nys bar exam online application instructions

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING ON-LINE BAR EXAM APPLICATION

Social Security Number Enter your Social Security Number using numbers only. Disclosure ofyour Social Security Number is required unless you do not have an SSN, in which case you shouldcheck the No box at the top of the online application. SSN is required in order to administer thecollection of revenue. [42 USC 405(c)(2)(C)(i)] Your SSN will be encrypted and securelytransferred to the Board during the transmission of your online application. Your SSN will not bemade public. The Board uses the SSN to (1) verify the identity of an individual; (2) to match upthe 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 maybe furnished to the following agencies and individuals during the processing of your bar applicationand certification for admission: your law school(s); the National Conference of Bar Examiners; NewYork State bar admitting authorities including the Appellate Division, Character and FitnessCommittees, 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 numberis an eight digit number beginning with the letter N which you obtain from the NCBE. If you do notyet 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 barexamination application. If you have questions concerning the NCBE number, please refer to theFAQ section of the NCBE website or contact NCBE. We will be verifying the validity of the NCBENumber you enter on your application. If you enter an invalid NCBE Number your application willbe nullified and you may be subject to misconduct charges for furnishing misleading or inaccurateinformation.

BOLE ID# Every applicant to the bar examination will be assigned a unique BOLE ID# by theBoard which will be used for all future correspondence, oral, written or otherwise between theapplicant and the Board office. Your SSN will be securely stored and maintained in the Boardsinternal applicant records but you will otherwise be identified by your BOLE ID#. If there is ever aneed to include your SSN in any correspondence between you and the Board we will conceal thefirst 5 digits of your SSN (i.e., xxx-xx-1111).

Name - State your legal name exactly as it will appear on the Government issued photoidentification that you will present as proof of identification on the date of the examination. Theonly acceptable forms of photo identification are a U.S. driver's license, a passport or othergovernment issued photo identification. A law school ID is not sufficient. If you do not currentlyhave one of these forms of photo identification it is strongly advised that you make arrangementsto obtain the necessary identification before the dates of the examination. If your name shouldchange prior to certification, you must furnish a copy of your name change documentation andinclude 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 ofthis application. You will be seated for the bar examination based on this address. You will berequired to certify that this is your residence address. In addition, you may be required to provideproof of your residence address in the form of one or more of the following documents: a NewYork drivers license; a lease or property tax bill; and/or a utility bill in your name at yourresidence address. Providing a false residence address on this application constitutes misconductunder Board Rule 6000.9(a)(1) and may result in penalties up to and including nullification of yourexamination results. A Post Office Box is not a residence address. If your residence addresschanges after you make this application and before results are released, you must notify the Board

NYS Bar Exam Online Application Instructions https://www.nybarapply.org/Instructions.htm

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of that change. Address changes may be submitted through the Boards website atwww.nybarexam.org. Please note that you do not need to be a resident of New York State to takethe 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 isessential that you provide a valid email address that you check regularly and which will be activethrough the administration of the bar examination and the release of bar exam results. If you usean email address provided by your law school, please confirm that you will continue to have accessto this email after graduation and through the period when exam results are released. You have acontinuing obligation until the release of the exam results to notify the Board of any change inyour 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 ifyou 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 NewYork State, check the Yes box and provide your employment address. If you are not currentlyemployed full-time in New York State, check No.

Disability/Test Accommodations If you are requesting nonstandard test accommodationsbased on a disability, check the appropriate box and complete and file the separate paper ADAapplication 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 orby contacting the Board office. The PAPER Application (or Re-Applicant Application) must bereceived in the Boards office by the filing deadline (November 30 for a February exam and April30 for a July exam). Please note that this is NOT a post-marked by deadline. A request fornonstandard test accommodations will not be considered unless the appropriate application orreapplication and documentation are properly and timely filed with the Board. NOTE: If adeadline falls on a weekend or holiday, your paper materials must be received by thebusiness day preceding the deadline.

Basis of Qualifications to Sit for the Bar Exam - Check the appropriate box indicating themeans by which you are qualifying for the bar examination. If you are unsure of your qualificationsto sit for the bar examination, please review Court of Appeals Rule 520, a copy of which isavailable 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 ofAppeals Rule 520.3) -Complete this section if you are applying on the basis of a Juris Doctordegree from an ABA approved law school located within the United States. For assistance, pleaserefer to the Instructions for Juris Doctor Applicants Completing Curriculum Questions on Bar ExamApplication, 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 ProBono Scholars Program (PBSP) must check yes to this question on the bar exam application. ThePBSP is a legal education initiative administered by the Office of Court Administration. Applicantsmust apply to and be accepted to the program. If accepted, applicants spend 12 weeks workingfull time in pro bono placement, while also completing an academic component, during their finalsemester of law school. PBSP participants are eligible to take the February bar examination and, ifsuccessful, will be eligible for admission to practice as early as June. More information on the PBSP


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can be found at http://www.nycourts.gov/ATTORNEYS/probonoscholars/index.shtml.PBSPparticipants must also provide the necessary law school proofs, consisting of a handwritingsample and the Pro Bono Scholars Program Certificate of Attendance form, completed by theapplicants law school, by February 1. In addition, after participants complete the PBSP and receivetheir Juris Doctor degree, they must provide a Pro Bono Scholars Program Certificate ofSuccessful Completion form, also completed by the applicants law school. The Board will emailthese forms to the applicants. While participants will receive their examination results along withother February bar examination takers, they will not be certified to the Appellate Division foradmission to practice until the Certificate of Successful Completion of Program form is received inthe Boards office.

Law Office Study(Court of Appeals Rule 520.4) - Complete this section if you are applying onthe basis of a combination of approved law school/law office study. Enter the date your law officestudy commenced. This date can be found on the Certificate of Commencement you filed with theCourt of Appeals. Enter the name of the attorney for whom you clerked, and the name andaddress of the law firm/office. Select the ABA approved law school which you attended from thedrop down box. PROOFS REQUIRED: You must file the Applicant's Affidavit of Law Office Studyform, a certified copy of the Certificate of Commencement of Clerkship that was filed with theOffice of the Clerk of the Court of Appeals, and your handwriting sample certified by the attorneyfor whom you clerked. The attorney(s) must forward their Attorneys Affidavit(s) directly to theBoard Office. The required proofs must be received at the Boards office no later than February 1stfor the February examination and June 15th for the July examination.

Graduation from an Unapproved Law School with a Juris Doctor Degree (Court ofAppeals Rule 520.5) Complete this section if you are applying on the basis of a combination ofgraduation from an unapproved law school and five years practice in another jurisdiction. In thespaces provided insert the name of the unapproved law school from which you were graduatedand 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. Indicatewhether you have been actually practicing law in that jurisdiction for at least five of the sevenyears preceding this application. PROOFS REQUIRED: (a) Your law school must file the Law SchoolCertificate of Attendance form, a copy of which will be emailed to you after you complete thisapplication. You must file (b) proof of admission to practice in another jurisdiction(s) in the form ofCertificate(s) of Good Standing; (c) An affidavit summarizing the basis of your eligibility includingthe periods and places of your law practice and the dates and names of employers; (d) a minimumof three (3) affidavits from supervising attorneys, partners, judges, etc. confirming that you havebeen actively practicing law in another jurisdiction for five of the seven years preceding applicationto the New York bar exam; and (e) your handwriting sample certified by a Notary Public. Therequired proofs must be received at the Boards office no later than February 1st for the Februaryexamination and June 15th for the July examination.

Foreign Law School Study (Court of Appeals Rule 520.6) Complete if you are applying onthe basis of graduation from a law school outside the United States (which may also requireadditional study in the US). All applicants applying to sit for the bar examination under Section520.6 must complete an Online Request for Evaluation of Foreign Academic Credential Form andsubmit their supporting documentation at least six months in advance of the application filingperiod. More detailed information on this section is available by clicking on the Foreign LegalEducation section on the Boards website.


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MBE (Multistate Bar Examination) Indicate the jurisdiction where you plan to sit for the MBEby 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 takethe MBE concurrently in another jurisdiction and wish to transfer that score to New York, or youwish to transfer the MBE score taken in New York to another jurisdiction, it is your responsibility totimely request a transfer of the MBE score. To transfer a concurrent score to New York, you mustarrange 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 barexamination scores. Once your application is complete and you receive the email confirmation, youcannot make any changes to the MBE section of the application.

MPRE Check the appropriate box to indicate whether you have already taken the MPRE andachieved 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 byclicking the drop down boxes.

AUTHORIZATION AND RELEASE PERMITTING THE NEW YORK STATE BOARD OF LAWEXAMINERS TO RELEASE AN APPLICANTS BAR EXAMINATION SCORES TO THEIR LAWSCHOOL - An increasing number of law schools have asked the Board to share detailedinformation with the law schools about the performance of their graduates on the bar examinationincluding their graduates scores on the bar examination. Currently the Board notifies the lawschools of their graduates pass/fail status, and also provides the law schools with copies of thescore sheets for their graduates but with the names redacted. It is the Boards understanding thatthe law schools would prefer to receive the score sheets with the examinees names in order toassist the law schools in evaluating their academic programs and to assist their students insucceeding on the bar examination. In order to enable the Board to assist your law school in itsresearch we ask that you sign an Authorization and Release permitting the Board to share your barexam scores with your law school. Carefully review the authorization and check the appropriatebox indicating whether you consent or decline to participate.

APPLICATION FEE - The statutory application fee for the New York State bar examination forcandidates qualifying for the bar examination under Court of Appeals Rule 520.3 (ABA approvedlaw schools), 520.4 (law office study), and 520.5 (unapproved law schools) is $250. The statutoryapplication fee for candidates qualifying for the bar examination under Rule 520.6 (study of law ina foreign country) is $750. After you complete the application you will be prompted to enter yourcredit card information. At this time, we only accept Visa and MasterCard cards. Debit cards arenot accepted. The application fee is not refundable.

DEADLINE FOR THE RECEIPT OF PROOFS CONFIRMING YOUR ELIGIBILITY TO SIT FORTHE 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'soffice no later than February 1st for the February examination and June 15th for the Julyexamination. If proofs are to be provided by your law school it is your responsibility to insure thatyour law school timely forwards the necessary documentation to the Board's office. If yourdocumentation is not timely received at the Board's office your application to sit for the barexamination may be denied.

NOTE: If the deadline falls on a weekend or holiday, the proofs must be received by thebusiness day preceding the deadline.


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nys bar exam online application instructions

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