Kansas bar exam: dates, fees and scores

Kansas filing windows, fee and score

The Kansas exam is the UBE, given on the last consecutive Tuesday and Wednesday of February and July, and a candidate must score at least 266. A July applicant files between November 2 and March 1, and a February applicant files between March 2 and October 1. The filing fee is $700, and a late application is accepted with a $200 late fee through April 1 for the July exam and through November 1 for the February exam.

Two other items have their own dates. The Board must receive the MPRE score, at a minimum of 80, and the undergraduate and law school transcripts by January 15 for the February exam or June 15 for the July exam. Transcripts must come directly from the school, and the fingerprint card and waivers are part of the character and fitness process; the application is not accepted until that packet arrives.

Source: Bar Examination General Information ↗

UBE score transfer to Kansas

A Kansas UBE transfer applicant needs an MPRE score of at least 80 and a UBE score of at least 266 from another jurisdiction, and must apply within 60 months of the date the UBE was taken. The filing fee is $1,250, and NCBE sends the score to Kansas.

Source: UBE Score Transfer General Information ↗

What the Kansas FAQ adds

Accommodation requests, with all supporting documentation from a medical provider, are due November 1 for the February exam and April 1 for the July exam, and the office says it enforces those dates strictly. A repeat test-taker whose needs are unchanged does not need to reapply for accommodations; different or additional needs require a new request by the retaker application date.

Every Kansas applicant needs a JD from an ABA-approved school and an official transcript that confirms graduation, sent by the school or its clearinghouse to the office by email. An applicant whose total debt, excluding real estate, is over $150,000 must disclose all debt. Exam instructions arrive about 30 days before the exam, and examinees are invited to a Zoom meeting about a week before it. Kansas Supreme Court Rule 707(b) bars fee waivers and refunds except for a military service exception, and a denial for failing to reach the passing score is final.

Source: Kansas admissions FAQ ↗

Kansas retakes, hold-over applications and MBE transfer under Rule 716

Rule 716 says an applicant who fails the February exam must update the application no later than 30 days after the date of the letter reporting the failure, and pay the application fee again. An applicant who fails July follows the ordinary filing windows and pays the late fee if it applies. An applicant who does not want the next exam falls back on the general filing rules.

An applicant who does not sit the exam applied for must update the application, and the Board may waive the fee for a later exam in five situations: a delay in the character and fitness investigation, the need for a hearing, actions of the admissions attorney, the Review Committee, the Board or the Supreme Court, a failing MPRE score, or extenuating circumstances.

A first-time applicant may transfer an MBE score from another jurisdiction in place of taking the MBE, but only if the other exam was taken no more than 13 months before the Kansas exam, the applicant passed the entire exam there in one administration, and the scaled MBE score was at least 125. That applicant does not receive a UBE score, and if the applicant fails Kansas the transferred MBE cannot be used again.

After a failure, the Board's decision is final. The applicant may review the MEE and MPT answers if the request comes within 90 days of the denial notice, but may not review MBE questions or answers because of exam security. A violation of the day-of instructions is reported to the Board for possible character and fitness review, and the Board may refuse to score the exam of an applicant who does not follow them.

Source: Kansas Rule 716: Admission to the Bar by Examination ↗