Applicants for admission to the Illinois bar may qualify on examination. Between July 2019 and February 2022, the Illinois bar examination was administered in two separate types of examinations as described below. Beginning with the July 2022 exam, Illinois will no longer offer admission by examination with MBE transfer (Non-UBE Score)
Illinois Supreme Court Rule 704 sets forth the requirements for qualification on examination. See Rule 704.
The exams are offered twice a year on the last consecutive Tuesday and Wednesday in February and July. The Illinois bar exams are administered at various venues in Chicago. Applicants will be advised of their assigned testing venue along with their seat assignment. Seat assignments are posted to user homepages of all eligible applicants approximately two weeks before the exam.
All applicants should carefully read Rule 703 and/or 715 to inform themselves of the educational requirements to apply to take the UBE. Rule 703
Graduates of Foreign Law Schools may apply to take to the exam upon certain conditions. Please refer to Rule 715 for complete information.
ILLINOIS EDUCATIONAL COMPONENT
Newly Admitted Attorneys must complete the requirements after admission. The rules and all requirements of Newly-Admitted Attorneys can be found here: Supreme Court Rule 793c.
Bar Exam applicants who DID FILE Illinois Law Student Registration applications prior to 2014 but DID NOT subsequently file a Bar Exam application must contact our office for further instructions prior to making exam application. Those applicants will have fees which deviate from those charted below. Please visit this link for your assigned staff member: https://www.ilbaradmissions.org/faq.action#226
Fees may be paid by credit or debit card (Mastercard, Visa, American Express or Discover) after the online application is completed. Alternately, fees may be paid by cashier’s check, certified check or money order (US Dollars). Personal checks, travelers checks, and corporate and law firm checks are NOT accepted. Pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 706(j), filing fees are not refundable or transferable even if you withdraw your application or for any other reason.
FEBRUARY EXAM DEADLINES AND FEES
JULY EXAM DEADLINES AND FEES
The MPT and MEE components are the same for the UBE takers as for the MBE Transfer applicants. Beginning with the July 2019 Exam, the two MPT items and six MEE essays are administered on Tuesday for each exam. There are no longer word or character limits for any MEE or MPT answers. Handwriters may request additional corresponding answer booklets if needed, but no extra time will be given when additional answer booklets are utilized. Laptop users may continue to type within a test session’s allotted time with no character limitations.
For detailed information about the MPT and MEE, visit the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) website pages for each:
Any Illinois bar examination applicant who fails the Illinois bar examination will be required to take the exam in its entirety upon re-examination.
The Mulitstate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) is administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) on behalf of the National Conference of Bar Examiners. The MPRE is a 60 question, two-hour, multiple-choice examination administered three times per year at established test centers across the country.
Like the MBE, the MPRE is scored and scaled nationally. The Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar requires a MPRE score of 80 or more. An applicant need not take the MPRE before taking the bar exam, but must have done so and obtained a passing score before he or she can be recommended for admission to the bar.
For full information, resources, access and FAQs, click here.
Any qualified applicant seeking nonstandard testing accommodations (NTA) on the basis of a disability must file properly completed NTA request forms simultaneously with the remaining paper portion of his/her bar exam application. NTA request forms are NOT electronically filed. You may access the NTA forms by selecting Information & Applications, Nonstandard Testing Accommodation & Administrative Accommodation, Browse Forms.
NTA Forms and documentation are due no later than November 30th for the February Exam and no later than April 30th for the July Bar Exam.
An Administrative Accommodation provides a courtesy arrangement for applicants with certain health-related issues in standard test rooms following the standard testing schedule . You may access the AA form by selecting Information & Applications, Nonstandard Testing Accommodation & Administrative Accommodation, Browse Forms.
Phone hours are 8:30am till 4:00pm Central Time, Monday through Friday, except for state and national holidays.
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