Utah bar exam: Legacy or current exam until July 2028; NextGen afterward.
| July exam | Mar. 1 |
| February exam | Oct. 1 |
| Fees | First-time $550; attorney $850; repeater $550 / $850; laptop $200 |
| MPRE minimum | 86 |
Dates can change. Check the board’s site before you pay.
Before filing in Utah, check the current NCBE profile ↗.
| Rule | Utah Rules Governing the Utah State Bar, Rule 14-805 |
| Accommodation | Limited admission without exam for the spouse of a service member on PCS orders to Utah |
| Duration | Terminates when spouse's Utah orders end |
| Supervision | Conditional: required only if the applicant has under 2 years' active practice and an MBE score below 134 / UBE score below 269; those applicants must also carry professional-liability insurance |
| Adopted | Not stated in the sources located |
Confirm current status directly with Utah's bar admission authority ↗: this area of law shifted federally in December 2024 and states are still catching up.
Starting with the February 2026 exam, Utah has no late deadline. Applications for the February exam close October 1 and applications for the July exam close March 1, and a request for a pregnancy-related accommodation is due on the same dates. Utah gives one exam to everyone and has no shorter attorney exam for experienced lawyers.
After an applicant is eligible, admission follows a Motion for Admission that goes to the Utah Supreme Court four times a year, in February, May, August and October. Admissions finalizes the eligibility list the month before the Motion, and the Bar's Licensing Department emails those applicants a deadline for paying licensing fees. An applicant who misses that deadline waits for the next Motion. The Court schedules the swearing-in ceremony, not the Bar, and the oath may be taken at any time after the Motion is approved by arranging it with the Court.
Utah's MPRE score is 86, and the Bar states that an MPRE score does not expire. Utah accepts a score of at least 86 as long as NCBE can verify it, and NCBE keeps records back to 1999. A score earned before 1999 has to be requested from the jurisdiction where the exam was taken. A copy of a score report uploaded by the applicant is not accepted as proof.
An application can take up to six months to process, including the time NCBE needs for its background investigation. The burden is on the applicant to send every required document to both the Utah State Bar and NCBE. Required uploads include an applicant verification and an authorization and release, each notarized within 60 days of submission, and a financial status acknowledgment with a credit report.
Source: Utah bar admission FAQ ↗
Rule 4-705 admits a lawyer from a reciprocal jurisdiction who has worked full time in a reciprocal jurisdiction for three of the five years immediately before filing. The lawyer need not be physically in the reciprocal jurisdiction, as long as the work would not count as unauthorized practice. Utah applies reciprocity strictly: if a lawyer's state does not admit Utah lawyers by motion, Utah will not admit that lawyer by motion however long the lawyer has practiced. A lawyer from a non-reciprocal state who is also admitted in a reciprocal one may qualify through the reciprocal one.
The Bar suggests proving the 36 months with a notarized employer letter, tax returns covering at least three of the five years, billing records, or other documents that show the time by clear and convincing evidence. A UBE score can be transferred for up to three years from the date the applicant sat for the exam, not the date the score was released or the date of admission elsewhere.
Utah applicants register an account, complete the application and the character and fitness questionnaire online, and are considered to have filed on the date they press the Final Submit button. Within 48 hours NCBE emails instructions to sign a release and pay its separate fee, and its character and fitness report can take up to 12 weeks, so slow replies to NCBE requests delay the whole file. Any change to the application must be reported within 10 days of occurring, and the duty to update continues until the applicant takes the Attorney Oath. The office says it cannot predict a processing time, because that depends on the applicant's documents, how quickly references and the law school answer, and when the next Motion for Admission falls.
The Character and Fitness Committee can approve, ask for more information, require corrective action before it can approve, require an in-person interview or hearing, or deny with written reasons. The office keeps monitoring an application even after approval or after the exam, and it can go back to the Committee if character is called into question. Bar exam results arrive by email and in the online account 8 to 10 weeks after the exam. Starting with the February 2026 exam there is no late deadline: the February exam closes October 1 and the July exam closes March 1, and any request for pregnancy-related accommodation is due by the same dates.
Source: Utah Bar Admissions: Overview of Application and Admission Process ↗
Four Motions for Admission go to the Utah Supreme Court each year, in February, May, August and October. The Admissions Office finalizes the eligible list the month before, so the February list is set in January. The Bar's Licensing Department then emails eligible applicants where and how to pay licensing fees and by when, a period of about 10 days, and the email comes from licensing@utahbar.org, which the office says to check for in spam. Missing that deadline pushes the applicant to the next Motion.
Once the fee deadline passes, the paid list goes to the Bar Commission and then to the Supreme Court, which signs the Motion and schedules the Licensing Swearing-In Ceremony. The ceremony is set by the Court, not the Bar. An applicant cannot practice until taking and signing the Attorney Oath. Most take it at a ceremony, but it can be done any time after the Motion is approved by arrangement with the Court, including in the applicant's home state if outside Utah.
Other FAQ details: the Office of Admissions keeps applications for 5 years and sells a copy for a $25 administrative fee, and a verification letter costs the same. MPRE scores from 1999 forward must be sent to Utah by NCBE, and Admissions issues its own verification letter only for scores before 1999. A foreign law school graduate can qualify under Rule 4-704(d) only from a country whose system rests on English common law, and the burden of proof is on the applicant, who should submit official course descriptions or professor affidavits.
Source: Utah Bar Admissions FAQ ↗
Utah's FAQ says a UBE score can be transferred for up to 3 years from the date the applicant sat the exam, not the date scores were released or the date of admission elsewhere. A score from an exam before July 2023 must be 270 or above, and a score from July 2023 or later must be 260 or above. NCBE holds the score records, so the applicant asks NCBE to send the score to Utah.
An applicant who has not yet taken the exam can apply first, but under Rule 4-712 the Utah State Bar must receive the passing UBE score no later than nine months after the application is filed. The FAQ warns that an applicant who fails the intended exam may not have time to retake the next one and still meet that deadline, and would then need a new application and a new fee. It advises picking the filing date carefully.
Utah has no shorter Attorney Examination for experienced lawyers, so every exam applicant takes the same test. A motion applicant must have worked full time as an attorney for 36 of the last 60 months, and Utah will not admit anyone by motion from a state that does not admit Utah lawyers by motion.
The review runs in a fixed order. The application goes to NCBE for a background investigation while the Office of Admissions checks it for gaps, then the NCBE report and the file go to a member of the Character and Fitness Committee, who decides to approve, deny, or call the applicant for an informal interview or formal hearing. The FAQ puts the whole process at 4 to 8 months or longer, and notice of approval is sent electronically.
Two forms must be notarized within 60 days of submission: the Applicant Verification and Acknowledgement and the Authorization and Release. The application also needs a financial status acknowledgment and credit report. Utah expects supporting files for events such as a bankruptcy, a bar complaint, child support or alimony, civil or criminal cases, a divorce file, contempt, tax liens and discipline by a college or law school, and any DD-214 or discharge papers.
An applicant who filed a complete application in the last 2 years files a reapplication, not a full application, and updates the information. Internships, paid or unpaid, count as employment history. A MPRE score of 86 or above must be sent by NCBE for scores from 1999 on, and Utah does not expire an MPRE score if NCBE can verify it.
October 1 for the February exam and March 1 for the July exam. Since the February 2026 exam Utah has had no late deadline, so a late application is not accepted.
86, and Utah says the score never expires. NCBE has to verify it, and it must be sent directly to the Utah State Bar.
Up to three years from the date you sat for the exam, not from the release date or the date you were admitted in another state.
Full-time work in a reciprocal jurisdiction for three of the five years immediately before you file, under Rule 4-705. You can prove it with a notarized employer letter, tax returns for at least three of the five years, or billing records.
No, not on that state's license alone. If your state does not admit Utah lawyers by motion, Utah will not admit you by motion regardless of your years in practice, though a license in a reciprocal jurisdiction can qualify you.
No. Utah has no Attorney Examination, and every exam applicant takes the same test.
Four times a year, through Motions for Admission to the Utah Supreme Court in February, May, August and October. Miss the licensing fee deadline and you wait for the next Motion.
Up to six months, including the NCBE background investigation. The Bar puts the burden on you to send every required document to both the Bar and NCBE.
Not since the February 2026 exam. February applications close October 1 and July applications close March 1.
Four times a year through Motions for Admission in February, May, August and October. Miss the licensing-fee deadline for one and you wait for the next.
Within 10 days of the change, and you must keep the application updated until you take the Attorney Oath.
By email and in your online account 8 to 10 weeks after the exam.
Yes. If you are not in Utah you may arrange to take the oath in your state of residence, after the Motion for Admission is approved.
260 or above for exams taken in July 2023 or later, and 270 or above for earlier exams, within 3 years of the date you sat the exam.
4 to 8 months or longer, according to Utah's FAQ, because NCBE runs a background check and a Character and Fitness Committee member then reviews the file.
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Source: NCBE Comprehensive Guide: Utah ↗ · reviewed August 21, 2026.