You must complete the admission process within 40 months from the date of the administration of the bar exam in which the passing score was earned; within 12 months of the LPO exam.

The Oath of Attorney and Oath of LPO must be taken in person, by telephone, or by videoconference before an elected or appointed judge, excluding judges pro tempore, sitting in the state of Washington. See APR 5(f) for more information.

Once you complete all of the new admittee licensing requirements, a recommendation for your admission is sent to the Washington Supreme Court.  It generally takes two to three weeks for the Court to issue an admission order admitting you to the practice of law in Washington.  You will be notified by email from WSBA when you have been admitted and a license number is assigned. Your bar card and certificate will be mailed within two to three weeks.

New lawyers only may purchase a wall certificate suitable for framing, approximately 16 ½” x 13 ½”, by writing to:

WSBA staff issues an electronic ID card to the applicant's online user home page, and forwards a copy to your supervising lawyer by email.  Applicants may not act as a Rule 9 licensed legal intern until they receive an ID card and supervision officially begins. 

Applications are forwarded for licensure to the Washington Supreme Court. If you are a Washington licensed legal professional and need a copy of your licensure application, please contact the Clerk's office at supreme@courts.wa.gov.

Any applicant with a disability for which testing accommodation is needed must request such accommodation though the online admissions site at least 80 days prior to the examination date.  Applicants requesting testing accommodations because of disabilities must provide appropriate documentation of the disability and specify the extent to which the standard testing procedures need to be modified. The burden of proof is on the applicant to show the need for any testing accommodations.  The Bar reserves the right to make final judgement concerning testing accommodations and may have documentation reviewed by a medical specialist, psychologist or learning disability specialist.  See the testing-accommodation webpage for additional information. Any testing accommodation may not compromise the integrity or security of the examination or affect the standards set for the examination. 

The length of time to complete a character and fitness review of an application varies by application. Washington requires resolution of all character and fitness issues at least 18 days prior to sitting for the exam. Applicants with information to disclose that may raise an issue of character or fitness are strongly encouraged to file their applications early in the registration period.

All applications for admission to the practice of law in Washington are subject to character and fitness review.  We look at each application on a case-by-case basis.  Please refer to APR 20(c)-(e) and APR 21 which include definitions for good moral character, fitness to practice law and the essential eligibility requirements and describe factors considered when determining an applicant's character and fitness.

You are required to provide details of any violations or events responsive to any application question, even if you are unable to find any documentation.  Please be as accurate as possible with the information you provide in your application.  Please answer the question to the best of your ability.

The NCBE and WSBA are not limited to contacting only the individuals you name in your application when performing its investigation. The WSBA and NCBE will contact anyone necessary to investigate and verify the information in the application.

1. Graduated from an ABA-accredited law school; or
2. Completed the Washington Supreme Court APR 6 Law Clerk Program; or
3. Graduated from any U.S. law school and earned an LLM degree from an ABA-accredited law school that meets the requirements of Washington Supreme Court APR 3; or
4. Graduated from a university or law school outside the U.S. with a degree in law that currently qualifies you to practice law as a lawyer or the equivalent in that jurisdiction and earned an LLM degree from an ABA-approved law school that meets the requirements of Washington Supreme Court APR 3; or
5. Been admitted to the practice of law in any jurisdiction where the common law of England is the basis of its jurisprudence and have active legal experience for at least three of the five years immediately preceding the filing of the application.

To take the LPO exam, you must be at least 18 years old. In all cases, you must establish that you possess good moral character and the requisite fitness to practice as a LPO.

Washington accepts UBE Scores of 260 or higher for the legacy UBE and 610 or higher for the NextGen UBE.

You are not allowed to take the Washington bar exam if you:

• qualify for admission by motion, see APR 3(c);
• qualify for admission by UBE score transfer, see APR 3(d); or
• do not intend to seek admission to the practice of law in Washington. Only bona fide applicants applying for admission to the practice of law in Washington are allowed to take the Washington bar exam.

Submit a new application for admission by motion and application fee through the online admissions system. Your NCBE investigation report might be a supplemental report at a lower cost than the full fee for a new report.

The following hotels have given special rates to applicants taking the bar exam and LPO exam.  You should make your arrangements as soon as possible, because space is limited.  When making your reservations, you must mention that you are a Washington State Bar Exam applicant, in order to receive the special rate.

Hotel Murano
1320 Broadway, WA 98421
Tacoma, WA 98402

Courtyard Tacoma Downtown Hotel
1515 Commerce Street
Tacoma, WA 98402
253-591-9100

There will be coffee, tea, and water provided at the site for no additional costs. 

No, unless you made a special request, and that request was approved. In general, applicants are able to access personal belongings during breaks and, if necessary, during the exam in the company of a proctor.  A special request can be made at least 18 days in advance of the exam online from your user home page. All requests must be supported (if applicable) by written documentation from a treatment provider.

No, the WSBA provides scratch paper.

See the schedule on your user home page.

Washington's qualifying score is 260 for the legacy UBE and 610 for the NextGen UBE. 

The exam results are published on the WSBA website.  

No. APR 4(b) and WSBA Admission Policies IX.A(3) state that there is no appeal of final examinations results.

Yes, Unsuccessful applicants will receive copies of their written essay answers with raw scores, MEE questions and analyses, and MPT by logging into their ILG Exam360 account.

Please review the Fees & Deadlines webpage.

Please see the Fees & Deadlines page 

 Yes.  All bank card transactions are subject to separate non-refundable transaction fee of 2.5%. There is no transaction fee for payments by electronic funds transfer or check.

If you withdraw 18 days or more prior to the exam, then you will receive a partial refund. Please review the Fees & Deadline page.

No, however, you may withdraw and then reapply during the next application acceptance period.        

To apply for the Law Clerk Program, you must meet the qualifications stated in the Washington Supreme Court Admission and Practice Rule (APR) 6(b).

1. Be of good moral character and fitness;
2. Bachelor’s degree from a school with approved accreditation;
3. Be engaged in regular, full-time employment in Washington State in a law office, legal department or court;
4. Have an established tutor relationship and;
5. Pay the $100 non-refundable application fee.

Upon submission of your Law Clerk application, you may provide a petition for advanced standing. With your petition, you must provide proof of courses taken, syllabi and course material.

*Basic Legal Skills cannot be granted for advanced standing.

Applications are due 60 days prior to the Board meeting in which you wish to apply for consideration. For example, if a Board meeting is on August 2^nd, your application would be due June 1^st.

The annual fee ($2,000) must be paid in full  by January 31^st each year. There is no payment plan available.

No, if enrolled sometime during the year, you can make a pro-rated payment based on the number of months enrolled that year. For example, if enrolled in August you would pay an enrollment fee of $830.00 ($166/month x 5 months). Then, each year thereafter, you would pay the annual fee.

Once your application is reviewed, you will be assigned a liaison from the Law Clerk Board. The assigned liaison will visit you and your tutor at your office to conduct an interview. The liaison will bring a recommendation to the Board for review at their next meeting. You will be notified within one week after the Board meeting on your enrollment status.

A tutor must meet the qualifications stated in the Washington Supreme Court Admission and Practice Rule (APR) 7. A primary tutor must meet the following requirements:

1. Only act as a tutor for one clerk at a time;
2. Be an active member in good standing;
3. Active legal experience for at least 10 of the last 12 years (2 of those years must be in WA); and
4. Certify to the applicant’s employment;

No. For all Law Clerk applicants, there is a $100 non-refundable administrative processing fee.

If you fail the test, you must wait 24 hours before retaking the test. If you failed more than once, you must wait 72 hours before retaking the test. There is no limit on how many times you can take the WLC.

Admission by Motion and UBE transfer score applicants must pass the WLC within one year from the date of filing the application. Please reference the Admissions Policies for more information.