Washington

Verified

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

How to apply

Admitting agencyWashington State Bar Association

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 2026

UBE min scoreLegacy UBE: 260; NextGen UBE: 610

MPRE requiredRequired, minimum score 85

Education requirementABA-approved JD required: No; Alternatives accepted: Non-ABA-approved in-state law school, non-ABA-approved out-of-state law school, law office study (additional: Specified number of hours at ABA-approved law school); Foreign-educated graduates eligible: Yes (Additional education at an ABA-approved law school, practice of law in foreign jurisdiction)

Other required components

Local law componentYes - jurisdiction-specific component required before admission per NCBE (Washington Law Component); confirm current form with wsba.org.

Other pathsWashington Law Clerk Program (APR 6): a 4-year law-office-study apprenticeship alternative to law school - requires a bachelor's degree, full-time paid employment/study with a supervising lawyer/judge (10+ years experience) as tutor, ~$2,000/year program fee; completion qualifies the clerk to sit the Washington bar exam. Washington also permits non-ABA law study more broadly (in-state/out-of-state non-ABA schools, law office study). Admission on motion (1 of past 3 years - notably short - non-reciprocity) also available; diploma-privilege admittees eligible for admission on motion.

Transfer options

Accepts transferred UBEYes (accepts legacy UBE: Yes; NextGen UBE: Yes); max score age: 40 months

UBE transfer acceptedyes

Score age limit40 months

Admission on motion

Allows AOMyes

Reciprocal onlyno

Years of practice1 of past 3

AOM fee$970 (plus C&F fee)

Other requirementsABA-approved JD NOT required; diploma-privilege admittees ARE eligible. Also separately accepts UBE score transfer (legacy min 260) within 40 months.

Official AOM source

Essays & sample answers

Publishes past essaysno dedicated MEE archive found; WLC research materials ARE published

Years availableWLC Research Materials appear to be updated/current-only (not a multi-year past-question archive); no MEE archive found on wsba.org

Sample answersno

Exam typeUBE (adopted July 2020; also has separate Washington Law Component, WLC, replacing the old Washington-specific essay questions)

Terms of useWSBA FAQ confirms WLC research materials are open/available to applicants preparing for the test (not restricted), though it's a study-guide, not past-exam archive

Essay archive / sample answers

Washington replaced its historic Washington State Legal Education (WSLE)/state essay questions with the multiple-choice WLC; because the WLC is MC (not essay) and the UBE portion is standard MEE/MPT, Washington does not appear to publish its own past bar-exam essays.

Fees & deadlines

Feesfirst_time_applicant: $595; attorney_applicant: $645 (plus C&F fee); repeater: $595 (non-attorney repeaters) / $645 (attorney repeaters); 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: $119

Application deadlinesjuly_2026_regular: March 5; july_2026_late: April 5; february_2027_regular: Oct. 5; 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 Washington. Discovery content only — not eligibility approval.

UBE score transfer: WA + OR (Pacific Northwest)

Both are UBE jurisdictions; WA accepts UBE score transfer up to 40 months after the exam (legacy min 260), OR accepts UBE transfer up to 36 months (or comity via 24-of-48-months practice).

Official sources

Source 1 Source 2 Source 3

Washington already moved to NextGen UBE for July 2026 (ahead of most jurisdictions) - Legacy UBE final administration was February 2026 per NCBE. Washington previously operated the Limited License Legal Technician (LLLT) program for non-lawyer legal services (now sunset/wound down) - not itself a path to full attorney licensure, so not listed as an "other path" here; confirm current status if referenced.

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