Applying for Admission

Applicants much click on each section and check the certification at the bottom of each section.

Starting the process. Applicants must create an account on-line. The link to register/log in is located on the top right hand side of the home page of the web site. Once you have registered, you will receive an activation email noreply@njbarexams.org. Make sure you check your spam folder and/or permit emails from njbarexams.org.

After you have activated your account and if the application period has been opened, you can begin an application. A complete bar application consists of several elements as follows:

1. The on-line Character Questionnaire (also referred to as character statement or character and fitness form). When you submit the character questionnaire, you will be given the option of paying by credit card. If you do not select to pay by credit card at that time, you cannot go back later and pay via credit card.

Do not send a paper copy of your Character and Fitness Questionnaire.

Until you press "Submit" from the User Home Page, your application will not be submitted to the Board of Bar Examiners. Please confirm that you have submitted your application by checking Application Information on your User Home Page. Application Status should be "Submitted."

2. The application fee;

3. A one-page paper application form, which must be signed, notarized and uploaded from your User Home Page and

4. A one page Authorization and Release form, which must be signed, notarized and uploaded from your User Home Page.

5. Sworn and notarized Affidavit or Certification that you have taught full time at an ABA approved law school in New Jersey for the past five (5) years, earned at least a J.D. or LL.B. degree from an ABA approved law school and that you are admitted by examination in another jurisdiction in the United States.

6. A letter from the Dean, Associate Dean or Registrar of the law school confirming that you have taught full-time for the past five (5) years;

7. A letter from the Dean, Associate Dean or Registrar of the law school which you attended as a student confirming your dates of attendance, the awarding of a degree and the existence or non-existence of any disciplinary infractions;

Your application WILL NOT be acknowledged until the one page application form and the one page Authorization and Release form are uploaded. It is strongly recommended that you upload these items as soon as possible.

Payments. Payments can be made via credit card when the character questionnaire is submitted OR with a money order or certified check or cashier’s check. If paying via "paper," you must attach payment to the Non-credit Card Payments form, which is available on the User Home Page. Payments are non-refundable.

NOTES

UNACCEPTABLE forms of payment include: Personal checks, corporate checks, law firm checks and Travelers’ checks. We cannot accept any foreign checks, personal checks, money orders, cash, or other instruments, even if drawn against a US financial institution. If an application is submitted with the incorrect amount or an incorrect method of payment, the application will not be considered submitted until appropriate payment is received. The fees applicable at the time of a correct submission (amount and method) will be in effect.

NOTES

You are required to amend your Certified Statement within 30 days of any change to the information provided. This requirement remains in effect until you are admitted or withdraw, or until you are abandoned. To amend your application, go to your User Home Page and select "Amend Application." Click on Character & Fitness Questionnaire under Forms & Progress, edit as needed, and click on “Submit Addendum” on the User Home Page.

The following fees are in effect

When you submit the character questionnaire, you will be given the option of paying by credit card. If you do not select to pay by credit card at that time, you cannot go back later and pay via credit card.

As of May 1, 2019, credit cards transactions cannot be processed from 11:30 p.m.-12:00 a.m. EST. Credit card payments must be received prior to 11:30 p.m. EST to ensure they are posted on the same day.

Fees may be paid online via credit card or by "paper" payment. The "paper" fee payment must be in the form of a certified check, cashier's check, or money order and be attached to the form "Non-credit Card Payments", which can be found on your User Home Page.

Supplemental Documentation

Supplemental documents must be submitted on-line AFTER submitting the Character and Fitness Questionnaire. Once the questionnaire is submitted, a link to upload documents will be activated (lower right hand side of your User Home Page).

All documents other than the character questionnaire are considered supplemental, including the one page application and the one page Authorization and Release forms. However, these two documents should be uploaded as soon as possible - applications will not be acknowledged without them. Please read the acknowledgement letter carefully as it contains information needed to continue the process.

Standard supplemental documents include:

• Any required driver's abstracts. You must submit a certified complete record of your driving history, which is maintained by the Division of Motor Vehicles in the state or jurisdiction (including foreign jurisdictions) in which you hold (or have held) a driver's license in the last seven years. Any on-line abstracts that are submitted MUST be obtained from the motor vehicle agency of the respective state or jurisdiction; no third-party abstracts will be accepted. You must request a COMPLETE abstract. Three-year (abbreviated) abstracts are not accepted.
  
  NEW JERSEY LICENSED DRIVERS:
  http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/pdf/license/DO-21.pdf
  
  Applicants must check the box "CERTIFIED COMPLETE RECORD - $15 PER SEARCH (Court/Bar Exam)."
  
  NEW YORK LICENSED DRIVERS:
  http://www.dmv.ny.gov/forms/mv15.pdf
  
  PENNSYLVANIA LICENSED DRIVERS:
  http://www.dot.state.pa.us/Public/DVSPubsForms/BDL/BDL%20Form/DL-503.pdf
  
  These forms can also be accessed from the "General Application Information" tab on our web site.


• Law school certificate. You must print a law school certificate form, fill out the top portion, and submit the form to your law schools(s). A certificate is required from any law school you attended, whether you graduated from that institution or not. The form can be found on your User Home Page.


• Transcripts. School transcripts are required if:
  • • requested by your reviewing attorney or case file manager; or
  • • if you answered "yes" to any of the questions under Section 3D, Education, Probation or Discipline.
  
  If required, contact your school and request that an official transcript of your grades be sent directly to the Board of Bar Examiners.
• 
  Ethics requirement. The ethics requirement can be satisfied by:
  • 1. taking an approved ethics course in law school and receiving a grade of C or better (as certified on the law school certificate by the law school); or
  • 2. taking the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) and receiving a 75 or better.
  
  If you did not take an approved ethics course in law school, you must arrange to have your MPRE score sent to us from the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE). The MPRE scores do not “expire;” scores of 75 or greater from prior years can be used to fulfill the ethics requirement.
• 
  Fingerprinting. All applicants must be fingerprinted. By law, agencies may not share fingerprinting results. Applicants who have been fingerprinted by another agency must be re-printed.


• 
  Detailed instructions regarding the fingerprinting process will be provided in your on-line acknowledgement. You cannot be printed until you have received instructions and a "Contributor’s Case Number" for Box 7 of the form, which will be included with your acknowledgement information.


• Supplemental documents:
  • 1. Certificate of Good Standing; and
  • 2. Certificate of Ethical Conduct (disciplinary history).
  
  Please note that these may not be the same documents and typically come from different agencies. A list of disciplinary offices is available on our website under the "General Application Information" tab.


• Applicant specific supplemental documents based on responses in character questionnaire, such as:
  • • Court documents;
  • • School transcripts;
  • • Police documentation;
  • • Other documents as indicated when required based on answers to the character questionnaire;
  • • Military discharge documents;
  • • Any documentation requested by your reviewing attorney, typically due within 30 days of the request.

• All candidates must be fingerprinted so that we may perform a Criminal History search. Detailed instructions will be included with your acknowledgment packet. Your applicant ID will be available in the acknowledgement packet and must be entered in box 7, Case Contributer’s Number.

  By law, fingerprinting results are only available to the agency requesting the prints. If you have been printed by another state agency, you MUST be reprinted for the bar examination.

Acknowledgements, Correspondence with the Office, and Other Information Useful information

A checklist is available for applicants on the web site under the "General Application Information" tab. In addition, a “Definitions” sheet is available. Please read both of these documents and use the checklist to help keep track of what you have done and still need to do.

Please retain a copy of your payment form. To guard against loss and ensure proof of timely filing, ship by overnight carrier, return receipt and/or required signature by receiver to one of the following addresses:

Overnight Delivery via DHL, FedEx, UPS, etc.:
Board of Bar Examiners
Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex
25 West Market St., 8th Fl, North Wing
Trenton, NJ 08611

Certified/First Class/Express/Priority Mail via United States Postal Service:
Board of Bar Examiners
PO Box 973
Trenton, NJ 08625-0973

Complete submissions (online character questionnaire, payment, one page application and one page authorization and release form) are processed in the order received in the office. During peak times, particularly for the July examination, it may take four weeks or more for your application to be acknowledged once all required information is received.

DO NOT call the office to find the status of your application. With volume of approximately 4,000 applicants for a July exam, it is not possible to respond to individual requests.

Check the "Announcements" section of the web site for updates on processing. Keep your receipt from the Post Office, UPS, FedEx, etc. as proof that you sent your paper payment by a certain date if not paying via credit card. The announcement will indicate what date we are processing complete applications.

Once your case file manager processes your application, you will receive an acknowledgement packet posted to your User Home Page.

The acknowledgement packet will consist of two parts:

• 1. information and general instructions;
• 2. acknowledgement of your complete application with payment; and
• 3. fingerprint instructions.

Please read these documents carefully as they contain important information regarding the next steps you must take in the process, the name of your case file manager, etc.

Communication with your case file manager can be accomplished in one of three ways:

• • Messaging from your User Home Page. This method typically results in the fastest response;
• • Email; and
• • Phone.

Please select only ONE method for each question you have; sending the same inquiry multiple times slows down response time. During peak periods, case file managers’ voice mailboxes are often filled to capacity. Please allow two business days for your case file manager to respond before sending a follow up.

Committee on Character and Certification Process

To be admitted, applicants must pass the bar examination AND be certified by the Committee on Character. Please read the Committee on Character Regulations, available under the “Exam” tab on the web site. Each applicant will be assigned to a reviewing attorney. Your application will not be forwarded to the reviewing attorney until it is complete. A complete application package consists of:

• • Law school certificate(s);
• • Proof of satisfaction of ethics requirement (MPRE or law school course as indicated on law school certificate);
• • Driver's abstract(s) as appropriate;
• • Certificate(s) of Good Standing as appropriate;
• • Disciplinary History as appropriate; and
• • Fingerprinting results.

Please make sure to provide all of the required supplemental documents as soon as possible. Candidates cannot be admitted without being certified. Your reviewing attorney may request additional information after receiving your file. Again, the more quickly you comply, the more quickly your file will be processed by your reviewing attorney. Applicants who do not respond may be abandoned and scores nullified.

In some cases, an interview or hearing may be required. Applicants will be notified when this occurs. It is the applicant’s duty to update the Character and Fitness Questionnaire until admitted or until the applicant withdraws from consideration or is abandoned due to non-responsiveness.

Failure to timely submit supplemental documentation and other required information, such as driver’s abstracts, may result in a delay in the certification process.