South Carolina

Verified

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

How to apply

Admitting agencySouth Carolina Supreme Court Board of Law Examiners

Application portalApply online

Character & fitnessThis jurisdiction does not use NCBE's character and fitness services; please contact South Carolina 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 77

Education requirementABA-approved JD required: Yes; Foreign-educated graduates eligible: No

Other required components

Local law componentYes - jurisdiction-specific requirement flagged by NCBE (confirm content/name with SC Board of Law Examiners).

Other pathsNCBE data shows SC rules do NOT provide for admission on motion (aom_provided=No) for standard practitioners; SC is essentially exam-only outside limited law-teaching-based motion admission. No diploma privilege identified.

Transfer options

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

UBE transfer acceptedyes

Score age limit3 years

Admission on motion

Allows AOMno (permitted only on a limited basis)

Reciprocal onlyConfirm with the admitting authority.

Years of practiceConfirm with the admitting authority.

AOM fee$400 (limited-basis application fee)

Other requirementsSC does not offer general admission on motion. A very limited exception process exists. All standard applicants must sit the SC Bar Exam (UBE as of Feb. 2017 admin. through Feb 2028; NextGen thereafter, first administration July 2028).

Official AOM source

Essays & sample answers

Publishes past essaysunclear — no dedicated public archive found on sccourts.org in this session

Years availableConfirm with the admitting authority.

Sample answersno clear evidence found

Exam typeNon-UBE (South Carolina-specific essay exam with 7 sections; does not use MEE/MPT/MBE/UBE)

Essay archive / sample answers

Only rules/format pages found (sccourts.org); a public essay-question archive was not located — third-party prep sites (testmaxprep.com) advertise 'Real Practice Essays' commercially, suggesting the official site may not freely publish past exams.

Fees & deadlines

Feesfirst_time_applicant: $1,000 / $1,500; attorney_applicant: $1,000 / $1,500 + $750; repeater: $1,000 / $1,500; 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: $125.50

Application deadlinesjuly_2026_regular: Jan. 10; july_2026_late: Jan. 31; february_2027_regular: Aug. 31; february_2027_late: Sep. 30

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.

Official sources

Source 1 Source 2

NextGen UBE first administration announced for July 2028; Legacy UBE final administration February 2028.

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