Recertification (Renewal of Certification)
Certifications of Fitness to Practice Law expire five years after the date of issuance. Applicants must have current Certification of Fitness at the time of a bar exam in order to sit for that exam and at the time of score release to receive their score from that exam.
Pursuant to Part A, Section 11 of the Rules Governing Admission to the Practice of Law, applications for renewals of certification (also known as “Recertifications”) must be filed at least three months before the expiration date of the applicant’s current Certification of Fitness. Once applicants are within three months of the expiration date of their Certification of Fitness, they are no longer eligible to apply for Recertification. You can file the Application for Recertification as early as you'd like, and we recommend that you do so around six months before the expiration date. The expiration date is listed on the “Certification of Fitness” letter that you received at the time that you were certified as fit, and this letter can be found in the “Admission Documents” area of your user Homepage. If you have additional questions about Recertification, you may contact the Office of Bar Admissions by clicking here.
In order to apply for Recertification, applicants should go to their Homepage, click on “Start New Application,” and then click the “Apply” button next to the “Application for Certification of Fitness to Practice Law.” After confirming they want to apply for Certification of Fitness connected with the next available bar exam, applicants should answer “no” to Question 2, which asks if this is the first time they have applied for Certification of Fitness, and they should answer “yes” to Question 2.4, which asks if they want to apply for Recertification.