Kentucky Bar Exam: Requirements, Fees, and Admission Steps

To pass the Kentucky bar exam, you need a scaled score of at least 266 on the Legacy Uniform Bar Examination, which Kentucky will keep administering through February 2027 before switching to the NextGen UBE in July 2027 with a passing score of 616. The exam runs two days every February and July in Frankfort, and passing is only part of admission: you also need a qualifying law degree, an MPRE score of 80, a clean character and fitness review, and completion of an online Kentucky law course before you can take the oath.

When and Where the Exam Is Given

The exam is held on the last Tuesday and Wednesday of February and July at the Administrative Office of the Courts in Frankfort.¹ You must sit for every portion during the same administration to qualify for admission and earn a transferable score.²

What You’ll Be Tested On

Through the February 2027 administration, Kentucky uses the Legacy UBE. Day one is six Multistate Essay Examination questions and two Multistate Performance Test tasks that simulate real legal assignments, such as drafting a memo or a persuasive brief. Day two is the Multistate Bar Examination: 200 multiple-choice questions covering civil procedure, constitutional law, contracts, criminal law and procedure, evidence, real property, and torts.

Starting in July 2027, Kentucky switches to the NextGen UBE.² The NextGen format replaces the separate MBE, MEE, and MPT with a blend of multiple-choice questions, integrated question sets, and performance tasks designed to test foundational lawyering skills across both litigation and transactional practice.³ If you’re sitting in February 2027, you’ll still take the Legacy format. If you’re targeting July 2027 or later, prepare from the NCBE’s NextGen content specifications and study materials.

Passing Score and the Five-Attempt Cap

The minimum passing score is 266 on the Legacy UBE and 616 on the NextGen UBE.² Scaled scores are calculated by the NCBE using the same methodology applied across every UBE jurisdiction.

Kentucky enforces a strict five-attempt cap. If you fail five times, you cannot sit again, and the Kentucky Supreme Court has confirmed there are no discretionary exceptions.² Attempts count across state lines: any UBE sitting in any jurisdiction from February 2021 onward counts against your five. If you sat for the UBE twice in another state and then moved here, you’ve already used two of your tries.

Who Can Sit

You must hold a J.D. or equivalent degree from a law school approved by the American Bar Association or the Association of American Law Schools.⁴ Before or at the time of the exam, you must also certify that you completed an ethics course in law school and that you’ll follow the code of ethics set by the Kentucky Supreme Court.

You also need a passing MPRE score of 80.⁵ The MPRE is a separate 60-question multiple-choice test on professional conduct and legal ethics, and most applicants take it in their final year of law school.

Foreign-Educated Applicants

Attorneys with a law degree earned outside the United States can qualify, but with extra steps. Your foreign legal education must be evaluated by the Board of Bar Examiners and found substantially equivalent to what ABA-approved schools offer, at your cost, and your application won’t move forward until the Board approves it. You’ll also submit a certified copy of your license or record of admission from the foreign jurisdiction and show that you actively and substantially practiced law as your principal occupation for at least three of the last five years before applying. The Board weighs factors including whether you’ve been admitted in another U.S. state, how closely your coursework matches ABA-school curricula, and your proficiency in written and spoken English.⁶

Character and Fitness

Every applicant goes through a character and fitness investigation before being certified to sit. The Character and Fitness Committee evaluates your age, character, education, and general qualifications, can refer you for investigation by the NCBE or another agency, and has subpoena power.⁷

The forms require a thorough accounting of your background: every residence and job you’ve held, identification details, and disclosure of anything bearing on your fitness to practice. Gaps in your timeline are the fastest way to trigger follow-up questions and delays, so account for every month. The Committee must certify your name to the Board of Bar Examiners at least ten days before the exam, so late complications can keep you from sitting even if you’ve registered and paid.⁷

Fees and Filing Deadlines

Kentucky uses a tiered fee structure that gets more expensive the later you file. For first-time, non-attorney applicants:⁸

First filing deadline: $875
Second (late) deadline: $1,125
Final (extended late) deadline: $1,375

Attorneys seeking admission pay more at each tier: $1,200, $1,450, and $1,700.⁸

For the July 2026 exam, the first filing deadline is February 1, with late deadlines of March 10 and May 10. For the February 2027 exam, the first filing deadline is October 1, with a late deadline of December 10.⁸

All payments go through the online fee payments portal. The Kentucky Office of Bar Admissions stopped accepting checks and money orders in May 2024.¹ After filing, monitor the Synergy portal for status updates and document requests, and keep the email and name on your profile current. That’s how the office reaches you.

Testing Accommodations

If a physical or mental impairment substantially limits a major life activity or your ability to demonstrate your knowledge under standard testing conditions, you can apply for nonstandard testing accommodations such as extended time, a separate testing room, or assistive technology. Your request and supporting documentation must be filed by the same deadlines as the bar exam application. Emergency requests filed later are only allowed if the disability arose after you applied, and even then the office may deny the request if there isn’t enough time to evaluate it or arrange the accommodation.⁹ File early.

After the Exam

Results come out about nine weeks after the exam: late April for the February sitting, late September for the July sitting. Successful candidates get notification from the Kentucky Office of Bar Admissions with next steps. If you don’t pass, you can request copies of your written essay and performance test answers by emailing the office.¹

Kentucky Law Component and Swearing In

Passing alone doesn’t make you a Kentucky lawyer. Before admission, you must complete an online, on-demand course on Kentucky-specific law called the Kentucky Law Component. This applies to everyone admitted on a UBE score, whether earned here or transferred in.

Once you finish the Kentucky Law Component, you pay the current annual Kentucky Bar Association dues and a $50 final fee to the Kentucky Office of Bar Admissions. A Justice of the Supreme Court or the Clerk of the Supreme Court then administers the Constitutional Oath of Office. After you take the oath, the Clerk issues your Certificate of Admission and records it. You’re then authorized to practice throughout Kentucky.¹⁰

New Lawyer Program

Within 12 months of the date on your Certificate of Admission, you must complete the New Lawyer Program: at least 12 CLE credits including a minimum of two hours of ethics and a course on law practice management.¹¹ The KBA’s CLE Commission offers the program at least twice per educational year, and other approved providers may offer qualifying programs. Missing the deadline can put your license at risk, so calendar it as soon as you’re sworn in.

Can You Skip the Exam?

Some experienced attorneys don’t have to take it. If you’ve actively practiced law for five of the last seven years and you’re admitted in a jurisdiction with reciprocity or comity with Kentucky, you can seek admission without examination; full-time teaching at an ABA-accredited law school counts as active practice. A separate limited certificate of admission exists for in-house counsel who perform legal work in Kentucky only for their employer and its related entities, with an application fee of $1,500 plus current KBA annual dues.¹² Everyone else goes through the exam.

1
Kentucky Office of Bar Admissions. Kentucky Office of Bar Admissions
2
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Kentucky Rules of the Supreme Court SCR 2.080 – Bar Examinations
3
National Conference of Bar Examiners. NextGen Bar Exam
4
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Kentucky Rules of the Supreme Court SCR 2.014 – Legal Education
5
National Conference of Bar Examiners. Kentucky
6
Supreme Court of Kentucky. Order 2020-60 – Amendments to the Rules of the Supreme Court
7
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Kentucky Rules of the Supreme Court SCR 2.040 – Character and Fitness Committee
8
National Conference of Bar Examiners. Kentucky Bar Examination Jurisdictions
9
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Kentucky Rules of the Supreme Court SCR 2.082 – Nonstandard Test Accommodations
10
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Kentucky Rules of the Supreme Court SCR 2.120 – Administration of Oath and Issuance of Certificate of Admission
11
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Kentucky Rules of the Supreme Court SCR 3.640 – New Lawyer Program Requirement
12
New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. Kentucky Rules of the Supreme Court SCR 2.111 – Limited Certificate of Admission