To be licensed as an attorney in New York, you need to meet the state’s New York bar exam requirements: qualifying legal education, a passing score of 266 on the Uniform Bar Examination, the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, the New York Law Course and New York Law Exam, 50 hours of pro bono work, a skills competency showing, and a character and fitness review by the Appellate Division.1New York State Board of Law Examiners. Application by Transferred UBE Score
Who Qualifies to Sit for the Exam
The standard route is a Juris Doctor from an ABA-approved law school in the United States or its territories. The ABA requires at least 83 credit hours for the degree, and New York incorporates those academic standards into its own rules.2Legal Information Institute. New York Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations Title 22 520.3 – Study of Law in Law School
A second path combines law school with office study. You must finish at least the first year of law school (a minimum of 28 credit hours) and then study law in a New York law office under a licensed attorney’s supervision, with the combined period totaling four years.3Legal Information Institute. New York Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations Title 22 520.4 – Study of Law in Law Office
Foreign-educated applicants must show that their legal education is substantially equivalent in duration and substance to an ABA-approved program. The Board evaluates common-law country degrees directly. Graduates of non-common-law systems almost always need an LL.M. from a U.S. law school to close substantive gaps.4Legal Information Institute. New York Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations Title 22 520.6 – Study of Law in Foreign Country – Required Legal Education
If you are already licensed in another U.S. jurisdiction, you may be able to skip the exam entirely. Admission on motion requires at least five years of active legal practice within the seven years immediately preceding the application, good standing, and a home jurisdiction that extends reciprocal admission to New York-licensed attorneys. Active practice includes private practice, in-house counsel work, government legal service, and full-time law teaching at associate professor rank or higher.5Legal Information Institute. New York Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations Title 22 520.10 – Admission Without Examination
The Uniform Bar Examination in New York
The exam runs two consecutive days, always the last Tuesday and Wednesday of the testing month. The July 2026 administration falls on July 28–29.6New York State Board of Law Examiners. NYS Bar Exam Dates
Day one starts with the Multistate Performance Test: two 90-minute tasks that simulate real legal work, such as drafting a memo or persuasive brief from a provided case file. The afternoon is the Multistate Essay Examination, six 30-minute essays on a range of subjects. Together, the MPT and MEE account for half your score (20 percent and 30 percent, respectively).7National Conference of Bar Examiners. NextGen Bar Exam
Day two is the Multistate Bar Examination: 200 multiple-choice questions split between a three-hour morning session and a three-hour afternoon session. The MBE is the other 50 percent. It covers seven subjects: constitutional law, contracts, criminal law, evidence, real property, torts, and civil procedure. You get roughly 1.8 minutes per question, so timed practice matters.
New York’s passing score is a combined scaled 266 out of 400.1New York State Board of Law Examiners. Application by Transferred UBE Score The overall pass rate across all candidates in 2024 was 61 percent.8New York State Board of Law Examiners. New York Bar Exam 2024 Statistics If you have already passed the UBE in another jurisdiction with a score of 266 or higher, you can transfer that score into New York if it falls within the accepted transfer window, rather than retaking the exam.
The New York Requirements Beyond the UBE
Passing the UBE is only one piece. Several state-specific requirements catch candidates who treat them as afterthoughts.
MPRE
Every applicant must pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination with a minimum scaled score of 85.9New York State Board of Law Examiners. Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination You can take it before or after the bar exam, and most candidates handle it during their second or third year of law school.
New York Law Course and New York Law Exam
The New York Law Course is an online, on-demand program with roughly 17 hours of video lectures on 12 subjects specific to New York practice, including civil procedure, criminal law, evidence, matrimonial and family law, and real property.10New York Law Course. Welcome to the New York Law Course You must finish the entire course before you can register for the New York Law Exam, which is an open-book, multiple-choice online test lasting two hours.11New York State Board of Law Examiners. NYLC / NYLE Course Access and Materials Open-book is not the same as easy. Candidates who skip the course material tend to struggle.
Pro Bono Hours
Before applying for admission, you must complete 50 hours of qualifying pro bono legal work. This can involve assisting underserved individuals, working with nonprofit organizations, or participating in law school clinics.12New York Courts. 50-Hour Pro Bono Bar Admission Requirements Fill out the compliance form while the experience is fresh, then hold onto it until you file for admission.
Skills Competency
You must demonstrate practical legal skills through one of several pathways set out in the court rules. Law school clinics, simulation courses, and externships typically satisfy the requirement. Previous legal employment, or a combination of training and experience, can also qualify.13Legal Information Institute. New York Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations Title 22 520.18 – Skills Competency Requirement for Admission
Applying: Windows, Fees, and Logistics
The Board opens its application portal twice a year, each time for one month. For the July exam, the window runs March 1 through March 31. For the February exam, it runs October 1 through October 31. The Board does not accept late applications, so a missed window means waiting a full cycle.6New York State Board of Law Examiners. NYS Bar Exam Dates
Before you apply, you need an NCBE identification number from the National Conference of Bar Examiners and a Board of Law Examiners account.14New York State Board of Law Examiners. Frequently Asked Questions and General Information Guide for Taking the UBE in New York State You must also arrange for official transcripts from every post-secondary institution you attended to be sent directly to the Board. The application fee is $250 for domestically educated candidates and $750 for those who studied law in a foreign country.15New York State Board of Law Examiners. Foreign Legal Education
Candidates planning to use a laptop for the written portions receive an email from ExamSoft with instructions for purchasing, downloading, and registering the Examplify software.16New York State Board of Law Examiners. New York State Board of Law Examiners Finish every registration step by the stated deadline. Candidates who miss it must handwrite the exam. Admission tickets are issued electronically in the weeks before the test and must be presented at the testing facility.
Character and Fitness Review
Passing the exam does not by itself make you a lawyer. Every applicant goes through a character and fitness investigation conducted by a committee designated by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.17New York State Unified Court System. Application Process for Admission to the Bar The committee reviews criminal history, financial responsibility, academic disciplinary matters, and anything else bearing on your fitness to practice.18New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 22 CRR-NY 602.1 – Admission of Attorneys
The committee may call you in for an interview if your application raises questions. A prior arrest or financial trouble does not automatically disqualify you, but concealing one almost certainly will. Candor matters more than a clean record. Once the committee certifies your character and fitness, the Appellate Division admits you at a formal ceremony.
What Changes in 2028
If you are planning to sit for the New York bar in 2026 or 2027, or in February 2028, the UBE described above is still the test you will take. New York will administer the UBE through February 2028 and then adopt the NextGen Bar Exam starting with the July 2028 administration.7National Conference of Bar Examiners. NextGen Bar Exam If your timeline reaches July 2028 or later, prepare for a different format: integrated question sets, short-answer questions, performance tasks, and professional responsibility folded into the main exam rather than tested separately. NCBE publishes content scope outlines detailing the subjects and skills the NextGen exam will cover.