Bar Examination Information

Application FAQs

In addition to the information below about New York and New Jersey, we have provided frequently asked questions (FAQs) for the four jurisdictions in which BLS students most frequently take the bar exam:

• New York
• New Jersey
• Connecticut
• Florida

New York Bar Exam

Applications must be filed online or contact the Board's office to request a paper application. An application is considered filed when it is completed electronically on the Board's website or received by the Board's office together with the prescribed fee. There is no provision for late filing.

To access the online application, visit the NYSBOLE website during the filing period.

Dates of NY Bar Exam	Application Filing Dates
February 26-27, 2019	November 1 - 30, 2018
July 30-31, 2019	April 1 - 30, 2019
February 25-26, 2020	November 1 - 30, 2019
July 28-29, 2020	April 1 - 30, 2020
February 23-24, 2021	November 1 - 30, 2020

The Board's office is not open on Saturday and cannot take phone calls, receive mail or deliveries from overnight services on Saturdays. The Board strongly encourages you to apply during normal business hours before the deadline so that you can contact them in the event of technical difficulties.

Handwriting Specimen Form
This form is required by the New York State Board of Law Examiners in order to take the bar exam. It must be completed during the application filing period in the presence of a representative from the Registrar's Office, and photo identification is required. Upon graduation, the handwriting specimen and an official transcript, in lieu of the Law School Certificate of Attendance, will be submitted on the student's behalf to the NYS Board of Law Examiners.

New Jersey Bar Exam

Applications and complete instructions for the NJS Bar Exam are available on the New Jersey Board Of Bar Examiners (NJBOBE) website. Please note that the Certified Statement of Character can be submitted electronically. Items that must be completed and returned directly to the Board of Bar Examiners are the Application, the Authorization and Release forms, and the certified check or money order for the fee due at the time the application is submitted.

NJS Bar Exam has deadlines for filing a timely application (postmark/hand deliver date). If you file after this date, late fees will apply:

New Jersey Filing Deadline	February Exam	July Exam	Fees
Timely	October 1 - October 31	March 1 - March 31	$675
First Late	November1 - November 15	April1 - April 15	$950
Final Deadline - No Exceptions	November 16 - November 30	April 16 - April 30	$1200

Admission Certifications

The Board of Law Examiners from various states requires Brooklyn Law School to confirm the conferral of your law degree. This is done by sending an official transcript, completion of a Law School Certification form, or a letter as required by the state you have applied to take the bar exam. Some Board of Law Examiners will either:

• Send a certification list to BLS with the student’s names for us to confirm the law degree, or;
• Mail the form to the student who is responsible for completing a section of the form and submitting it to the Registrar’s office for completion, or;
• The student is responsible for downloading the form from the respective state bar website, completing a section of the form, and submitting it to the Registrar’s office for completion.

For additional information, contact the Registrar's Office at (718) 780-7913.  

Multistate Bar Examination (MBE)

The Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) is a six-hour, two-hundred question, multiple-choice examination covering contracts, torts, constitutional law, criminal law, evidence, and real property developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE). It is administered by participating jurisdictions on the last Wednesday in February and the last Wednesday in July of each year.

For complete information, visit the NCBE website. Applicants should contact the jurisdiction where admission is being sought to ascertain whether the MBE is part of the jurisdiction's examination.

Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE)

The Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) is a sixty question, two-hour and five minute, multiple choice exam. Applicants take the MPRE as partial fulfillment of the requirements for application for admission to practice law in jurisdictions that require the MPRE. For complete information, visit the NCBE website.

Check with each jurisdiction's board to which you intend to apply, since the requirements for accepting an MPRE score vary from one jurisdiction to another. The examination is administered at established test centers across the country three times per year:

• March
• August
• September

Examination results will be forwarded to one jurisdiction of your choice and kept on file at the office of the National Conference of Bar Examiners in Iowa City, Iowa. For reporting to additional jurisdictions, refer to the MPRE Scores webpage.

Character & Fitness

Applicants for admission to the bar must demonstrate that they have the personal qualities required to practice law and also the necessary character to justify the trust and confidence that clients, the public and the legal system will put in them.

Before admission to the bar, some state bars require the school to complete and submit a Law School Certificate form along with supporting documents on the student’s behalf to the Character and Fitness Committee. Others may require this information to be submitted when certifying students to take their bar examination.

Supporting documents can be in the form of:

• Applicant’s law school application and all supplements to the application
• Information with respect to social or academic misconduct prior to and while in attendance BLS

New York

In New York, review of past conduct to ensure honesty, diligence and trustworthiness is undertaken by the Appellate Division Committees on Character and Fitness in each judicial department. Following the bar exam, a list of applicants' names and addresses who took the exam is sent from the Board of Law Examiners (BOLE) to the respective judicial departments. Each department informs the applicants on its list via letter about the process of admission for the Character and Fitness Committee. Admission information is available at the BOLE website.

Questions on admission to the bar, swearing in, and Character and Fitness application materials should be directed to the appropriate Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. Applicants are encouraged to submit the requested information before bar results are available.

The New York Lawyer's Assistance Trust has provided a brochure regarding Character and Fitness requirements, and includes information about conduct that may be cause for concern in the bar admission process.

New Jersey

It is the responsibility of every candidate for admission to the Bar of the State of New Jersey to make available all information required by the Committee on Character. Candidates shall be required to demonstrate their ability to practice law in this State and they must possess the required traits of honesty, integrity, financial responsibility, and trustworthiness. View more information about this process on the NJ Board of Bar Examiners webpage.

Bar Loans

For further information you may contact Florence Attino in the Office of Financial Aid at (718) 780-7915.