Arizona bar exam: Legacy or current exam until July 2027; NextGen afterward.
| July exam | Mar. 31, late filing Apr. 30 |
| February exam | Oct. 31, late filing Nov. 30 |
| Fees | First-time $680 + C&F; attorney $680 + C&F; repeater $680; laptop $125 |
| MPRE minimum | 85 |
Dates can change. Check the board’s site before you pay.
Before filing in Arizona, check the current NCBE profile ↗.
| Rule | Ariz. Sup. Ct. R. 39(d) |
| Accommodation | Temporary practice admission without exam for a lawyer admitted elsewhere and holding an ABA-accredited J.D. |
| Duration | Temporary, tied to spouse's station in Arizona |
| Supervision | Not required |
| Adopted | 2015 |
Confirm current status directly with Arizona's bar admission authority ↗: this area of law shifted federally in December 2024 and states are still catching up.
Arizona lists five routes: the UBE taken in Arizona, UBE score transfer, admission on motion, the Arizona Lawyer Apprentice Program (ALAP), and the Government Law Admission Program (GLAP). The UBE route needs a JD from an ABA-accredited school, or an expected JD within 120 days of the first exam day for an early tester certified by the law school, and a minimum UBE score of 270 beginning with the July 2023 administration.
Arizona does not test Arizona law on the exam, and any subject NCBE lists may be tested. Every applicant must take the whole exam, MBE, MEE and MPT, in Arizona in one administration, and an MBE score from another jurisdiction cannot be used. The exam is given on the last Tuesday and Wednesday of February and July. Beyond the exam, an applicant needs the MPRE at a minimum of 85 and the online Course on Arizona Law, and pays a $185 Supreme Court admission fee through the applicant portal.
A UBE score transfers if it was earned within the prior five years, at 273 or higher for administrations before July 2023 and 270 or higher from July 2023 on. Arizona says NextGen UBE score transfers begin with the July 2026 administration, with a minimum passing score of 620 until the Arizona Supreme Court orders otherwise, and that Arizona itself administers the NextGen UBE beginning with July 2027.
A failing applicant who wants the next exam must file a complete retake application, fees and supporting materials by the late filing deadline or within 20 days of being notified of the failure, whichever is later (Rule 35(g)(2)). An applicant awaiting scores from the most recent exam should not start a new exam application until the scores arrive. Laptop registration closes two weeks before the exam and no late registrations are accepted.
Source: Bar Exam General Information ↗
Admission on motion requires an ABA-accredited JD, admission by bar examination in another U.S. state or territory, and active practice in the United States in three of the prior five years. The bar exam lookback in Rule 34(e)(4) means the applicant's exam score must have been at least 273 before July 2023 or 270 from July 2023 on. Active practice may occur partly in a non-reciprocal jurisdiction only after admission in a reciprocal one; a lawyer admitted by exam in a non-reciprocal jurisdiction must have practiced wholly in reciprocal ones.
ALAP admits applicants who score 260 to 269 on the UBE and meet the other requirements, to practice in rural Arizona or in a public law firm under a qualified Arizona lawyer's supervision for two years. GLAP is for a lawyer admitted by exam in a state that does not admit Arizona lawyers on Rule 34(e) terms; it needs an MPRE of 85, a promise of employment with an Arizona government law office, and a commitment to five years of government law practice.
An applicant must submit the bar exam application first and the Character and Fitness application after it, and cannot file the character application before the exam application. The Committee says it tries to finish investigations within four months of a complete application, and issues such as an incomplete application or a need for more documentation can lengthen that. A fingerprint card must arrive within 5 days of the application submission.
The Arizona Committee on Examinations publishes a statistics sheet for each exam. For the July 2026 Legacy UBE, given July 28 and 29, 450 people sat and 287 met the 270 passing score, an overall 64%. The average MBE score was 141.61, the average written score 141.35 and the average total score 283.04, with total scores ranging from 175 to 359. The sheet counts anyone testing in Arizona for the first time as a first-time writer, and repeaters as anyone testing in Arizona more than once.
First-time writers from Arizona State passed at 86.9% (126 of 145) and from the University of Arizona at 82.1% (55 of 67), against 74.3% for all ABA schools together (274 of 369). Repeat writers passed at 15.2% (12 of 79). The sheet's pass rate by attempt number shows the same drop: 74% on a first attempt (275 of 371), 17% on a second (6 of 36) and 17% on a third (4 of 24). The Committee also names the top scorers in a news release dated September 16, 2026.
Source: Arizona Committee on Examinations: July 2026 statistics ↗
270 for the exam beginning with the July 2023 administration. Arizona also accepts a transferred score of 270 or higher earned within five years, and 273 for scores from before July 2023.
No. Any subject NCBE lists may be tested, but Arizona law is not. Arizona law is covered by the required online Course on Arizona Law instead.
85, under Administrative Order 2023-159. The time frames for using an earlier score are in Rule 34(b)(1)(G) for exam applicants and Rule 34(g)(1)(C) for UBE transfer applicants.
No. Every applicant takes the entire MBE, MEE and MPT in Arizona in one administration, so an MBE score earned elsewhere cannot be combined with Arizona essays.
A route for applicants who score 260 to 269 on the UBE. They practice for two years in rural Arizona or in a public law firm under the supervision of a qualified Arizona lawyer.
Active practice in three of the prior five years, after admission by exam in another U.S. state or territory and a JD from an ABA-accredited school. The exam score must also meet Arizona's 273 or 270 lookback rule.
Until the late filing deadline or 20 days after you are notified of the failure, whichever is later (Rule 35(g)(2)).
Yes for transfers, starting with the July 2026 administration, at a minimum of 620 until further order of the Arizona Supreme Court. Arizona itself gives the NextGen UBE beginning with July 2027.
64% overall (287 of 450), and 74.1% for first-time writers, according to the Committee on Examinations.
For first-time writers in July 2026, Arizona State passed at 86.9% (126 of 145) and the University of Arizona at 82.1% (55 of 67).
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Source: NCBE Comprehensive Guide: Arizona ↗ · reviewed August 21, 2026.