Illinois bar exam: dates, fees and scores

Illinois filing tiers: the fee climbs three times before the deadline

Illinois charges by filing date, and each step costs more. For the February exam, an applicant who has not previously registered for an Illinois bar exam pays $1,200 through September 15, $1,475 from September 16 to November 1, and $1,875 from November 2 to November 30. For the July exam the same applicant pays $1,200 through February 15, $1,475 from February 16 to April 1, and $1,875 from April 2 to April 30. An applicant who has previously registered and paid for an Illinois exam pays $650 through November 1 or April 30, and $1,125 from November 2 to November 30 for February.

These amounts are effective January 1, 2026. Filing fees are not refundable or transferable even after a withdrawal, under Rule 706(j). The Board accepts credit or debit cards with a service fee, cashier's checks, certified checks and money orders, and it does not accept personal, traveler's, corporate or law firm checks. An applicant who fails must retake the whole exam, and Illinois no longer offers admission by exam with MBE transfer as of the July 2022 exam.

Source: Information For Bar Exam Applicants ↗

Illinois passing score, scoring weights and score validity

A total UBE scaled score of 266 or higher is needed to pass in Illinois. The two MPT items count for 20% of the total, the MEE for 30% and the MBE for 50%. A passing Illinois score is valid in Illinois for four years for all applicants. A score that falls below Illinois's 266 can still be transferred to a UBE jurisdiction whose own standard it meets, and jurisdictions accept scores of ages from 18 months to 60 months and minimums from 260 to 280.

Illinois does not allow concurrent testing, so an applicant cannot take the MEE and MPT in a UBE jurisdiction and the MBE in a non-UBE jurisdiction. An applicant must take all three parts in the same UBE jurisdiction and administration to earn a portable score.

Source: Illinois bar admissions FAQ ↗

Illinois MPRE, accommodations and who may apply

The Board requires an MPRE score of 80 or more. An applicant need not take it before the exam, but must have passed it before being recommended for admission. Accommodation forms are filed on paper, with the paper part of the exam application, and are due November 30 for February and April 30 for July. The exams are given in Chicago on the last consecutive Tuesday and Wednesday of February and July, and seat assignments post to the applicant's homepage about two weeks ahead.

An ABA-accredited law degree is required under Rule 704. A foreign-educated applicant may apply under Rule 715 with at least five of the past seven years of practice. Rule 719 governs military spouse attorneys, who start with a preliminary questionnaire under Rule 705, and an applicant rejected or awaiting a character hearing in another jurisdiction may still apply. Newly admitted attorneys must finish an Illinois educational requirement after admission under Supreme Court Rule 793c.

Source: Information For Bar Exam Applicants ↗

Illinois admission on motion: 3 years licensed, 3 of the last 5 practicing, and a $1,500 two-step fee

Rule 705 lets a lawyer licensed in any U.S. state, territory or the District of Columbia for at least 3 years apply to be admitted on motion. The applicant must meet Rule 703's education requirements, be certified by the Committee on Character and Fitness, be in good standing in every jurisdiction ever admitted, and, if licensed fewer than 15 years, have passed the MPRE. The Board must be shown active, continuous and lawful practice in at least 3 of the 5 years before the application.

The Board's version of the rule defines active and continuous as at least 80 hours a month and 1,000 hours a year during 36 of the 60 months before applying. Qualifying practice includes law firm work, judicial clerkships, in-house and government lawyering and teaching law at an ABA school. A person who failed an Illinois bar exam in the preceding 5 years is not eligible, and the rule says admission on motion is not a right, so the burden is on the applicant. The rule page notes an amendment effective July 15, 2026.

The process has two steps. The applicant files a Preliminary Questionnaire with a $150 fee, and once it is approved files the full application with $1,350, for a total of $1,500. An applicant whose questionnaire shows he or she does not qualify files a new one. An MPRE score older than 15 years must come from the jurisdiction where the applicant was first licensed.

Source: Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar: Admission on Motion under Rule 705 ↗

Illinois UBE transfer: $1,500, non-refundable, with an MPRE of 80

Admission by transferred UBE score under Rule 704A costs $1,500 and can be paid by card or debit card on the Board's site after the online application is complete. A service fee is added to each card payment, and personal checks, travelers checks and corporate or law firm checks are not accepted. Under Rule 706(j) filing fees are not refundable or transferable, even if the applicant withdraws.

The Rule 704A applicant must have passed the MPRE in Illinois or in any jurisdiction where it was given, with a scaled score of 80 or more. New Illinois lawyers also owe post-admission education under Supreme Court Rule 793c. Illinois stopped offering admission by examination with an MBE transfer beginning with the July 2022 exam, so every applicant who sits now takes the full UBE.

Source: Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar: Admission by Transferred UBE Score under Rule 704A ↗

Illinois routes for foreign graduates, house counsel and legal-service lawyers

A lawyer who got a law degree outside the U.S. can ask permission to sit for the Illinois exam under Rule 715 only after meeting three thresholds: licensed in that country or a U.S. jurisdiction for at least 5 years, in good standing, and practicing verifiably at least 80 hours a month and 1,000 hours a year in each of at least 5 of the 7 years before applying. The applicant starts with a Preliminary Questionnaire that must be approved in writing, needs an NCBE number, and the Board then decides whether the applicant's education is acceptable.

Rule 717 gives a limited license to a lawyer licensed elsewhere who works for an organized legal service, public defender or law school clinical program serving indigent clients. The application fee is $100. The lawyer may work only for that employer and its clients, and in felony matters only as an assistant of a supervising member of the bar who is present and responsible. The license ends when the lawyer leaves that employer or is admitted under another rule, and the practice counts toward admission on motion under Rule 705.

Rule 716 is the house counsel license for a lawyer employed in Illinois as house counsel. It also requires the education and character certification, and an MPRE pass for a lawyer licensed fewer than 15 years, or an approved ethics course for a lawyer authorized only in a foreign jurisdiction.

Source: Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar: Rule 717 Limited Admission of Legal Service Program Lawyers ↗