To be admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia, you need a qualifying law degree, a passing score on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, and a scaled score of at least 266 on the Uniform Bar Examination, together with clearance from a character and fitness review. The DC bar exam requirements are set by D.C. Court of Appeals Rule 46 and administered by the court’s Committee on Admissions.1District of Columbia Courts. Rule 46 – Admission to the Bar A 266 is one of the higher UBE cut scores in the country. The exam runs twice a year, in February and July, and the current UBE format will stay in place through February 2027 before DC switches to the NextGen bar exam in February 2028.2DC Bar Admissions. Notice Regarding NextGen Bar Exam Transition
Who Can Sit for the Exam
The standard route requires a Juris Doctor or LL.B. from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association. Your degree must be conferred before the first day of the exam, or expected within three months after it.3District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Notice to Bar Exam Applicants
If your law degree is from a school that is not ABA-accredited, you have to complete at least 26 credit hours at an ABA-approved law school before you can sit. Each of those hours must come from a single-subject course covering an area substantially tested on the bar exam.1District of Columbia Courts. Rule 46 – Admission to the Bar Those hours can be earned through distance education that meets ABA standards, so relocation is not strictly necessary.4District of Columbia Courts. DCCA Rule 46 – Admission to the Bar
Every applicant also has to pass the MPRE, a separate ethics exam written and administered by the National Conference of Bar Examiners. DC’s minimum passing MPRE score is 75.5District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Admission by Transferred UBE Score – General Information You register for the MPRE directly with NCBE and pay its fee separately; the result is reported independently of your bar exam score.4District of Columbia Courts. DCCA Rule 46 – Admission to the Bar
What the Exam Covers
The UBE runs over two days and has three scored components.
The Multistate Bar Examination is a 200-question multiple-choice test given in two three-hour sessions on the second day. It covers Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Real Property, and Torts, and it accounts for 50 percent of your UBE score.6National Conference of Bar Examiners. Understanding the Uniform Bar Examination7The Bar Examiner. The Uniform Bar Examination (UBE)
The Multistate Essay Examination is six 30-minute essays on the first day. It draws from the MBE subjects plus areas like Family Law, Trusts, Secured Transactions, Conflict of Laws, and Corporations, and is worth 30 percent of your score.6National Conference of Bar Examiners. Understanding the Uniform Bar Examination
The Multistate Performance Test gives you two 90-minute tasks on the first day, each built around a simulated case file. You might draft a memo, a persuasive brief, or a client letter from the materials provided; no outside legal knowledge is required. The MPT is worth the remaining 20 percent.7The Bar Examiner. The Uniform Bar Examination (UBE)
Dates, Fees, and Registration Deadlines
The July 2026 exam is scheduled for July 28 and 29. Registration opens March 2, 2026, and closes March 31, 2026, at 11:59 PM ET. Seats can fill before the window closes, and there is no late filing period; applications submitted after the deadline are not accepted.8District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Bar Exam Fees and Deadlines
The exam application fee is $405, for both first-time applicants and retakers. A separate NCBE investigation fee is also required and must be paid no later than April 30, 2026. If you plan to type your answers, the laptop exam software fee is an additional $150.8District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Bar Exam Fees and Deadlines All fees are nonrefundable and nontransferable; they do not carry forward to a future exam or to another admission route.9DC Bar Admissions. Application Fee Policy
Application Materials and Character Review
You file through the D.C. Court of Appeals admissions portal, where you first create an account.10District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Committee on Admissions The application asks for a detailed personal history: employment record, residential addresses, and contact information for professional and personal references. Have digital copies of your law school transcripts and your certification of graduation ready to upload.
The Committee on Admissions uses what you submit to conduct a character and fitness investigation. Accuracy matters. Inconsistencies between your application and what the committee finds in outside databases create delays and can trigger follow-up interviews, so verify dates, addresses, and employer names before you file. After submission, watch your portal account; the committee commonly requests follow-up documentation when a form is missing a signature or a reference has not responded.
Testing Accommodations
If a disability affects your ability to take the exam under standard conditions, you can request accommodations such as extended time, supervised breaks, or accessible test formatting. The request is submitted with your bar exam application using the Testing Accommodations Request Form from the Committee on Admissions, together with documentation of your diagnosis, a description of your functional limitations, and any accommodations you received in law school or on standardized tests like the LSAT.11District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Testing Accommodations – Applicant Request Form All documentation must reach the Office of Admissions by the application deadline. Late requests are not accepted.
Passing Score and Portability
The minimum passing scaled score is 266.5District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Admission by Transferred UBE Score – General Information Because DC uses the UBE, that score is portable. If you already earned a 266 or higher in another UBE jurisdiction, you can apply to transfer that score to DC instead of sitting again. The transfer application fee is $405 plus the NCBE investigation fee.12District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Motion Application Fees Portability runs the other way too: a DC score can be transferred to any other UBE jurisdiction whose minimum is at or below your score, provided you meet that jurisdiction’s other requirements. Rule 46 sets the specifics, including how long a score remains valid.
After You Pass
Once you pass and clear character and fitness, the Committee on Admissions certifies your results to the Court of Appeals, and you complete the Attorney Oath of Admission. DC does not require an in-person ceremony. Under Administrative Order No. 3-18, certified applicants can complete the oath in any U.S. or foreign jurisdiction before anyone authorized to administer oaths, using forms downloaded from the court.13District of Columbia Courts. Instructions for Completing the Attorney Oath of Admission In Absentia You have 90 days from the date of the certification letter to complete the oath.
After swearing in, every new DC attorney must complete the Mandatory Course on the D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct and Practice within 12 months from the month of the swearing-in date. The course covers DC’s ethics rules, pro bono obligations, the disciplinary system, and DC court practice, and it also applies to attorneys reinstating their DC Bar membership.14D.C. Bar. Mandatory Course Calendar it the week you are sworn in.
Admission Without the Exam
Experienced attorneys can apply for admission on motion rather than sitting for the exam. Effective April 24, 2026, applicants under this provision must show active practice of law for three of the five years preceding their application.15DC Bar Admissions. Rule 46 Motion via 3-Year Provision Rule Change The application fee is $595 plus the NCBE investigation fee. You still have to meet the educational requirements and pass the MPRE. Motion applications can be submitted at any time; they are not tied to exam registration windows.12District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Motion Application Fees
The NextGen Transition
If you are preparing for July 2026 or February 2027, you will take the current UBE as described above. Starting in February 2028, DC will replace the UBE with the NextGen bar exam, which uses a different question format and a different scoring scale; DC has set the NextGen passing score at 616.2DC Bar Admissions. Notice Regarding NextGen Bar Exam Transition16National Conference of Bar Examiners. NextGen UBE Decisions by Jurisdiction If your target date is February 2028 or later, plan around that test rather than the MBE, MEE, and MPT.