You are on page 1of 4

NYS Bar Exam Online Application Instructions

https://www.nybarapply.org/Instructions.htm

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING ON-LINE BAR EXAM APPLICATION


Social Security Number Enter your Social Security Number using numbers only. Disclosure of
your Social Security Number is required unless you do not have an SSN, in which case you should
check the No box at the top of the online application. SSN is required in order to administer the
collection of revenue. [42 USC 405(c)(2)(C)(i)] Your SSN will be encrypted and securely
transferred to the Board during the transmission of your online application. Your SSN will not be
made public. The Board uses the SSN to (1) verify the identity of an individual; (2) to match up
the data and documentation received from your law school with your bar exam application; and
(3) to match up MBE and MPRE scores received from NCBE with your bar exam file. Your SSN may
be furnished to the following agencies and individuals during the processing of your bar application
and certification for admission: your law school(s); the National Conference of Bar Examiners; New
York State bar admitting authorities including the Appellate Division, Character and Fitness
Committees, and the Attorney Registration Unit; and bar admitting agencies in other jurisdictions.
NCBE Number You must have an NCBE number to complete this application. The NCBE number
is an eight digit number beginning with the letter N which you obtain from the NCBE. If you do not
yet have an NCBE number, you must close this application, go to www.ncbex.org/ncbe-number,
and complete the NCBE number application. You may then return to and complete this bar
examination application. If you have questions concerning the NCBE number, please refer to the
FAQ section of the NCBE website or contact NCBE. We will be verifying the validity of the NCBE
Number you enter on your application. If you enter an invalid NCBE Number your application will
be nullified and you may be subject to misconduct charges for furnishing misleading or inaccurate
information.
BOLE ID# Every applicant to the bar examination will be assigned a unique BOLE ID# by the
Board which will be used for all future correspondence, oral, written or otherwise between the
applicant and the Board office. Your SSN will be securely stored and maintained in the Boards
internal applicant records but you will otherwise be identified by your BOLE ID#. If there is ever a
need to include your SSN in any correspondence between you and the Board we will conceal the
first 5 digits of your SSN (i.e., xxx-xx-1111).
Name - State your legal name exactly as it will appear on the Government issued photo
identification that you will present as proof of identification on the date of the examination. The
only acceptable forms of photo identification are a U.S. driver's license, a passport or other
government issued photo identification. A law school ID is not sufficient. If you do not currently
have one of these forms of photo identification it is strongly advised that you make arrangements
to obtain the necessary identification before the dates of the examination. If your name should
change prior to certification, you must furnish a copy of your name change documentation and
include the name that you wish to appear on your admission certificate.
Residence Address Your residence address is the physical address where you live at the time of
this application. You will be seated for the bar examination based on this address. You will be
required to certify that this is your residence address. In addition, you may be required to provide
proof of your residence address in the form of one or more of the following documents: a New
York drivers license; a lease or property tax bill; and/or a utility bill in your name at your
residence address. Providing a false residence address on this application constitutes misconduct
under Board Rule 6000.9(a)(1) and may result in penalties up to and including nullification of your
examination results. A Post Office Box is not a residence address. If your residence address
changes after you make this application and before results are released, you must notify the Board

1 of 4

1/13/15 9:39 AM

NYS Bar Exam Online Application Instructions

https://www.nybarapply.org/Instructions.htm

of that change. Address changes may be submitted through the Boards website at
www.nybarexam.org. Please note that you do not need to be a resident of New York State to take
the bar examination or to be admitted to the practice of law.
Email Address The Board sends all correspondence for the bar examination by email. It is
essential that you provide a valid email address that you check regularly and which will be active
through the administration of the bar examination and the release of bar exam results. If you use
an email address provided by your law school, please confirm that you will continue to have access
to this email after graduation and through the period when exam results are released. You have a
continuing obligation until the release of the exam results to notify the Board of any change in
your email address.
Date of Birth/Age- Insert your place of birth, date of birth, and age.
Correspondence Address- If you are temporarily at an address other than your residence or if
you receive mail at a Post Office Box you should provide that address in this section.
Employment Address - If you reside out of state but are currently employed full-time in New
York State, check the Yes box and provide your employment address. If you are not currently
employed full-time in New York State, check No.
Disability/Test Accommodations If you are requesting nonstandard test accommodations
based on a disability, check the appropriate box and complete and file the separate paper ADA
application or reapplication. The application is available as a fillable PDF on the Boards website.
The application is also available in the Test Accommodations Handbook on the Boards website or
by contacting the Board office. The PAPER Application (or Re-Applicant Application) must be
received in the Boards office by the filing deadline (November 30 for a February exam and April
30 for a July exam). Please note that this is NOT a post-marked by deadline. A request for
nonstandard test accommodations will not be considered unless the appropriate application or
reapplication and documentation are properly and timely filed with the Board. NOTE: If a
deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, your paper materials must be received by the
business day preceding the deadline.
Basis of Qualifications to Sit for the Bar Exam - Check the appropriate box indicating the
means by which you are qualifying for the bar examination. If you are unsure of your qualifications
to sit for the bar examination, please review Court of Appeals Rule 520, a copy of which is
available on the Boards website at http://www.nybarexam.org/Rules/Rules.htm
Graduation from an ABA approved law school with a Juris Doctor Degree (Court of
Appeals Rule 520.3) -Complete this section if you are applying on the basis of a Juris Doctor
degree from an ABA approved law school located within the United States. For assistance, please
refer to the Instructions for Juris Doctor Applicants Completing Curriculum Questions on Bar Exam
Application, which is available at http://www.nybarexam.org/forms
/JDCertofAttendanceInstructions.pdf.
Pro Bono Scholars Program Applicants who applied to and are currently enrolled in the Pro
Bono Scholars Program (PBSP) must check yes to this question on the bar exam application. The
PBSP is a legal education initiative administered by the Office of Court Administration. Applicants
must apply to and be accepted to the program. If accepted, applicants spend 12 weeks working
full time in pro bono placement, while also completing an academic component, during their final
semester of law school. PBSP participants are eligible to take the February bar examination and, if
successful, will be eligible for admission to practice as early as June. More information on the PBSP

2 of 4

1/13/15 9:39 AM

NYS Bar Exam Online Application Instructions

https://www.nybarapply.org/Instructions.htm

can be found at http://www.nycourts.gov/ATTORNEYS/probonoscholars/index.shtml.PBSP


participants must also provide the necessary law school proofs, consisting of a handwriting
sample and the Pro Bono Scholars Program Certificate of Attendance form, completed by the
applicants law school, by February 1. In addition, after participants complete the PBSP and receive
their Juris Doctor degree, they must provide a Pro Bono Scholars Program Certificate of
Successful Completion form, also completed by the applicants law school. The Board will email
these forms to the applicants. While participants will receive their examination results along with
other February bar examination takers, they will not be certified to the Appellate Division for
admission to practice until the Certificate of Successful Completion of Program form is received in
the Boards office.

Law Office Study(Court of Appeals Rule 520.4) - Complete this section if you are applying on
the basis of a combination of approved law school/law office study. Enter the date your law office
study commenced. This date can be found on the Certificate of Commencement you filed with the
Court of Appeals. Enter the name of the attorney for whom you clerked, and the name and
address of the law firm/office. Select the ABA approved law school which you attended from the
drop down box. PROOFS REQUIRED: You must file the Applicant's Affidavit of Law Office Study
form, a certified copy of the Certificate of Commencement of Clerkship that was filed with the
Office of the Clerk of the Court of Appeals, and your handwriting sample certified by the attorney
for whom you clerked. The attorney(s) must forward their Attorneys Affidavit(s) directly to the
Board Office. The required proofs must be received at the Boards office no later than February 1st
for the February examination and June 15th for the July examination.
Graduation from an Unapproved Law School with a Juris Doctor Degree (Court of
Appeals Rule 520.5) Complete this section if you are applying on the basis of a combination of
graduation from an unapproved law school and five years practice in another jurisdiction. In the
spaces provided insert the name of the unapproved law school from which you were graduated
and the City and State where it is located. Enter the date you graduated with your Juris Doctor.
Click the drop down box to choose the jurisdiction where you are admitted to practice. Indicate
whether you have been actually practicing law in that jurisdiction for at least five of the seven
years preceding this application. PROOFS REQUIRED: (a) Your law school must file the Law School
Certificate of Attendance form, a copy of which will be emailed to you after you complete this
application. You must file (b) proof of admission to practice in another jurisdiction(s) in the form of
Certificate(s) of Good Standing; (c) An affidavit summarizing the basis of your eligibility including
the periods and places of your law practice and the dates and names of employers; (d) a minimum
of three (3) affidavits from supervising attorneys, partners, judges, etc. confirming that you have
been actively practicing law in another jurisdiction for five of the seven years preceding application
to the New York bar exam; and (e) your handwriting sample certified by a Notary Public. The
required proofs must be received at the Boards office no later than February 1st for the February
examination and June 15th for the July examination.
Foreign Law School Study (Court of Appeals Rule 520.6) Complete if you are applying on
the basis of graduation from a law school outside the United States (which may also require
additional study in the US). All applicants applying to sit for the bar examination under Section
520.6 must complete an Online Request for Evaluation of Foreign Academic Credential Form and
submit their supporting documentation at least six months in advance of the application filing
period. More detailed information on this section is available by clicking on the Foreign Legal
Education section on the Boards website.

3 of 4

1/13/15 9:39 AM

NYS Bar Exam Online Application Instructions

https://www.nybarapply.org/Instructions.htm

MBE (Multistate Bar Examination) Indicate the jurisdiction where you plan to sit for the MBE
by clicking the appropriate box. If you plan to take the MBE in a jurisdiction other than New York,
you must also designate the jurisdiction where you intend to sit for the MBE. If you elect to take
the MBE concurrently in another jurisdiction and wish to transfer that score to New York, or you
wish to transfer the MBE score taken in New York to another jurisdiction, it is your responsibility to
timely request a transfer of the MBE score. To transfer a concurrent score to New York, you must
arrange for the transfer of the MBE score. A failure to timely transfer your MBE score to New York
(by April 1st for Feb exam; Oct 1st for July exam) will result in the nullification of your bar
examination scores. Once your application is complete and you receive the email confirmation, you
cannot make any changes to the MBE section of the application.
MPRE Check the appropriate box to indicate whether you have already taken the MPRE and
achieved a passing score for New York or whether you intend to take the MPRE at a future date.
Also indicate the month and year when you took the MPRE or when you plan to sit for the MPRE by
clicking the drop down boxes.
AUTHORIZATION AND RELEASE PERMITTING THE NEW YORK STATE BOARD OF LAW
EXAMINERS TO RELEASE AN APPLICANTS BAR EXAMINATION SCORES TO THEIR LAW
SCHOOL - An increasing number of law schools have asked the Board to share detailed
information with the law schools about the performance of their graduates on the bar examination
including their graduates scores on the bar examination. Currently the Board notifies the law
schools of their graduates pass/fail status, and also provides the law schools with copies of the
score sheets for their graduates but with the names redacted. It is the Boards understanding that
the law schools would prefer to receive the score sheets with the examinees names in order to
assist the law schools in evaluating their academic programs and to assist their students in
succeeding on the bar examination. In order to enable the Board to assist your law school in its
research we ask that you sign an Authorization and Release permitting the Board to share your bar
exam scores with your law school. Carefully review the authorization and check the appropriate
box indicating whether you consent or decline to participate.
APPLICATION FEE - The statutory application fee for the New York State bar examination for
candidates qualifying for the bar examination under Court of Appeals Rule 520.3 (ABA approved
law schools), 520.4 (law office study), and 520.5 (unapproved law schools) is $250. The statutory
application fee for candidates qualifying for the bar examination under Rule 520.6 (study of law in
a foreign country) is $750. After you complete the application you will be prompted to enter your
credit card information. At this time, we only accept Visa and MasterCard cards. Debit cards are
not accepted. The application fee is not refundable.
DEADLINE FOR THE RECEIPT OF PROOFS CONFIRMING YOUR ELIGIBILITY TO SIT FOR
THE BAR EXAMINATION - The proofs in support of your eligibility (i.e., Law School Transcripts,
Certificate of Law School Attendance, Handwriting Sample , etc.) must be received at the Board's
office no later than February 1st for the February examination and June 15th for the July
examination. If proofs are to be provided by your law school it is your responsibility to insure that
your law school timely forwards the necessary documentation to the Board's office. If your
documentation is not timely received at the Board's office your application to sit for the bar
examination may be denied.
NOTE: If the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, the proofs must be received by the
business day preceding the deadline.

4 of 4

1/13/15 9:39 AM

You might also like