Washington
Phoenix, AZ 85007-3231
TEL: (602) 364-0371
http://www.supreme.state.az.us/admis
Arkansas
Board of Law Examiners
120 Justice Building
625 Marshall
Little Rock, AR 72201
TEL: (501) 374-1855
http://courts.state.ar.us
Office Of Admissions
State Bar of California
180 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
TEL: (415) 538-2399
http://www.calbar.org
1149 South Hill Street
Los Angeles, CA 90015-2299
TEL: (213) 765-1500
Colorado
Board of Law Examiners
600 17th Street, Suite 520-S
Denver, CO 80202
TEL: (303) 893-8096
http://www.coloradosupremecourt.com/BLE/ble_home.htm
Connecticut
Bar Examining Committee
Office of the Administrative Director
80 Washington Street
Hartford, CT 06106-4424
TEL: (860) 756-7900
http://www.jud.state.ct.us/faq/barexcom.htm
Delaware
Board of Bar Examiners
Office of the Secretary
200 West Ninth Street, Suite 300-B
Wilmington, DE 19801-1717
TEL: (302) 577-7038
http://courts.state.de.us/bbe
Committee on Admissions
DC Court of Appeals
500 Indiana Avenue, NW Room 4200
Washington, DC 20001
TEL: (202) 879-2710
http://www.dcbar.org
Florida
Board of Bar Examiners
1891 Eider Court
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1750
TEL: (850) 487-1292
http://www.floridabarexam.org
Georgia
Board of Bar Examiners
P. O. Box 38466
Atlanta, GA 30334
TEL: (404) 656-3490
http://www2.state.ga.us/courts/supreme
Hawaii
Board of Bar Examiners
417 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96813
TEL: (808) 539-4977
http://www.hsba.org
Idaho State Bar
P. O. Box 895
Boise, ID 83701
TEL: (208) 334-4500
http://www.state.id.us/isb
Illinois
Board of Admissions to the Bar
625 South College Street
Springfield, IL 62704
TEL: (217) 522-5917
http://www.ibaby.org/
Indiana
State Board of Law Examiners
115 West Washington Street
Suite 1070 South Tower
Indianapolis, IN 46204-3417
TEL: (317) 232-2552
http://www.in.gov/judiciary
Board of Law Examiners
Supreme Court of Iowa
State Capitol Building
Des Moines, IA 50319
TEL: (515) 281-5911
http://www.judicial.state.ia.us/regs/barinfo
Attorney Admissions
Kansas Judicial Center
301 S.W. 10th Street, Rm. 374
Topeka, KS 66612
TEL: (785) 296-8410
http://www.kscourts.org/attyadmit.htm
Kentucky
Board of Bar Examiners
1510 Newtown Pike
Lexington, KY 40511
TEL: (606) 246-2381
http://www.kyoba.org
Louisiana
Committee on Bar Admissions
601 St. Charles Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70130
TEL: (504) 566-1600
http://www.lsba.org
Maine
Board of Law Examiners
P. O. Box 140
Augusta, ME 04332-0140
TEL: (207) 623-2464
http://www.mainebarexaminers.org
Maryland
Board of Law Examiners
Robert F. Sweeney District
Court Bldg., 3rd Floor
251 Rowe Boulevard
Annapolis, MD 21401
TEL: (410) 260-1975
http://www.courts.state.md.us/ble
Massachusetts
Clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court for Suffolk County
77 Franklin Street
Boston, MA 02110
TEL: (617) 482-4466
http://www.state.ma.us/bbe
Michigan
Board of Law Examiners
200 Washington Square
Lower Level, P. O. Box 30104
Lansing, MI 48909
TEL: (517) 334-6992
http://www.michbar.org/professional/admissionprocess.cfm
Minnesota
Board of Law Examiners
Galtier Plaza,
380 Jackson Street, Suite 201
St. Paul, MN 55101
TEL: (651) 297-1800
http://www.ble.state.mn.us
Mississippi
Board of Bar Admissions
Court of Appeals Building
656 North State St., 1st Floor
Jackson, MS 39202
TEL: (601) 354-6055
http://www.mssc.state.ms.us
Missouri
Board of Law Examiners
Supreme Court Building
P. O. Box 150
Jefferson City, MO 65102
TEL: (573) 751-4144
http://www.osca.state.mo.us/SUP/index.nsf/BarExamination?OpenView
State Bar of Montana
P. O. Box 577
Helena, MT 59624
TEL: (406) 442-7660
http://montanabar.org
Nebraska State Bar Commission
635 South 14th Street
P.O. Box 81809
Lincoln, NE 68501-1809
TEL: (402) 475-7091
http://www.nebar.com
State Bar of Nevada
600 East Charleston Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89104
TEL: (702) 382-2200
http://www.nvbar.org
New Hampshire
Office of the Clerk
Supreme Court, Noble Drive
Concord, NH 03301
TEL: (603) 271-2646
http://nhbar.org
New Jersey
Board of Bar Examiners
25 Market Street
8th Floor - North Wing CN 973
Trenton, NJ 08625
TEL: (609) 984-7783
http://www.njbarexams.org
New Mexico
Board of Bar Examiners
9420 Indian School Rd, NE
Albuquerque, NM 87112
TEL: (505) 271-9706
http://www.nmexam.org
New York
State Board of Law Examiners
One Executive Centre Drive
Albany, NY 12203-5195
TEL: (518) 452-8700
http://www.nybarexam.org
North Carolina
Board of Law Examiners
One Exchange Plaza, Suite 700
P. O. Box 2946
Raleigh, NC 27602
TEL: (919) 828-4886
http://www.ncble.org
North Dakota
Bar Admissions Administrator
State Board of Bar Examiners
Judicial Wing, 1st Floor
600 East Boulevard Avenue, Dept. 180
Bismarck, ND 58505-0530
TEL: (701) 328-4201
http://www.court.state.nd.us
Ohio
Admissions Office
Supreme Court of Ohio
30 East Broad Street, 2nd Floor
Columbus, OH 43215
TEL: (614) 466-1528
http://www.sconet.state.oh.us
Oklahoma
Board of Bar Examiners
P. O. Box 53036
1901 North Lincoln Blvd
Oklahoma City, OK 73152
TEL: (405) 416-7075
http://www.okbar.org/admissions/default.htm/
Oregon
State Board of Bar Examiners
5200 SW Meadows Rd
P. O. Box 1689
Lake Oswego, OR 97035-0889
TEL: (503) 620-0222
http://www.osbar.org
Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners
5070A Ritter Road, Suite 300
AOPC Building
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055-4879
TEL: (717) 795-7270
http://www.pabarexam.org
Rhode Island
Clerk, Supreme Court
Providence County Courthouse
250 Benefit Street
Providence, RI 02903
TEL: (401) 222-4233
http://www.courts.state.ri.us/supreme/bar/baradmission.htm
The Supreme Court of South Carolina
P. O. Box 11330
Columbia, SC 29211
TEL: (803) 734-1080
http://www.judicial.state.sc.us/bar
South Dakota
Board of Bar Examiners
State Capitol
500 East Capitol Avenue
Pierre, SD 57501
TEL: (605) 773-4898
http://www.sdjudicial.com/index.asp?title=generalinformation&category=barexamination&nav=41
Tennessee
Board of Law Examiners
706 Church Street, Suite 100
Nashville, TN 37243
TEL: (615) 741-3234
http://www.state.tn.us/lawexaminers
Texas
Board of Law Examiners
P. O. Box 13486
Austin, TX 78711-3486
TEL: (512) 463-1621
http://www.ble.state.tx.us
Utah State Bar
645 South 200 East
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
TEL: (801) 531-9077
http://www.utahbar.org
Vermont
Board of Bar Examiners
109 State Street
Montpelier, VT 05609-0702
TEL: (802) 828-3281
http://www.vermontjudiciary.org
Virginia Board of Bar Examiners
Shockoe Centre, Suite 225
11 South 12th Street
Richmond, VA 23219
TEL: (804) 786-7490
http://www.vbbe.state.va.us
Washington State Bar Association
2101 4th Ave., 4th Floor
Seattle, WA 98121-2330
TEL: (206) 443-9722
http://www.wsba.org
West Virginia Board of Law Examiners
910 Quarrier Street
Suite 212
Charleston, WV 25301
TEL: (304) 558-7815
http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca
Wisconsin
Board of Bar Examiners
1110 East Main St.
Madison, WI 53703-3328
TEL: (608) 266-9760
http://www.courts.state.wi.us/bbe
Wyoming
State Board of Law Examiners
P. O. Box 109
Cheyenne, WY 82003-0109
TEL: (307) 632-9061
http://www.wyomingbar.org/admissions.asp
copyright © 2004
last updated:
Jun 15, 2005
