Vermont bar exam: dates, fees and scores

Vermont's exam dates, passing score and attempt limit

The UBE is given twice a year in Vermont, in February and July, at the Doubletree by Hilton in South Burlington. The July 2026 exam was July 28 and 29 with an April 15 deadline, and the February 2027 exam is February 23 and 24 with an application deadline of November 15, 2026. A passing score in Vermont is 270 or higher, and all parts of the UBE must be taken at a single administration. Vermont has said the NextGen exam replaces the current exam, with the first NextGen administration in July 2027.

To sit, an applicant must not have failed a bar exam on four or more occasions, and attempts in any jurisdiction count toward that limit. The Board may waive the limit on a strong showing that the applicant has substantially improved their exam preparation and there is good cause. Vermont does not allow courtesy seating.

Source: Admission to the Vermont Bar ↗

Who may sit in Vermont, including the Law Office Study Program

An applicant must be at least 18, have graduated from an approved law school or satisfy the early examination rule in Rule 9(c)(5), and meet the character and fitness requirements. An approved school is one accredited by the ABA or otherwise approved by the Vermont Supreme Court. A graduate of a non-ABA U.S. school can qualify by showing the school was seeking ABA approval during attendance and has not since lost it.

Vermont also offers a Law Office Study Program: four years of work under the supervision of an experienced Vermont judge or attorney following a systematic course of study. An ABA student may sit before graduating after completing five semesters of full-time study covering each subject tested on the UBE, and must submit a transcript with the exam application. A foreign-educated applicant must be admitted to a court of general jurisdiction in the country of study and in good standing, unless the Board waives that for good cause, and the foreign equivalency application fee is $50, plus $250 if the Board needs an expert report. That application is due December 1 for July or August 1 for February.

Transferred UBE score and admission without examination

A transferred UBE score must be 270 or greater, earned at an administration no more than five years before filing, and achieved in no more than four sittings of the UBE anywhere (Rule 13). An MPRE score of 80 or greater is required, taken no earlier than five years before the application. A bar exam applicant needs the 80 no earlier than three years before taking the exam.

Admission without examination (Rules 14 and 15) needs a current license in good standing in another U.S. jurisdiction and active practice in five of the 10 years before filing. Lawyers admitted in New Hampshire or Maine need only three years immediately before filing, and lawyers from a state that requires fewer than five years for its own motion admission may use three of the preceding 10 years. An applicant who failed the Vermont exam or scored below 270 on the UBE within five years is not eligible, and there are no education prerequisites. Certificates of good standing are needed from every jurisdiction of admission, including federal courts.

Vermont's first-year requirements

Every attorney admitted by examination or transferred UBE score, whatever the licensing status, must complete a 15-hour Vermont-specific CLE requirement and a mentorship with a Vermont-licensed attorney within the first year of admission. The Board also issues an information sheet on accommodations for breastfeeding during the exam.

How a Vermont application moves from filing to a license card

Every route starts with the NCBE Standard Character and Fitness Electronic Application, because the Vermont-specific forms are not released until that one is submitted. NCBE then issues a completion checklist. The Vermont application is eFiled through Odyssey File and Serve and must be filed together with the NCBE application, and the applicant arranges for NCBE to report any transferred UBE or MPRE scores to Vermont.

The Board of Bar Examiners or its designee decides whether the applicant meets the criteria to sit, transfer a score or be admitted without examination. Character and fitness review comes later: the file goes to the Character and Fitness Committee only after the Board approves it (transfer and motion routes) or the applicant passes the UBE, the NCBE character report is in, and every other requirement such as law school graduation and a passing MPRE is met. The burden is on the applicant to show moral character and fitness. If the Committee does not certify on first review, a panel holds an evidentiary hearing under Rules 16(e)(2) and 17.

A certified applicant goes on the Board's next motion to the Vermont Supreme Court, which considers admission motions at its monthly administrative meetings. After approval the applicant has 90 days to take the Attorney's Oath, submit the licensing statement and forms, and pay the licensing fee. The licensing card is issued once those arrive, and the applicant is licensed when the card is received.

Early examination, MPRE timing, accommodations and the NextGen format in Vermont

A student at an ABA school may sit before graduating after five full-time semesters that included instruction in every UBE subject. The transcript goes in with the exam application. As soon as fifth-semester grades post, the school must send an official transcript and a letter saying the student received instruction in each tested subject and is academically prepared to test early, and the student must graduate within seven months after sitting. The intent-to-be-licensed certification applies to early and regular applicants alike.

For a bar exam applicant the MPRE score of 80 must be no earlier than three years before the exam and no later than one year after notice of passing the UBE. A request for accommodations goes on the Board's form with all documentation, combined into one PDF, and is due with the application by the exam deadline; the Board also publishes an information sheet on accommodations for breastfeeding.

Vermont's page describes NextGen as three three-hour sessions instead of four, each with two integrated question sets: one MPT-style task of about 60 minutes and about 40 multiple-choice questions. All nine foundational concepts (Business Associations, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contract Law, Criminal Law, Evidence, Family Law, Real Property and Torts) appear on every test, alongside seven foundational skills, and the exam is entirely computer-based. The current UBE, by comparison, is a two-day exam with two MPT tasks and six MEE questions on day one and the 200-question MBE on day two.

Provisional licensure, legal interns, fees and appeals in Vermont

A lawyer already licensed in another U.S. jurisdiction and found eligible by the Board can practice in Vermont on a provisional basis by eFiling the provisional-licensure form into the existing licensing case. The lawyer cannot be under disciplinary suspension or revocation anywhere and must be in good standing in every jurisdiction where they practice. Provisional status ends on full licensure, withdrawal, denial or loss of eligibility.

A person not yet licensed anywhere can appear as a Legal Intern under attorney supervision, bound by the Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct, under Part VI of the Rules of Admission; separate permission forms apply to state-agency and other clients.

Vermont's fee schedule is set by the Court Administrator's Office and is in addition to the NCBE character and fitness investigation fee. Absent extraordinary circumstances application fees are non-refundable, even on denial. A decision of the Board or the Committee is appealed by an original-jurisdiction action in the Vermont Supreme Court under the Rules of Appellate Procedure. The Office of Attorney Licensing is at the Costello Courthouse, 32 Cherry St., Suite 213, Burlington, and can be reached at (802) 859-3000.

Vermont's five most recent exams: 228 examinees and 126 passers

Vermont's Board of Bar Examiners issues a press release after each exam that gives the dates, the number of examinees, and the number who passed. Across the five most recent releases (July 2024 to July 2026) the Board reports 228 examinees and 126 passers, which works out to about 55% overall.

Within those five exams the pass rate ran from 31% in February 2025 (11 of 36) to 63% in July 2026 (38 of 60). July 2026 was also the largest group of the five, with 60 examinees against 52 in July 2025 and 49 in July 2024. The two February exams are the smaller ones, at 36 and 31 examinees.

The February 2025 result is the outlier in this record: 11 of 36 passed, while the other four exams stayed between 53% and 63%.

Source: Vermont Board of Bar Examiners: press release for the July 2026 exam ↗