Bar Application Procedures   

     All applicants must complete and submit the appropriate application. On-line filing is available through the board’s web site at www.pabarexam.org. The board has established strict application filing deadlines and fees (see Fee Schedule). The board has three late filing deadlines; however, there are substantial late filing fee penalties, and no exceptions are granted to the filing deadlines. An applicant may not use an old application form for the current examination, i.e., a February application for a July examination. Background information pertaining to character, education, employment, military service, financial responsibility and criminal history will be required in conjunction with the application. The application and all third party materials comprise the application file. The board staff reviews the application file to determine other means of investigation necessary for the Executive Director to provide the initial character and fitness determination.

     Lack of candor is considered by the board to be one of the most serious character and fitness issues, and applicants must respond with complete candor when answering questions and supplying detailed explanations. Honesty and integrity constitute the very foundation of the legal profession, and must serve as guideposts for the determination of good moral character. As a licensing agency, the board's foremost responsibility is the protection of the public by prohibiting licensure of incompetent or corrupt applicants or applicants whose conduct may injure an unsuspecting client. The burden is on the applicant to prove good moral character. If an applicant is uncertain whether a situation falls within the scope of a particular question, they should assume that it does. False statements or deliberate omissions will result in a denial of the application and/or subsequent discipline under the Rules of Professional Conduct.

     Applications for nonstandard testing accommodations (NTA) must be submitted simultaneous with an application to sit for the bar examination. Incomplete NTA applications are subject to return. The filing deadlines for the NTA application are the same as the application to sit for the bar examination, and are subject to the same late filing fee penalties. Applications received after the final filing deadline will not be considered for any reason. Applicants who have a disability, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and who require nonstandard testing accommodations to take the bar examination, must complete and submit the NTA application, applicable forms and required documentation as indicated in the NTA instructions. Applicants who are approved for nonstandard testing accommodations will be reasonably accommodated.