Ohio

Verified

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

How to apply

Admitting agencyOffice of Bar Admissions Supreme Court of Ohio

Application portalApply online

Character & fitnessNCBE conducts investigations for some application types. 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: 270; NextGen UBE: 620

MPRE requiredRequired, minimum score 85

Education requirementABA-approved JD required: No; Alternatives accepted: Non-ABA-approved out-of-state law school (additional: See supplemental remarks); Foreign-educated graduates eligible: Yes (Additional education at an ABA-approved law school, determination of educational equivalency)

Other required components

Local law componentYes - jurisdiction-specific requirement flagged by NCBE (confirm exact form/content with Ohio Office of Bar Admissions; historically Ohio requires no separate written state-law test beyond standard UBE, but flagged Yes in NCBE data - verify).

Other pathsAdmission on motion (5 of past 7 years, non-reciprocity) available; diploma-privilege admittees eligible for admission on motion.

Transfer options

Accepts transferred UBEYes (accepts legacy UBE: Yes; NextGen UBE: Yes); max score age: 5 years

UBE transfer acceptedyes

Score age limit5 years

Admission on motion

Allows AOMyes

Reciprocal onlyno

Years of practice5 of past 7

AOM fee$1,500 (plus C&F fee)

Other requirementsMPRE (85) required; ABA-approved JD required per general bar-exam eligibility.

Official AOM source

Essays & sample answers

Publishes past essaysyes

Years availableFebruary 2019 through February 2025 confirmed (individual PDFs: feb19, july19, feb20, jul21, feb22, feb23, jul23, jul24, feb25); pre-UBE Ohio essay questions also referenced back to 1992 per a library holdings note (Capital University Law Library, 1992-2022)

Sample answersyes ('Selected Answers' for both MEE questions and MPT items)

Exam typeUBE (adopted July 2020; prior to that, Ohio-specific essay exam)

Terms of useNot explicitly stated on PDFs beyond attributing MEE/MPT copyright to NCBE

Essay archive / sample answers Essay archive / sample answers

Supreme Court of Ohio is a strong, consistently updated example — posts MEE Q&A + selected answers and MPT summaries + selected answers every single cycle at a stable URL pattern (.../essay_questions/<season><yy>.pdf).

Fees & deadlines

Feesfirst_time_applicant: $452; attorney_applicant: $452; repeater: $452; 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: $121

Application deadlinesjuly_2026_regular: April 1; july_2026_late: May 10; february_2027_regular: Nov. 1; february_2027_late: Dec. 10

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 Ohio. Discovery content only — not eligibility approval.

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).

Official sources

Source 1 Source 2 Source 3

NextGen UBE first acceptance date listed as November 2026 (transfer-score acceptance) with first Ohio administration July 2028; Legacy UBE final administration February 2028. All applications must be filed via the Bar Admissions Portal (paper no longer accepted since Jan 26, 2022).

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