Delaware does not offer bar reciprocity. There is no admission on motion, no UBE score transfer, and no waiver based on years of practice elsewhere. If you want to practice law in Delaware, you sit for the Delaware Bar Examination and complete a Delaware clerkship, whether you graduated last spring or have been licensed in another state for twenty years. Delaware is one of roughly nine states that take this hard-line approach, alongside California, Florida, and Louisiana.
Why Delaware Closes the Door on Reciprocity
Delaware Supreme Court Rule 52 requires every applicant for bar admission to pass a written examination on principles of law and equity administered by the Board of Bar Examiners. The rule contains no pathway for waiving that requirement based on experience or a license held elsewhere.
The reasoning is tied to what Delaware lawyers actually do. The Court of Chancery handles a disproportionate share of the nation’s corporate disputes, and the state’s business-entity statutes, trust law, and equitable remedies operate differently from what most lawyers learned in law school or practiced in other states. The exam and clerkship exist to force incoming attorneys to learn those frameworks before representing clients in them.
What an Already-Licensed Attorney Has to Do
The requirements for an experienced attorney are the same as for a new graduate, with one small accommodation: a slightly higher application fee track. You need to clear each of the following under Rule 52.
Sit for the Delaware Bar Examination
The exam is a two-day test given twice a year. In 2026, the February sitting runs February 24–25 and the July sitting runs July 28–29. A passing score is 143. Day one is four Delaware-specific essays and two Multistate Performance Test tasks; day two is the 175-question Multistate Bar Examination. The essay pool is set annually by the Board and draws from Delaware business entities, civil procedure in Delaware courts, equity, contracts, criminal law and procedure, evidence, property, torts, constitutional law, and wills and trusts.
Complete a 12-Week Delaware Clerkship
This is usually the biggest obstacle for an attorney relocating from another state. Rule 52 requires a supervised clerkship totaling at least 12 full-time weeks (40 hours per week) in Delaware. The weeks do not have to be consecutive, but you have to physically be in Delaware working under a Delaware-licensed attorney for roughly three months. Your preceptor or another qualifying Delaware attorney supervises the work, and you work through a checklist that currently requires 18 of 30 possible legal activities (reduced from a prior 25 mandatory items). Both you and your preceptor must certify completion before the Board approves admission.
Line Up a Preceptor
Your preceptor is a sponsoring attorney who has been a member of the Delaware bar for at least ten years. The preceptor vouches for you and typically supervises the clerkship. Finding one is the applicant’s responsibility, and it needs to happen before you apply.
Pass the MPRE
You need a scaled score of at least 85 on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination. The score has to come from an MPRE taken between January 1 of the year four years before and December 31 of the year after you pass the Delaware bar. An MPRE score from early in your career may no longer be usable.
Submit a Certificate of Good Standing
Because you hold a license elsewhere, you need a certificate of good standing from the highest court of every jurisdiction where you are admitted. You also need background check results from the FBI and the Delaware State Bureau of Investigation uploaded to your application by September 1. The character and fitness review will not start without them.
Meet the Baseline Credentials
A Juris Doctor or equivalent from an ABA-accredited law school, and age at least 21. If you are already a practicing attorney, you have these.
Application Fees for Attorney Applicants
Attorney applicants pay slightly more than new graduates:
- Attorney, early filing: $800
- Attorney, regular filing: $1,000
For the July 2025 exam, the early filing deadline was April 1 and the final deadline was May 6. The February 2025 exam had an early deadline of November 5 and a final deadline of December 3. Similar windows should apply for 2026 sittings. Filing by the early deadline matters for more than the fee difference. Late applications may not leave the Board enough time to complete the character investigation, which can delay admission even after you pass.
Practicing in Delaware Without Taking the Exam
Two narrow options let an out-of-state attorney handle some Delaware work without full admission. Neither is a substitute for the bar; each is limited in what it allows.
In-House Counsel Under Rule 55.1
Delaware Supreme Court Rule 55.1 allows an attorney licensed in another state to register for a Certificate of Limited Practice as in-house counsel. You can provide legal services exclusively to your employer and its subsidiaries and affiliates. You cannot represent the company’s individual officers, directors, or employees. You cannot appear in Delaware courts unless separately admitted pro hac vice. You cannot hold yourself out as a member of the Delaware bar. Registered in-house counsel can participate in pro bono work through organized legal aid programs or bar association projects.
Pro Hac Vice Admission Under Rule 71
Rule 71 lets a Delaware-barred attorney file a written motion asking that an out-of-state lawyer be admitted for a specific case. The out-of-state attorney must certify good standing elsewhere, agree to follow Delaware’s professional conduct rules, and consent to the jurisdiction of the Delaware Supreme Court for discipline. A separate pro hac vice application is required for each court. The admission carries an annual assessment that started at $375 in 2015 and increases annually by the rate of inflation; if the case stretches into the next year, the assessment renews on February 1. The sponsoring Delaware attorney remains responsible for compliance with court rules throughout the case.
The Bottom Line for Out-of-State Attorneys
If your work in Delaware will be ongoing and client-facing, the exam and clerkship are unavoidable. If it will be confined to serving a single corporate employer, Rule 55.1 may fit. If it is a single case, pro hac vice through Delaware co-counsel is the route. Plan the clerkship early, because three months on the ground under a Delaware attorney is harder to arrange than the exam itself.