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Tennessee

Verified

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

How to apply

Admitting agencyTennessee Board of Law Examiners
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 2027
UBE min scoreLegacy UBE: 270; NextGen UBE: 620
MPRE requiredRequired, minimum score 82
Education requirementABA-approved JD required: No; Alternatives accepted: Non-ABA-approved in-state law school, non-ABA-approved out-of-state law school (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 or practice of law in a US or foreign jurisdiction, and determination of educational equivalency)

Other required components

Local law componentYes - jurisdiction-specific requirement flagged by NCBE (verify content/name with tnble.org).
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: 3 years/5 years
UBE transfer acceptedyes
Score age limit3 years/5 years

Admission on motion

Allows AOMyes
Reciprocal onlyno
Years of practice5 of past 7
AOM fee$1,400 (plus C&F fee)
Other requirementsMPRE required; ABA-approved JD required; diploma-privilege admittees ARE eligible; definition of 'practice' left to supplemental remarks (case-by-case).
Official AOM source

Essays & sample answers

Publishes past essaysyes (MEE questions only; no applicant sample answers)
Years availableSite states MEE Summaries/Questions are 'posted to [the] page after May 15 for a February [exam]' — ongoing, current through at least February 2026 per site text; direct fetch of this specific URL returned 404 in this session (site may have restructured), so treat with caution
Sample answersno — page name is 'MPT Summaries and MEE Questions', not sample answers
Exam typeUBE (adopted 2018)
Essay archive / sample answers

Tennessee Board of Law Examiners page reported via search but a direct fetch attempt returned HTTP 404; may indicate the URL has changed or requires a different path — recommend re-crawl of tnble.org navigation to find the current equivalent page.

Fees & deadlines

Feesfirst_time_applicant: $725 (plus C&F fee); attorney_applicant: $725 (plus C&F fee); repeater: $725 (plus C&F fee); 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: May 1; july_2026_late: May 20; february_2027_regular: Dec. 1; february_2027_late: Dec. 20
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 Tennessee. Discovery content only — not eligibility approval.

Georgia's broad AOM reciprocal network (GA as a 'hub')

Georgia recognizes AOM reciprocity with ~44 jurisdictions (a very broad list covering most UBE and non-UBE states alike) provided the applicant meets 5-of-past-7-years practice and other 'more stringent and exacting' conditions mirrored back from the home jurisdiction.

Official sources

Source 1 Source 2 Source 3
NextGen UBE first administration announced for July 2027; Legacy UBE final administration February 2027.

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