The Oklahoma Board
of Bar Examiners
Frequently Asked Questions

The Certificate of Practice form is an original document filed with the Oklahoma Supreme Court as an attachment to the Report and Recommendation of Admission filed by the Board of Bar Examiners should your application be approved and recommended for admission to the Court. The form should be signed by a judge and two attorneys from your jurisdiction who can attest to your active and continuous practice of law for at least three of last five years preceding your application. The individuals signing the form should themselves be in good standing in your jurisdiction and have practiced at least the length of time to which they are attesting to have known you to be practicing.

At present Oklahoma has reciprocity and/or admission on motion or admission without examination with the following jurisdictions: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Yes. If your state requires the MPRE of Oklahoma attorneys applying for admission without examination to your state, you must supply a passing score (as is required in your state) on the MPRE for admission to Oklahoma.  

Rule Two of the Oklahoma Rules requires a person to be lawfully admitted to practice and in good standing on active status in a reciprocal state engaged in the actual and continuous practice of law for at least three years of the five years immediately preceding application for admission. The practice of law shall not be required to occur outside of Oklahoma providing that the practice of law within this state did not include work that, as undertaken, would constitute unauthorized practice of law. The person shall have graduated from an ABA approved law school.

Oklahoma requires a minimum scaled score of 80. The score is valid for an unlimited time. If the reciprocal jurisdiction has a more stringent requirement for minimum score and/or time limit, the higher standard is applied.

Yes. This is an official session of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. If there are compelling reasons why you cannot be present, notify the Board’s administrative office in order to make alternative arrangements.

You are automatically a member of the Oklahoma Bar Association when you are admitted to the practice of law in Oklahoma. The OBA is the disciplinary arm of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. To remain in good standing you must pay the required annual dues and meet the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Requirements. There are no dues or MCLE requirements for the remainder of the calendar year in which you are admitted.

No. You must take the Oath of Attorney and sign the Roll of Attorneys. Your name is then added to the official roster of the Oklahoma Bar Association, and a bar card and permanent identification number are issued.

The admission ceremony is normally scheduled two weeks after the announcement of the results.

Conviction of a felony is not an absolute bar to taking the Oklahoma bar exam, but it is a factor that will be considered in determining whether a person can prove by clear and convincing evidence that he/she possesses the requisite good character and fitness to qualify for admission to the Oklahoma bar. The Board considers the nature of the crime, how long ago it was committed, the punishment, and positive contributions to society since the conviction. A pardon or a restoration of the person’s civil rights is certainly a positive factor.

Bankruptcy is in itself not a disqualifying factor, but the Board will look at the apparent reasons for the bankruptcy to determine whether they may be disqualifying financial responsibility factors.

Yes

It depends. If the issue appears serious and is brought to the attention of the Board before the exam, the Board may determine that you are ineligible to take the exam unless and until the issue is resolved in your favor. Frequently investigations are still in progress as the exam date approaches. In many instances you will be permitted to take the exam; but even if you pass the exam, you still must resolve all character and fitness issues to the satisfaction of the Board before you can be licensed.

A lawyer is regularly called upon to handle a client’s funds or to advise a client with respect to money management issues. A history of credit problems (delinquent credit card or other charge accounts, missed loan or rent payments, etc.) indicates an applicant’s apparent lack of financial responsibility.

Rule One, §1, of the Rules states that the applicant shall have good moral character, due respect for the law, and fitness to practice law. An applicant with a lengthy record of traffic violations and/or DUI and DWI charges may lack due respect for the law. Indications of substance abuse will be carefully reviewed.

No

No. The Board has adopted the ABA Standards for Approval of Law Schools. See Rule Four, §3.

Yes. Simply mark the box on your exam application that you will be using your laptop for the essay portion of the exam. There is a fee of $125 payable to ExamSoft when you register your laptop. Additional information regarding system requirements and use of your laptop will be sent to each registered exam applicant in the Exam Information Packet which is typically emailed in mid-January for the February exam and in mid-June for the July exam.

Yes

Admission must be effected within one year after the date the bar exam results are released. Otherwise the exam is nullified.

Approximately 200 apply for the February exam.

Approximately 400 apply for the July exam.

Unlimited number of times.

The fee depends on your status (registered law student, non-registered law student, attorney, repeat applicant) when you apply. Go to Applications for the fee list or to Rule Seven in the Rules Governing Admission.

No

The fee will apply to the next scheduled bar exam. A new Exam Application form must be submitted by the application deadline.

Yes. If successful on the bar exam, you will not be admitted to practice law until the MPRE requirement (scaled score of 80) has been met.

Possibly not.  There have been instances where the MPRE results have not be received prior to the Board’s filing the Recommendation for Admission with the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

No. The application must be received in the office by the deadline.

No

Yes. Late filing is allowed for two months after deadline with payment of additional fee. If filed within 30 days after the deadline, the late fee is $50. If filed during the second month after the deadline, the late fee is $150. See Rule 7 of the Rules Governing Admission.

The Uniform Bar Exam is administered on the last Tuesday and Wednesday of February and July. The MPT and MEE are given on Tuesday. The MBE is given on Wednesday.

Six months prior to the exam date. The bar exam is administered on the last Tuesday and Wednesday in February. To simplify the calculation of the due date, the February exam deadline is September 1 of the year preceding and the July exam deadline is February 1. If a deadline falls on a non-business day (i.e., Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday), applications will be accepted until the close of business on the first day immediately following the deadline. Repeat applications are due December 15 for the February exam.

Six months prior to the exam date. The bar exam is administered on the last Tuesday and Wednesday in July. Late filing allowed for two months after deadline with payment of additional fee. To simplify the calculation of the due date, the July exam deadline is February 1 of the current year. If a deadline falls on a non-business day (i.e., Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday), applications will be accepted until the close of business on the first day immediately following the deadline. Repeat applications are due May 15.

Oklahoma requires a scaled score of 80 or higher on the MPRE.

Oklahoma has adopted the Uniform Bar Exam. For information about topics on the UBE please visit www.ncbex.org.

The MPRE is given three times a year at various locations across the country. Use the MPRE link on the Resourses page of our website to access application deadlines, exam dates, and the application itself.

Oklahoma does not rate the bar review courses. Bar review courses frequently used in Oklahoma are Bar/Bri and PMBR. There are also companies that offer software review courses for the MBE. Check the bulletin boards at the law school for information.

Oklahoma City only.  

Yes, a credit card option is offered by the National Conference of Bar Examiners and to the Oklahoma Board of Bar Examiners. We accept only Mastercard, Visa and American Express.

No. The application must be received in the office of the Board of Bar Examiners by 5:00 p.m. on October 15 of the second year of law school. If a deadline falls on a non-business day (i.e., Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday), applications will be accepted until the close of business on the first day immediately following the deadline.

No. An application for a specific bar exam must be filed six months prior to the date of the exam you plan to take.

You may file a nunc pro tunc application at any time during law school. The filing fee increases from $125 to $500.

The Licensed Legal Internship Program established by the Oklahoma Supreme Court is primarily designed for third-year law students enrolled in Oklahoma law schools. It is a separate department of the Oklahoma Bar Association. With the limited license to practice law a legal intern is allowed to make court appearances in both civil and criminal matters. A supervising attorney appearance is required for many, but not all, court procedures. One of the main benefits of a Legal Intern license is the practical experience a student can obtain.

Oklahoma has a two step process to apply for the Oklahoma bar examination:

1. Register as a law student with the Oklahoma Board of Bar Examiners;

2. File an application to take a specific bar examination.

Registering by the October 15 of second year of law school deadline saves money ($125 as opposed to $500 for late registration) and allows time to settle any character and fitness issues before you have invested three years in law school only to be denied permission to take the bar exam after graduation. The registration also fulfills one requirement for participation in the Legal Intern program. You can file your law student registration application anytime after starting law school up to October 15th of your second year!

All applications require a character and fitness background investigation.  Oklahoma utilizes the NCBE for that purpose and therefore all applications must be accompanied by a completed NCBE Questionnaire.  Application processing times vary with each application.  If the information provided is complete and accurate and all required documentation is received in a timely fashion, it will typically take approximately 16-24 weeks after your application has been accepted for processing.  To ensure the quickest processing of your application, provide complete and accurate information to all questions on both the Oklahoma UBE Score Transfer application and the NCBE Questionnaire.  Contact your references and employers and ask them to promptly respond to inquiries from the NCBE.  Provide accurate email addresses in order to expedite the reference and employment verification process.  Promptly respond to all requests for information received from the NCBE or this office.