The Bar Examination Application is available only to applicants who hold a valid Certification of Fitness to Practice Law in Georgia. If your Application for Certification of Fitness is pending, then you are not yet eligible to receive a Bar Examination Application. In order to sit for the Georgia Bar Examination, you must submit a Bar Examination Application to the Board of Bar Examiners.

The Bar Examination Application is NOT available on-line. However, you may click here to request that a Bar Examination Application be mailed to you at the mailing address you provide with your request. The original Bar Examination Application MUST be completed and returned along with the appropriate charges to the Office of Bar Admissions. No reproductions of any kind will be accepted.

BAR EXAMINATION APPLICATION FILING DEADLINES can be found in the Rules Governing Admission to the Practice of Law. Failure to meet the regular published Bar Examination Application filing deadline requires a $200 late fee in addition to regular charges. For detailed information regarding the Bar Examination, review Part B of the Rules Governing Admission to the Practice of Law.

BAR EXAMINATION APPLICATION FILING CHARGES must be in the form of a money order or cashier's check. Cash, personal checks, or business checks are NOT accepted.

TRANSCRIPTS

The Georgia Board of Bar Examiners will consider only official transcripts sent directly to the Office of Bar Admissions from the college/university where you were awarded your undergraduate degree and from the law school where you were awarded the J.D. degree.  Each transcript must show the degree and the date the degree was awarded.  Transcripts WILL NOT be accepted from an applicant, including those transcripts in sealed envelopes or those transcripts marked “issued to student.”  You WILL NOT be eligible to sit for the Bar Examination if your official transcripts are not received.

Official transcripts must be RECEIVED in the Office of Bar Admissions by 4:30 p.m. on the published deadline.  Transcripts will be placed in an alphabetical holding file until your Bar Examination Application is received.  Transcripts for the February Bar Examination must be received by January 15.  Transcripts for the July Bar Examination must be received by June 15. Click here to verify the receipt of transcripts by the Office of Bar Admissions.

 

Applicants who are scheduled to receive the J.D. degree close to the January 15 or June 15 transcript deadline, but for whom the official transcript showing the J.D. degree and date awarded will not be available by either transcript deadline noted above, MUST request the Dean of the law school to send a letter to the Office of Bar Admissions stating that the J.D. degree has been awarded and the date awarded. The Dean's letter must be RECEIVED in our office no later than 4:30 p.m. on published deadlines.

MULTISTATE PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY EXAMINATION (MPRE)  

The MPRE is assembled and administered by ACT, Inc., on behalf of the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE).  The examination is administered three times per year (March, August and November) at established test centers across the country.  The purpose of the MPRE is to measure the applicant’s knowledge and understanding of established standards related to a lawyer's professional conduct.  For MPRE Registration Information, go to www.ncbex.org.

 

The Georgia Board of Bar Examiners requires ALL applicants to take and pass the MPRE with a scaled score of 75 or higher, prior to the issuance of a Certificate of Eligibility for Admission to the Practice of Law.   

 

Applicants who have taken the MPRE and achieved a scaled score of 75 or higher should contact the NCBE at www.ncbex.org, to have the score forwarded directly to the Office of Bar Admissions.  The Board of Bar Examiners DOES NOT accept MPRE scores forwarded by applicants.  

 

Applicants who have yet to take the MPRE must make arrangements with the NCBE at the time of the administration of the MPRE to have the score forwarded directly to the Office of Bar Admissions.

 

Passing MPRE scores must be RECEIVED in the Office of Bar Admissions by 4:30 p.m. on the published deadline.  The scores must be received no later than January 15 for the February Examination and June 15 for the July Bar Examination. Click here to verify the receipt of MPRE scores by the Office of Bar Admissions.

 

TESTING ACCOMMODATIONS PURSUANT TO THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES (ADA) ACT

When applicants request testing accommodations pursuant to ADA, the Board of Bar Examiners requires completion of a Petition for Testing Accommodations and documentation of the disability.  The Board will accede to reasonable requests for those with documented disabilities in an effort to insure that all applicants have equal opportunity in taking the Bar Examination.   In the past, testing arrangements have included such accommodations as the construction of private booths, the allowance of additional time, and Braille or large print test materials.

 

To obtain specific information and to access the necessary ADA Accommodation Forms, click here. The completed ADA Forms and documentation MUST be received in the Office of Bar Admissions no later than December 1 for the February Bar Examination and May 1 for the July Bar Examination.  Failure to file ADA Accommodation Forms and documentation by the published deadline may result in your NOT receiving testing accommodations for the Bar Examination for which you have applied.

 

ADMINISTRATIVE ACCOMMODATIONS

As directed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners, the Board of Bar Examiners does not allow applicants to bring food, snacks, or drinks of any kind other than water (in transparent plastic, clear or lightly tinted, unlabeled bottles) into the examination room.  Applicants who want authorization to bring into the examination room only an assistive device such as diabetic supplies or food, a lactation pump, or lumbar support cushion, or applicants who may need special seating arrangements due to a medical condition, must submit an Administrative Accommodation Request Form to the Office of Bar Admissions.  You may be asked to provide documentation to support your request.   If the request is granted, the Office of Bar Admissions will send you a letter approving the request which must be presented to the Office of Bar Admissions Staff at the examination site.

 

Click the link, Administrative Accommodations to view specific information and to access the Administrative Accommodation Form.   The completed Administrative Accommodation Form MUST be received in the Office of Bar Admissions no later than December 1 for the February Bar Examination and May 1 for the July Bar Examination.

All correspondence to the Board of Bar Examiners should be directed to:

Office of Bar Admissions
244 Washington Street, SW
Suite 440
Atlanta, GA 30334

Revised April 2011