Florida bar exam: Legacy or current exam until July 2028; NextGen afterward. Florida's exam is not a generic UBE administration: it is split into a Part A (Florida-law essays and multiple choice) and a Part B (the national MBE), each requiring separate preparation. See the complete Florida Part A/Part B guide.
Choosing a course? See the best bar prep for Florida and the BARBRI vs. Themis comparison.
| July exam | May 1, late filing June 1 / June 15 |
| February exam | Nov. 15, late filing Dec. 15 / Jan. 15 |
| Fees | First-time $1,000; attorney $1,600–$3,000; repeater $450; laptop $125 |
| MPRE minimum | 80 |
Dates can change. Check the board’s site before you pay.
Before filing in Florida, check the current NCBE profile ↗.
Florida's exam is not a generic UBE administration: it is split into a Part A (Florida-law essays and multiple choice) and a Part B (the national MBE), each requiring separate preparation. See the complete Florida Part A/Part B guide.
| Rule | Chapter 21, Rules Regulating The Florida Bar |
| Accommodation | Temporary admission without exam; $1,000 fee; Basic Skills course within 6 months; CLE each renewal year |
| Duration | Up to 5 years |
| Supervision | Required (employed by or mentored by an eligible Florida Bar member) |
| Adopted | 2018 |
Confirm current status directly with Florida's bar admission authority ↗: this area of law shifted federally in December 2024 and states are still catching up.
Florida admits by examination only, and states plainly that there is no reciprocity with any other jurisdiction. Every applicant must take the Florida Bar Examination and pass a character and fitness investigation. The exam is the General Bar Examination, made of Part A (a Florida-prepared exam) and Part B (the Multistate Bar Examination), plus the MPRE. The General Bar Examination is given on the last Tuesday and Wednesday of February and July, and the MPRE is typically given in March, August and November.
Applicants must complete the requirements for law school graduation before sitting for Part A or Part B, but may take the MPRE before graduating. Florida accepts an MBE score from another jurisdiction, effective November 30, 2017, if it meets the criteria in rules 4-26.2 and 4-18.1 and reaches the board directly from NCBE or the testing jurisdiction, by January 15 for February or June 15 for July. The Board announced it will give the NextGen Bar Exam with a Florida Law Component beginning with the July 2028 Florida exam.
A timely application is postmarked on or before November 15 for the February exam or May 1 for July. Postmarked by December 15 (February) or June 1 (July) carries a $325 late fee, and received by January 15 or June 15 carries a $625 late fee. An initial application received after January 15 for February or after June 15 for July is not accepted, and a filing requirement completed after those dates does not count as meeting the late deadline. A first-time applicant files the Bar Application, and a law student registrant or repeat taker files the Re-Examination/Conversion Application, each with the filing fee, a current 2 by 2 inch photograph and proof that fingerprints were taken by or mailed to IdentoGo.
A single fee covers the bar application, and it depends on status under rules 2-23.2 through 2-23.4. It is $600 for a law student who filed an early registration and is converting, $1,000 for a student who did not register early, a person never admitted, or an attorney admitted less than a year, $1,600 for an attorney admitted one to five years, $2,000 for five to ten, $2,400 for ten to fifteen, and $3,000 for fifteen years or more. The Board does not accept credit cards. Its preferred method is an eCheck through Xpress Pay from a checking account, and it also takes personal checks, certified checks and money orders.
An applicant must be 18 or older and either enrolled in an ABA-accredited JD program, hold a JD from one accredited at the time or within 12 months of accreditation, or be found educationally qualified under the alternative method. There is no residence requirement except as rule 5-15 provides. A disbarred lawyer cannot apply for 5 years, or 3 years after resigning while under discipline. A person convicted of a felony cannot apply until civil rights are restored, and one on felony probation waits until probation ends. An applicant refused a favorable recommendation through unreversed findings of fact must wait 2 years or the period the findings set.
The Supreme Court of Florida posts General Bar Examination results on its website for 30 days, and an applicant needs the applicant file number to look up pass or fail. Results cannot be obtained by phone, and neither body publishes how applicants rank. Individual score reports are in the applicant portal under correspondence. An applicant may postpone from any exam for which a ticket was issued, for any reason, under rules 4-45 and 4-46. The Board may also recommend conditional admission in some substance misuse or mental health cases, which lets the person practice while complying with treatment-related conditions for a defined period.
Source: Admission Requirements ↗
The Florida Board of Bar Examiners published, on September 18, 2026, a school-by-school table for first-time takers of the full General Bar Examination in Tampa on July 28 and 29, 2026. Of 2,250 first-time applicants, 1,693 passed, or 75.2 percent, and the Supreme Court of Florida approved 1,700 candidates for admission. The Board explains why those two numbers differ: exam passage is one step among several, some applicants take only part of the exam, and a timely passing MBE score from another jurisdiction lets an applicant take only Part A.
Among the twelve Florida-based accredited schools the rates ran from 91.8 percent at Florida State to 39.1 percent at Cooley, though Cooley had only 23 first-time takers. Of the schools with 100 or more takers, Barry had the lowest rate at 59.9 percent. Florida schools together had 1,575 takers and passed 80.4 percent. The 233 first-time takers who were already admitted to the practice of law elsewhere passed at 64.8 percent, and the 442 from other accredited schools at 62.4 percent. Results for any score impounded by the Supreme Court are not included.
Source: Florida Board of Bar Examiners: July 2026 first-time passage rates ↗
No. Florida states there is no reciprocity with any jurisdiction, so every applicant takes the Florida Bar Examination and passes a character and fitness investigation.
Part A, a Florida-prepared exam, and Part B, the Multistate Bar Examination. Together they make up the General Bar Examination, and the MPRE is separate.
November 15 for the February exam and May 1 for the July exam, postmarked. Later filings carry a $325 late fee through December 15 or June 1, then $625 through January 15 or June 15.
$1,000 for most first-time applicants and $600 for a law student converting an early registration. Attorneys admitted elsewhere pay $1,600 to $3,000 depending on years of admission.
Yes, since November 30, 2017, if it meets rules 4-26.2 and 4-18.1 and reaches the board from NCBE by January 15 for February or June 15 for July.
No. The Board prefers an eCheck through Xpress Pay from a checking account and also accepts personal checks, certified checks and money orders payable to the Florida Board of Bar Examiners.
The Supreme Court of Florida posts them on its website for 30 days, and you need your applicant file number. Results cannot be obtained by phone, and score reports appear in your portal.
With the July 2028 Florida Bar Exam, which will include a Florida Law Component, according to the Board of Bar Examiners.
Florida State, at 91.8 percent (101 of 110 first-time takers), followed by the University of Florida at 90.9 percent and Ave Maria at 89.8 percent.
1,693 of 2,250 first-time full-exam takers, or 75.2 percent, and the Supreme Court approved 1,700 candidates for admission.
Compare other state bar exam guides: Georgia · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa
Source: NCBE Comprehensive Guide: Florida ↗ · reviewed August 21, 2026.