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United States · Licensing exam

Requirements to take the bar exam

You usually need a law degree, and NCBE's guide lists 17 states where it must come from an ABA-approved law school. Every jurisdiction also reviews your character and fitness, and all but Wisconsin and Puerto Rico require a passing score on the MPRE ethics exam. Bar exam requirements are set by the state where you apply, so read its rules early, ideally before your last year of law school.

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Updated October 2026 · Written from official sources, listed at the bottom of this page

What are the requirements to take the bar exam?

Expect most of these, in some form, wherever you apply:

  • A law degree, or one of the other paths a few states allow (see the next section).
  • A bachelor's degree in eight states: NCBE lists Alabama, Delaware, Kansas, Maine, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and West Virginia.
  • A character and fitness review, run by the bar admission agency or a separate body.
  • The MPRE, NCBE's 60-question ethics exam, everywhere except Wisconsin and Puerto Rico. Minimum scores in UBE states run from 75 to 86 on its 50 to 150 scale.
  • A state law course or test in some UBE states, such as the New York Law Course and Exam or Texas's online law course.

Connecticut and New Jersey accept a law school professional responsibility course in place of an MPRE score. All of this is as of October 2026, from NCBE's Comprehensive Guide.

Do you need a law degree to take the bar exam?

In Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and Wyoming, NCBE's chart says yes: a JD from an ABA-approved school (Nebraska can waive it). Elsewhere there are other routes:

  • Law office study, instead of law school: California, Maine, New York, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia. New York asks for a year at an ABA-approved school first.
  • Online or correspondence law school: California, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon and Vermont.
  • California students at unaccredited schools also take the First-Year Law Students' Exam.
The California bar exam and the baby bar →

Can you take the bar exam without going to college?

In a few states you need some college but not a degree. California asks for two years (60 semester or 90 quarter units) or qualifying CLEP scores, and Michigan two years. Vermont has no general undergraduate rule, though its law office study program needs a bachelor's. Law schools set their own entry rules on top of this.

Character and fitness

Every jurisdiction checks your history before admission, but the timing differs. Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, Rhode Island, Utah and Washington want approval before you sit. Colorado, Florida, North Dakota and Wyoming let you sit while the review is still going, and Kansas holds your score until you're approved.

A past felony doesn't always end your chances, but some states set waits: Missouri, Kansas and Texas each impose five years after the sentence ends.

If you pass the bar exam, are you a lawyer?

Not yet. Passing is one step. You still need character and fitness approval and any state law component, and then you're sworn in. Some states, Colorado and South Dakota among them, only decide character and fitness after you pass. Some also let you sit before you graduate: NCBE lists 16, including New York, Texas, Maryland and Virginia.

Bar exam by state →Bar exam reciprocity for lawyers moving states →
Sources: NCBE Comprehensive Guide, Chart 1 · NCBE Comprehensive Guide, Chart 2 · NCBE Comprehensive Guide, Chart 3 and 3 more. Checked October 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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