Missouri state bar application

Admission Eligibility Requirements for Exam Applicants

Applicants who attain a passing score of 260 or greater must complete all eligibility requirements to be admitted to The Missouri Bar. Rule 8.03(c) provides that if an applicant has not satisfied all admission requirements within one year of the date of written notification of passing the examination, the applicant's examination scores shall be void. Besides passing the examination, the admission requirements are:

1. Receipt by MBLE of an official transcript verifying the J.D. degree has been conferred

• Rule 8.07(c) requires that persons taking the bar examination must have met all the requirements for a J.D. degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association.
• No applicant for admission by examination shall be certified for admission until the J.D. degree has been conferred. To demonstrate that your J.D. degree has been conferred, the Board of Law Examiners requires an official transcript that reflects the date the degree was awarded. "Issued to student" transcripts will not be accepted.
• You should request an official transcript be mailed directly to our office by your school or submitted electronically by the school with email notification to our office at transcripts@courts.mo.gov. The transcript must include the date your J.D. degree was awarded.
• Graduates of nonABA-approved law schools and foreign law schools cannot apply to take the examination unless they demonstrate that they meet the requirements set out in Rule 8.07(d) or (e).
• Review these instructions and checklist if you need to request permission under Rule 8.07(d) or (e) to apply for the bar examination because your law degree is not from an ABA-approved law school.

2. Receipt by MBLE of the applicant’s qualifying score on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination

• Rule 8.08(b) provides that bar exam applicants must attain a scaled score of not less than 80 on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE) before they can be admitted.
• The MPRE is developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) and administered on NCBE's behalf by its test contractor, Pearson VUE. Applicants can access the online MPRE registration only through their NCBE Number accounts. Additional information can be found online on NCBE's MPRE page.
• Applicants must request that NCBE report their MPRE score directly to Missouri. Score reports submitted by applicants are not acceptable.

3. Completion of the Missouri Educational Component Test on Missouri law

• The State of Missouri administers the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) for all exam applicants seeking licensure in the state.
• Because the UBE tests on uniform principals of law, the Supreme Court of Missouri and the Missouri Board of Law Examiners have prepared a mandatory open book test (Missouri Educational Component Test or MECT) for exam applicants to complete as a condition of licensure.
• For information on how to complete this requirement, go to the MECT website.
• Per Rule 8.08(c), you are required to electronically submit your application PRIOR to taking the MECT.

4. Board approval of the applicant’s character and fitness

• All applicants must receive approval by the board of the applicant's character and fitness for admission.
• See Character and Fitness tab at the top of the MBLE Homepage.

5. Verification that the applicant is a citizen of the U.S., an immigrant alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the U.S., or an alien otherwise authorized to work lawfully in the U.S.

• Rule 8.03(a)(4) requires all applicants must be either a citizen or national of the United States, an immigrant lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or an alien otherwise authorized to work lawfully in the United States.
• If you are a U.S. citizen, provide a CERTIFIED birth certificate, a CERTIFIED Consular Report of Birth, or a copy of your Certificate of Citizenship. You should obtain a CERTIFIED birth certificate from the appropriate government office in the state where you were born. If you mail the required document to our office in lieu of uploading the document, our office will retain these documents and they will not be returned to you.
• If you are a naturalized citizen, a lawful permanent resident, or an alien authorized to work in the U.S., provide a legible copy of both sides of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) document evidencing your current status - we will use it to verify your status through USCIS. MBLE cannot accept a copy of your passport as proof of citizenship because USCIS will not verify status on the basis of a passport. You will need to provide a copy of your Certificate of Naturalization or Certificate of Citizenship.
• An Optional Practical Training (OPT) authorization is considered part of the educational purpose of a non-resident student visa. It is not a work visa and is not considered by the Board of Law Examiners as satisfying the requirement of Rule 8.03(a)(4).

SUBMIT ALL DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED TO MBLE BY NO LATER THAN 10 BUSINESS DAYS PRIOR TO THE RELEASE OF RESULTS TO ALLOW THE BOARD TIME TO VERIFY ELIGIBILITY – SEE KEY DATES & DEADLINES

• Until all admission requirements have been met an applicant's name will not be published on the list of successful candidates, and the applicant will not be certified for admission.
• If you passed the exam and intend to participate in the Supreme Court Enrollment Ceremony, you must meet all admission requirements.
• Do NOT wait until after your exam results are posted.
• The admission requirements you have not satisfied will be noted in the most recent Status Report in the Eligibility Reports section of your MBLE user home page.