The Alabama bar exam is the Uniform Bar Exam, administered twice a year in February and July, with a minimum scaled score of 260 out of 400 required to pass.1Alabama State Bar Admission Office. Admission Requirements: Exam Applicants Because Alabama uses the UBE with no state-specific component, a passing score can be transferred to other UBE jurisdictions within each state’s window.2Alabama State Bar Admission Office. Uniform Bar Examination Overview The test runs two days, and passing it is only one part of admission: you also need to satisfy character and fitness, pass the MPRE, and have completed law student registration with the Alabama State Bar.
Who Can Sit for the Exam
You must be at least 19 years old, registered as a law student with the Alabama State Bar under Rule I, and hold a qualifying law degree.3Alabama State Bar Admission Office. Eligibility for Admission by Examination The standard qualifying degree is a JD from a law school that was ABA-approved at the time you graduated.
Graduates of unaccredited Alabama law schools can still sit for the exam, but must also show a bachelor’s degree from an approved college or university. Graduates of unaccredited schools outside Alabama face tighter conditions: admission to practice in the state where the school is located, at least five continuous years of practice there in good standing, and reciprocity from that state for graduates of Alabama’s unaccredited schools.3Alabama State Bar Admission Office. Eligibility for Admission by Examination
Foreign-educated applicants qualify if their school was approved in its home country and they have been admitted to practice there. Beyond that, they must meet at least one additional condition: their degree included substantial English common law content, they completed at least 24 semester hours of bar-exam subjects at an ABA- or AALS-approved school, or they have been admitted in a U.S. jurisdiction for at least three years of continuous active practice.3Alabama State Bar Admission Office. Eligibility for Admission by Examination
Law Student Registration
Every future Alabama bar applicant has to register as a law student with the state bar, regardless of where they attend school. Registration is free within the first 60 days of starting law school. After that, a progressive penalty applies:4Alabama State Bar Admission Office. Law Student Registration Requirement and Fees
- Days 61 through 180: $50
- Days 181 through 390: $100
- After day 390: $250
The $250 maximum also applies to anyone who never registered and is filing a bar application for the first time. The penalty attaches no matter when you graduated or what your plans were during school.
Application Deadlines and Fees
Applications open months before each exam and close on firm deadlines. Alabama does not offer a late filing period or a late fee; miss the deadline and you wait for the next cycle.5Alabama State Bar Admission Office. Application Deadlines
- February exam: applications open September 1, deadline October 1
- July exam: applications open January 1, deadline February 1
The application fee is $575 for first-time bar applicants, meaning you have never applied to the bar of any jurisdiction. If you have previously applied in another state, hold a foreign law degree, or are transferring a UBE score, the fee is $875.6Alabama State Bar Admission Office. Application Fees Fees are nonrefundable regardless of when or why you withdraw. If you never completed law student registration, the $250 non-registration penalty is added on top.4Alabama State Bar Admission Office. Law Student Registration Requirement and Fees
What the Exam Looks Like
The Alabama bar exam is the UBE with no additional state-specific portion.2Alabama State Bar Admission Office. Uniform Bar Examination Overview It runs across two days. Day one is the written portion: the Multistate Essay Examination and the Multistate Performance Test. Day two is the Multistate Bar Examination, 200 multiple-choice questions split into morning and afternoon sessions.7National Conference of Bar Examiners. About the UBE
MEE and MPT
The MEE is six essay questions, 30 minutes each, testing issue-spotting and rule application. Subject coverage goes beyond first-year courses and can include business associations, family law, trusts and estates, conflict of laws, secured transactions under UCC Article 9, and any MBE subject.2Alabama State Bar Admission Office. Uniform Bar Examination Overview
The MPT is two 90-minute tasks that test practical lawyering. Each provides a file of facts and a library of legal authorities, and you draft a document such as a memo, brief, or client letter using only those materials. No outside legal knowledge is needed.
MBE
The MBE covers seven subjects: constitutional law, contracts, criminal law and procedure, evidence, federal civil procedure, real property, and torts.7National Conference of Bar Examiners. About the UBE
How Your Score Is Weighted
The MBE counts for 50 percent of your total UBE score, the MEE for 30 percent, and the MPT for 20 percent.8National Conference of Bar Examiners. UBE Exam The multiple-choice day carries the most weight, but the written portions are too large a share to ignore. A total scaled score of 260 is required.1Alabama State Bar Admission Office. Admission Requirements: Exam Applicants
Laptop Testing
You can type your MEE and MPT answers on a personal laptop, but only if you register in advance with ILG Exam360 and install Examplify. Registration notifications go out in January for the February exam and June for the July exam, and the fee is paid directly to ILG.9Alabama State Bar Admission Office. Laptop Testing A trial exam on your device is required before test day. The MBE is answered on paper bubble sheets regardless of laptop registration.
Testing Accommodations
Requests for testing accommodations are due months before the exam:10Alabama State Bar Admission Office. Special Accommodations
- February exam: November 1
- July exam: April 1
You submit Form 1 with documentation from a qualified professional covering your diagnosed condition, current level of impairment, and the rationale for the specific accommodations requested.11Alabama State Bar. General Instructions for Requesting Test Accommodations Any accommodation history from law school (an IEP or Section 504 plan) should be included. Retakers must resubmit Form 1 each time, but if you sat for the Alabama exam within the past three years and are requesting the same accommodations with no change in your condition, you do not need to resubmit the full medical documentation packet.
The MPRE
Passing the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination is a separate admission requirement. Alabama requires a score of 75 or higher.1Alabama State Bar Admission Office. Admission Requirements: Exam Applicants The MPRE is offered three times a year, in March, August, and November, and can be taken before or after the bar exam so long as the score falls within the timeframe set by Alabama’s admission rules. Most applicants take it during law school.
Character and Fitness
Every applicant undergoes a character and fitness investigation, and this is where applications tend to stall when problems exist. The National Conference of Bar Examiners runs a separate background investigation for the Alabama State Bar. After you submit your application, NCBE emails instructions to begin the process, which uses a broad records authorization covering employment, education, medical records, court proceedings, and finances.
Under Rule V, the Committee on Character and Fitness can request additional documentation, compel production of records, and require applicants to appear for questioning.12Alabama State Bar. Alabama Code Rule V – Committee on Character and Fitness Criminal history, patterns of financial irresponsibility, academic misconduct, and prior professional discipline are the most common triggers for closer review. The committee will contact you before making a determination if something concerning shows up. Concealment is treated far more seriously than the underlying issue.
Results and Passing
A total scaled UBE score of 260 or higher is a pass.1Alabama State Bar Admission Office. Admission Requirements: Exam Applicants Results for both administrations are typically released about eight to nine weeks after the exam: late September for the July exam, late April or early May for the February exam. The Alabama State Bar posts a list of successful candidates and sends individual notifications through the admissions portal.
Transferring a UBE Score
A 260 or higher earned in Alabama can be transferred to any other UBE jurisdiction that accepts a score at that level, within the receiving state’s transfer window. Transferring a score into Alabama also requires at least 260, and the score must have been earned in a single UBE administration.13Alabama State Bar Admission Office. UBE Score Transfer Admission Requirements Transfer applicants still have to satisfy every other Alabama admission requirement, including character and fitness, the MPRE, and law student registration. The application fee for score transfers is $875.6Alabama State Bar Admission Office. Application Fees
If You Fail
There is no cap on the number of times you can take the Alabama bar exam.14Alabama State Bar Admission Office. Frequently Asked Questions After results are released, applicants who failed can re-apply for the next administration. To use the streamlined re-application rather than filing fresh, you must have taken the Alabama exam within the past five years and must not have applied to sit for the bar in another state since your last Alabama attempt.
Alabama also allows a partial score carry-forward. If you scored 140 or higher on either the MBE or the combined written portion (MEE plus MPT), you can be exempt from that half on your next attempt and retake only the section where you fell short. The carry-forward score must be used within 36 months of the exam where it was earned.14Alabama State Bar Admission Office. Frequently Asked Questions
After You Pass
Passing applicants who clear the remaining requirements are sworn in at a formal admission ceremony, after which they are officially members of the Alabama State Bar.15Alabama State Bar. Admission Ceremony Registration
New admittees are exempt from continuing legal education requirements through the end of the calendar year they are admitted. After that, Alabama attorneys complete 12 hours of CLE annually, including one hour of ethics. New admittees also complete a separate three-hour professionalism course, which counts toward the 12-hour annual requirement.16Alabama State Bar. FAQ – CLE