New York

Verified

Imported 2026-09-27 — not yet reviewed; confirm with the admitting authority.

How to apply

Admitting agencyNew York State Board of Law Examiners

Application portalApply online

Character & fitnessThis jurisdiction does not use NCBE's character and fitness services; please contact New York for filing instructions. MPRE/character timing: character & fitness application should be filed with the bar exam application by the jurisdiction's filing deadline; most jurisdictions require the NCBE Character and Fitness Application to be submitted online via ncbex.org regardless of whether NCBE conducts the investigation.

Exam & score rules

Exam typeUBE (legacy); NextGen UBE first administration July 2028

UBE min scoreLegacy UBE: 266; NextGen UBE: TBA

MPRE requiredRequired, minimum score 85

Education requirementABA-approved JD required: No; Alternatives accepted: Non-ABA-approved out-of-state law school, law office study (additional: Bar admission in another state, specified number of years of practice); Foreign-educated graduates eligible: Yes (Additional education at an ABA-approved law school, determination of educational equivalency)

Other required components

Local law componentYes - New York Law Course (NYLC) + online New York Law Exam (NYLE), an online video-lecture course with an online exam, required in addition to the UBE (22 NYCRR 6000.3(b)). Can be completed up to 1 year before or any time after first UBE sitting.

Other pathsDiploma-privilege admittees from other jurisdictions ARE eligible for admission on motion in NY per NCBE data. NY also permits admission via law-office study ("law office study") as an alternative to ABA-JD in limited circumstances.

Transfer options

Accepts transferred UBEYes (accepts legacy UBE: Yes; NextGen UBE: Yes); max score age: 3 years

UBE transfer acceptedyes

Score age limit3 years

Admission on motion

Allows AOMyes

Reciprocal onlyyes

Years of practice5 of past 7

AOM feenot confirmed (contact NY Board of Law Examiners)

Other requirementsMPRE (85) required, time-limited; ABA-approved JD required; diploma-privilege admittees ARE eligible; NY publishes its own reciprocal-jurisdiction list under Rule 520.10.

Official AOM source

Essays & sample answers

Publishes past essaysyes

Years availableAt least 2016 (JULY22QA style pages) through July 2024/February 2024 confirmed; individual PDFs found for July 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022 and February 2018, 2019, 2024, 2025

Sample answersyes ('sample candidate answers that received' high scores per MEE question)

Exam typeUBE (adopted 2016; prior to that, New York Bar Examination (NYBE) with distinct essay/NY-law-specific format)

Terms of usePDFs state sample answers 'have not, in all respects, been graded' as perfect and 'are not intended ... as a means of learning the law'

Essay archive / sample answers Essay archive / sample answers

New York State Board of Law Examiners (nybarexam.org) is a very strong, actively maintained example with a dedicated 'Past Exam Questions and Sample Answers' listing page.

Fees & deadlines

Feesfirst_time_applicant: $250 / $750; attorney_applicant: $250 / $750; repeater: $250 / $750; late_fee_note: Late fees reflected in the higher figure(s) shown for the filing-deadline fields above where jurisdiction publishes a two-tier fee; laptop_fee: $100

Application deadlinesjuly_2026_regular: March 31; july_2026_late: —; february_2027_regular: Oct. 31; february_2027_late: —

Next exam datesUBE jurisdictions administer the exam on the NCBE-set dates, generally the last Tue/Wed of Feb and July; New York has confirmed July 28-29, 2026 for the July 2026 administration. Confirm exact per-jurisdiction dates on the agency site; NCBE filing-deadline data above is confirmed for July 2026 / February 2027.

Possible multi-bar pathways

Researched examples that name New York. Discovery content only — not eligibility approval.

UBE score transfer: NY + NJ

Sit the UBE once in either NY or NJ (or any other UBE state) and transfer the score to the other via NCBE's Official Bar Exam Score Transcript service.

UBE score transfer: CT + MA + NY (reciprocal cluster)

CT publishes an explicit list of ~40 UBE/reciprocal jurisdictions that includes MA and NY (among many others); a UBE score earned in any of these can be transferred to CT, and separately to MA or NY.

Arkansas' explicit reciprocal list (partial capture)

Arkansas' Board of Law Examiners maintains and publishes a formal 'Recognized Reciprocal Jurisdictions' list; being admitted in one of these lets an attorney apply for Arkansas AOM (3 of past 5 years practice).

New Jersey UBE score-transfer as the 'cheapest/fastest' second bar for NY-admitted attorneys

NJ's UBE-transfer rule (Rule 1:24) is one of the most streamlined nationally: a 266+ legacy UBE score earned anywhere (including in NY, since NY administers the UBE) transfers to NJ for a flat $675 fee, rolling deadlines, within a 36-month window, with no extra NJ-specific local-law course required.

Official sources

Source 1 Source 2 Source 3 Source 4 Source 5

July 2026 exam confirmed for July 28-29, 2026 (paper format, no remote option) per nybarexam.org news update. NextGen UBE first administration announced for July 2028 (later than most jurisdictions); Legacy UBE continues through February 2028.

VerdictUp is a study aid and does not provide legal advice or guarantee admission. Confirm with the admitting authority.