Bar Exam Information

Florida Bar Admission

The Florida Supreme Court through its administrative arm, Florida Board of Bar Examiners, handles matters relating to admission of attorneys to the practice of law in this state. Two key parts of this process are character / fitness screening and the bar examination itself.

For information on admission requirements, rules, frequently asked questions, exam schedules, filing deadlines, supporting forms, necessary links, an exam application and other relevant data, please go to this link:

Florida Board of Bar Examiners Online

Finger Printing

The Florida Board of Bar Examiners now requires all applicants to be fingerprinted electronically by Integrated Biometric Technology LLC (IBT). IBT has 32 locations across the State of Florida.

You must arrange to be fingerprinted prior to submitting your Bar Application, Student Registration, or CLI Registration. Processing of the application or registration cannot begin until the board has received confirmation (either a receipt provided by you or notification directly from IBT) that your fingerprints have been taken or scanned. The fee to have your fingerprints processed by IBT is $59.25.

If you live in Florida, please go to Integrated Biometric Technology. Follow the instructions found there in order to schedule an appointment to be fingerprinted and to pay the required fee.

If you live outside of Florida:

Have a standard fingerprint card completed by an authorized law enforcement agency;
Go to Integrated Biometric Technology;
Click on “Florida”;
Click on “Online Scheduling”;
Click “Begin Registration”;
Provide the requested information;
Under Step 2, select “Florida Board of Bar Examiners” from the drop down menu;
Under Step 3, click the “Pay for Ink Card Submission” button;
Under Step 4, complete the Personal Information;
Proceed through Step 6 and arrange to submit your payment to IBT by clicking on the “Continue to US Bank E-Pay” button;
Mail your fingerprint card to the address displayed subsequent to arranging payment:

IBT
c/o Prints, Inc.
119 East Park Avenue
Tallahassee, FL 32301

In either case, provide a copy of your receipt to the board with your application. All questions regarding fingerprint submissions should be directed to IBT at (800) 528-1358.

Information on Other State Bar Exams:

The National Conference of Bar Examiners’ website has links to each state’s Bar Admissions Offices, Admissions Procedures and Rules, Multistate Test Dates and Information, Character and Fitness, and Bar Exam Statistics.

The BARBRI website also contains specific information regarding the exam format, subjects tested, exam dates and filing fees and deadlines, grading results and reciprocity for every state.

On the right hand side of the page select the state of interest in the “View information For” Section. Once the BARBRI information appears for that state you may select “Exam Information” which is the third item across the top of the page. The specific information for that state appears. The BARBRI web address is currently on our web page but it appears under the heading and context of Bar Prep Courses but not where information regarding other states may be found.

University of Florida College of Law Certification of Competence in Skills and Professional Values for Applicants for Admission to the NY Bar

Section 520.18 of the New York Rules of the Court of Appeals for Admission of Attorneys and Counselors at Law requires that all JDs applying to the NY bar, who began their program of study after August 1, 2016 and all LLMs who began after August 1, 2018, complete a skills competency component. Section 520.18 includes five pathways for satisfying the requirement. Prior to applying to the NY Bar, all students should review the information provided by the NY Court of Appeals, as well as the FAQs.

Pathway 1 Certification

UF Law has identified the following skills and professional values that are required for our students’ basic competence and ethical participation in the legal profession and has listed the courses in which the skills/values are acquired in the chart below. UF Law will certify JD graduates who have successfully completed (by earning a grade of C or better, or Satisfactory, if graded on the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory scale, in the applicable courses below) as satisfying the “Pathway 1” skills competency requirement.

First year Legal Research, Legal Writing and Appellate Advocacy.
Introduction to Lawyering.
Legal Drafting
Professional Responsibility
Six Credits of Experiential Learning credits (via Simulations, Clinics or Field placements)
40 hour Pro Bono Requirement
Upper Level Writing Requirement (seminar)

Skills/Values	Applicable Courses
Identification and application of, legal rules and principals.	Legal Writing and Appellate Advocacy, Legal Research, Legal Drafting, all doctrinal courses, advanced writing requirement
Communication of the rules and their application in writing and orally.	Legal Writing and Appellate Advocacy, Legal Drafting, Simulations, Clinics & Field Placements, Advanced Writing Requirement
Ability to conduct independent legal research.	Legal Research; Advanced Writing Requirement; Advanced; Co-curricular participation
Ability to produce professional quality legal writing.	Legal Writing and Appellate Advocacy, Legal Drafting
Application of legal rules to new and different fact patterns and the ability to engage in advocacy.	Legal Writing and Appellate Advocacy, Legal Drafting Clinics and Field Placements
Understanding of case law and appropriate precedent.	Legal Writing and Appellate Advocacy, all doctrinal courses; Advanced Writing Requirement
Understanding of the shared values and ethical obligations of the profession.	Introduction to Lawyering, Professional Responsibility, Clinics, Simulations and Field Placements, Pro Bono Requirement
Ethical problem solving skills.	Professional Responsibility; Introduction to Lawyering; Clinics, Field Placements and Simulations
Ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds.	Introduction to Lawyering; Professional Responsibility, Clinics and Field Placements, Pro Bono Requirement

Bar Exam Prep Course Information

A variety of Bar Exam Preparation and Review Courses are offered to law students and graduates studying for the bar exam. The Office of Student Affairs has prepared the following information about several programs more frequently used by UF Law graduates taking the Florida Bar Exam. This list is provided as a resource only and does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. Students are urged to thoroughly check out all vendors before signing a contract. For additional information about preparing for the bar examination, please contact Dean Rachel Inman at inman@law.ufl.edu or call (352) 273.0620.

Full Courses:

(Prepares taker for both the State specific Exam and Multi-State Bar Exam)

1. BARBRI Bar Review

Over the last 40 years, more than one million students have trusted BARBRI to help them pass the bar. BARBRI offers a complete program of lectures, workshops and written materials in all fifty states, as well as First Year and Upper Level Programs. Students can choose from in class, online or mobile lectures.

The BARBRI team of experienced, dynamic faculty spend hours analyzing past exams, providing students with lectures focusing on substantive law and strategies to make the bar exam material manageable. Our workshops include essay writing and more than 2,600 MBE-type questions including both actual released and practice questions, and BARBRI’s StudySmart® MBE software, all at no additional charge. Our materials such as the Multistate and State outline volumes and the highly regarded Conviser Mini Review focus on substantive law and provide examples to clarify complicated points. BARBRI’s exclusive Paced Program™ guides your studies, tracks your progress, puts you at peak performance on exam day, and helps you pass on your first try.

You can learn more about BARBRI’s First Year and Upper Level Review Programs, and the BARBRI Bar Review Course at the BARBRI website or 1-800-950-7277. Enroll early and save money. Taking the MPRE? Enroll in BARBRI’s Free MPRE course and find out why more than one million students have chosen BARBRI.

2. Kaplan PMBR Bar Review

Kaplan Bar Review provides full-service bar review programs in 25 states (Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia) and Washington DC, making its courses available to more than 80% of the U.S. Bar-taking population.

Additionally, Kaplan PMBR Bar Review offers preparation for the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) in all 48 states that require it. Complete Bar Reviews combines 31 years of PMBR Multistate prep, and 70 years of Kaplan testing expertise. Complete Bar Review features a personalized study plan that provides online personalized feedback on your progress; outlines integrated with the course lectures; lectures-on-demand; an online MBE Qbank containing 1,800 test-like questions with detailed answer explanations; and Ask-an-Attorney support for questions about the outlines or practice materials.

3. Themis Bar Review

Founded by a group of bar review veterans, Themis is the first online company to offer a full bar review course developed using their revolutionary Integrated Learning System™. Themis’ nationally renowned professors provide engaging, exam specific video lectures broken down into 15-25 minute chapters, all followed by linked outlines and assessment questions to enhance cognitive recall and memory retention.

Full bar courses include thousands of practice MBE and essay questions with model answers; multiple workshops covering MBE and state-specific essay-writing skills; a dynamic calendar that automatically adjusts to your study schedule; milestone and simulated bar exams to assess your understanding at each stage; and a Personal Bar Exam Adviser that provides personalized feedback on essay assignments and offers practical solutions to common mistakes on the bar exam. Themis is the only major bar review company to publish pass rates in all its jurisdictions.

While in law school, Themis offers first year and upper-level outlines (including video lectures with assessment questions), an MPRE program, and ThemisPlus. All law school programs are 100% FREE with no deposits or obligations. For more information, contact Themis at 888-843-6476 or visit their website.

MBE (Multi-state Bar Exam Preparation Only)

1. Adaptibar

Adaptibar is a MBE bar review program that offers a combination of licensed MBE questions and a unique online tool that analyses your performance and adapts to your strengths and weaknesses on the fly with automatic adjustment of the questions based on your performance, timing analysis, licensed questions, benchmarking your performance with that of your peers, and more.

2. Multistate Edge (MBE supplement)

Multistate Edge consists of over 2900 practice MBE questions via an innovative software program that adapts to the students’ strengths and weaknesses, helping focus study time in the area where it is most needed. Every question has been updated to reflect recent changes instituted by the NCBE. Every question includes comprehensive answer explanations, helping the student to learn along the way. It also includes comprehensive subject matter outlines available for download in PDF format. Purchase Multistate Edge and access the practice questions and outlines until you pass the bar exam. No questions asked.

Early study option available – start studying today at no additional charge! Even if you are sitting for the bar years from now.

3. The National Conference of Bar Examiners

The NCBE has released a third Online Practice Exam to prepare for the MBE. Each exam features 100 questions drawn from recent MBE’s. The cost is $50 each or $125. for all three exams including unlimited trials for one year and feedback on your answers including annotations and customized score reports.

Multi-State Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE)

1. The National Conference of Bar Examiners

The NCBE has released an online Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) practice examination. Each online practice exam consists of 60 items (the same length as the actual MPRE) and a one-year subscription that allows unlimited use of the online product by the candidate is $24.00.

Bar Exam Info

Bar Exam Info is a free resource to assist U.S. law students and graduates applying to take the bar exam in any state. Bar Exam Info was created to provide you with the necessary information to quickly and easily navigate the bar exam application process. We have done the hard work of compiling all of the bar exam information for all U.S. jurisdictions and presenting it in an easy-to-use format. Good luck on your bar exam!

The Florida Constitutional Law Endowment in memory of Justice Ben F. Overton was created by Judge Karen Miller in 2013. This fund supports lectures and presentations by Justices of the Florida Supreme Court at the Fredric G. Levin College of Law.

HISTORY

Justice Overton, who earned his B.S. in 1951 and his Juris Doctor in 1952 from the University of Florida, was the first merit appointment to the Florida Supreme Court. Throughout his career he was active in legal education and served as an Adjunct Professor at the Levin College of Law through December 2012, the month of his death. Although he resided at Oak Hammock at the University of Florida, a continuing care retirement community developed in cooperation with UF, he also considered the Florida Supreme Court “home.” Among the high points of his later years was hosting Justices of the Florida Supreme Court in Gainesville and taking his class to Tallahassee to hear oral arguments at the Florida Supreme Court.
Judge Miller, who earned her B.S. cum laude from New York University in 1974 and her Juris Doctor from New York Law School in 1977, served as Chief Administrative Law Judge of the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, New York City’s business regulatory agency, before she retired to Oak Hammock at the University of Florida. Having accompanied Justice Overton on his excursions to Tallahassee and joined him in welcoming guests to Oak Hammock at the University of Florida, she created the endowment in memory of Justice Overton to ensure that the Levin College of Law continues to have the funding necessary to continue and enhance the interaction between its students and the Florida Supreme Court.

Judge Miller remembered the event that motivated the endowment.

Prior to a dinner at the home of Dean Robert Jerry and Lisa Jerry shortly after Justice Overton’s death, Justice Barbara Pariente and I were discussing a suitable memorial. Justice Pariente, who had been Justice Overton’s colleague on the Florida Supreme Court and who understood the importance to him of the interaction between his students and the Court, suggested the outline of what has become the Overton lectures. Dean Jerry, who has since retired, as has Dean Emeritus Jon Mills, who assumed responsibility for implementing the Overton lectures, were very supportive from the beginning. Since Dean Mills’ retirement, Professor Timothy McClendon, who assisted both Justice Overton and Dean Mills teaching Florida Constitutional Law and who co-authored the recent Florida Constitutional Law casebook, has continued the Overton lectures with the support of Interim Dean Merritt McAlister and CGR director, Professor Danaya Wright.

Justice Overton was a devoted jurist, educator, and ethical leader of the Florida legal profession. The Overton Lecture Series brings Florida Supreme Court Justices to the University of Florida, Levin College of Law, and serves to introduce students to the inner workings of the Court. CGR and the students of the College of Law extend our deepest gratitude to Judge Karen Miller for making the Overton Lectures possible in perpetuity.

You can watch an interview for the Florida Historical Society by Mary Adkins, professor emeritus of the UF Levin College of Law, with Justice Overton here.

Justice Overton was also interviewed for the Samuel Proctor Oral History Project and a transcript of his interview is available at the Smathers Library, and here.
Justice Overton sat on the Constitution Revision Commission of 1977-78 that proposed a right to privacy in the Florida Constitution. Although it failed as part of the Constitution Revision Commission recommendations, it passed in 1980 when proposed by the legislature. The bill was co-sponsored by our very own Jon Mills. The privacy provision prevailed by greater than 60%. Justice Overton then wrote a concurrence in a critical reproductive rights case in 1989 affirming that the privacy provision of the Florida Constitution included the right to obtain an abortion. That decision was overruled in Planned Parenthood of SW and Central Florida v. Florida. You can read about the role of Justice Overton, Jon Mills – director emeritus of CGR, and the history of the 1989 case here.