The Bar Exam 

In 2015 the New York Court of Appeals adopted the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) effective with the July 2016 administration of the New York State bar examination. The Court of Appeals also adopted a requirement that applicants for admission in New York must additionally complete the New York Law Course (NYLC) and take the New York Law Exam (NYLE) before they can be admitted to practice in New York.

You must register for the UBE, NYLC, and NYLE through your account on the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ (NCBE) website. You can take the NYLC and NYLE up to one year before you sit for the UBE or three years after you first sit for and pass the UBE.

In addition to a bar exam, there are character, fitness, and other qualifications for admission to the bar in every U.S. jurisdiction. We encourage you to review the specific admission requirements for the jurisdiction in which you plan to seek admission. For general information, you can also visit the NCBE website. 

If you need to request testing accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is important that you carefully review the New York State Board of Law Examiners' Test Accommodations Handbook for the relevant requirements and procedures. 

To print the full 2019 New York bar exam schedule, please click HERE.

For a list of 2019 test dates and registration deadlines for select other jurisdictions (California, Washington D.C., Texas, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania), please click HERE.

General Bar Application Info   Character and Fitness FAQs

As good lawyers, you should not rely exclusively on this webpage for all of your bar information. We strongly encourage you to carefully review all application fees, deadlines, test dates, testing accommodation request procedures, and bar admission requirements (such as pro bono hours) on your state’s bar admission page. 

UBE

The UBE consists of the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), the Multistate Performance Test (MPT), and the Multistate Essay Examination (MEE). It tests knowledge of general principles of law, legal analysis and reasoning, and communication skills. 

The UBE will be offered in New York February 25-26, 2020 (the application filing window is November 1-30, 2019) and July 28-29, 2020 (the application filing window is April 1-30, 2020). For a complete list of UBE test and registration deadline dates in New York, please check the New York State Board of Law Examiners website.

For more information on the UBE, including application fees and a list of other jurisdictions that accept UBE scores, please visit the NCBE’s UBE website.
 

NYLC

The NYLC is an online, on-demand New York specific course that covers Administrative Law, Business Relationships, Civil Practice and Procedure, Conflict of Laws, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Matrimonial and Family Law, Professional Responsibility, Real Property, Torts and Tort Damages, and Trusts, Wills and Estates.

The course consists of approximately 15 hours of recorded lectures with embedded questions. Students generally allot about 2 weeks to finish the NYLC. You cannot register for the NYLE until you have completed the NYLC.

There is no registration fee for the NYLC.
 

NYLE

The NYLE is a 50-question online exam covering the subjects taught in the NYLC. The test is two hours and is open-book and multiple choice. Students can access their notes in their computer during the exam.

The NYLE will be offered on the following dates in 2019 and 2020:

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There is a $27 registration fee for the NYLE. For a complete list of NYLE test dates and registration deadlines, please check the New York State Board of Law Examiners website. To be certified for admission by the New York Board of Law Examiners, an applicant may take the NYLC and NYLE up to one year before the applicant first sits for the UBE or up to three years after the applicant first sits for and passes the UBE.

Helpful Resources

Below please find links to information that can help you prepare for the NYLE and the New York administration of the UBE.

• 2020 NCBE Bar Admission Guide
• New York State Bar Exam Information Guide (From the New York State Board of Law Examiners)
• UBE, NYLC, and NYLE Frequently Asked Questions (From the New York State Board of Law Examiners)  
• Video information session: Preparing for the New York State Bar Exam (Spring 2018)
• Video information session: The New York State Bar Exam and the NYLE (Spring 2017)