Board of Governors Issues Statement on Bar Exam

June 17, 2020

On June 10, 2020, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals issued an order announcing that its Committee on Admissions has scheduled an online, remote D.C. bar exam for October 5 and 6. This exam will be held in lieu of the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) previously scheduled for September 2020.

The D.C. Court of Appeals Committee on Admissions, a separate and distinct entity from the D.C. Bar, is responsible for planning and administering the bar exam and determining who should be admitted to the practice of law in the District of Columbia. Neither the D.C. Bar nor its Board of Governors plays a role in the admissions process.  

According to the order, the remote bar exam will include questions prepared by the National Conference of Bar Examiners and will test the same topics as the UBE, but the remote bar exam will not count as the UBE and it will not provide a portable UBE score. The D.C. Court of Appeals Committee on Admissions will continue to consult with other UBE jurisdictions in an effort to coordinate reciprocal acceptance of remote exam scores; however, any such decision will depend on factors related to the exam administration and scoring that will take some time to develop.  

The D.C. Court of Appeals has determined that applicants who registered earlier for the UBE examination and now wish to withdraw can request a refund by emailing [email protected]. The deadline to request a refund is September 15. Applicants who wish to withdraw and credit their fees to a future application, no later than July 2021, may do so by emailing [email protected]. 

Interested persons can reach the D.C. Court of Appeals Committee on Admissions at [email protected] with questions about the October examination or the application process.