Rules

It is your responsibility to carefully read the Rules Governing Admission to the Bar of Texas, in particular Rule 2, to determine whether you may be eligible for admission. We cannot give any advisory opinions, nor can any determination of eligibility occur before an application is filed.
Do not apply if you do not meet the requirements of Rule 2. Per Rule 18(b), fees are not refunded or transferred.

Electronic Communications

It is important that you check this website and your ATLAS account on a regular basis to review our latest postings. We will correspond with you primarily through your ATLAS account, but we may also correspond with you by e-mail and through the U.S. postal service. You must keep your e-mail address and mailing address updated in your ATLAS account.

You are deemed by the Board to have received and read:

• e-mail we send to the e-mail address you have provided in your ATLAS account
• messages we post in your ATLAS account
• mail we send to you at the mailing address you have provided in your ATLAS account.

TIP: Add @ble.texas.gov and noreply@ble.texas.gov to your contacts or address book to ensure that your internet provider does not filter out e-mails we send you.

Filing Fee and Deadlines

Your application is subject to the filing fees and deadlines set out in the Rules.

Deadlines are strictly enforced.

Fees are not refunded or transferred.

Basic Steps to Applying

• Create a personal ATLAS account on this website.
• From your ATLAS account, complete the appropriate application.
• Upload Required Documents through your ATLAS account. See our FAQs (ATLAS) for detailed instructions. Keep originals on hand-you must mail them to us upon request.
• Electronically submit your application and pay the filing fee.
• Arrange for third parties to provide documents to us as needed.
• Update your mailing address, email address, and other personal information through the Personal Info tab in your ATLAS account.
• Amend your application as needed through your ATLAS user home.

Photograph

If your photograph has expired, you must upload a passport-type photograph of yourself alone, without a hat or dark glasses, that was taken within two months of the date you file your application. The photo must be a front-facing, head-and-shoulders pose against a plain, light background.

Name on License

A license may be issued only in the name shown on a valid, government-issued identification card, except that a given name may be omitted or represented by an initial if the Applicant so requests in writing. No license may be issued using an alias, assumed name, nickname, or abbreviation of a name.

Proof of Name Change

If your name has changed since your last application, you must provide a certified copy of an amended birth certificate or court order that changes your name. If your name changed by marriage, submit a legible copy of your marriage license.

Orders of Non-Disclosure

Pursuant to Gov't Code Sec. 552.142 (b), if you have criminal matters that are the subject of an order of non-disclosure you are not required to reveal those criminal matters on this form. However, a criminal matter that is the subject of an order of non-disclosure may become a character and fitness issue. Pursuant Government Code Section 411.0765(b)(5), the Texas Board of Law Examiners is entitled to access criminal history record information that is the subject of an order of non-disclosure. Therefore, if the Board discovers a criminal matter that is the subject of an order of non-disclosure, even if you properly did not reveal that matter, the Board may ask you to provide information about that criminal matter.

Expunged and Sealed Offenses

Matters expunged pursuant to Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 55.02, or pursuant to another State’s statute with the same force and effect, need not be disclosed. While expunged or sealed offenses, arrests, tickets, or citations need not be disclosed, it is your responsibility to ensure the offense, arrest, ticket, or citation has, in fact, been expunged or sealed. It is recommended that you obtain a copy of the Court Order expunging or sealing the record in question. Failure to reveal an offense, arrest, ticket, or citation that is not in fact expunged or sealed, raises questions related to truthfulness in addition to questions regarding the offense itself. Note that orders of non-disclosure pursuant to Gov't Code §411.081 are not orders of expunction.

Employment History

If an employer is no longer in business, you should enter the phrase "no longer in business" on the line for the supervisor’s name, instead of listing the name of your supervisor.
If your immediate supervisor is no longer employed by the employer, you have a choice: either list the name of another supervisor still employed by the employer who will be able to respond to an inquiry from the Board staff as to your honesty, etc., or list the current address of your former supervisor, wherever that person is now, or if neither is a viable option, state "personnel department."
If you cannot locate any documentation that indicates the exact dates you were employed, list the approximate dates, but indicate that they are approximate.
If you were employed in a non-paid, intern-type position, you should list such employment situations. Board staff will elicit responses as to your honesty, etc., so the fact that you were not paid is not important.

Court Records

You must provide copies of all requested court records as specified on the application.

Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE)

You will not be issued a license to practice law in Texas until the Board is furnished with an official score report, submitted directly from the National Conference of Bar Examiners, verifying that you have passed the MPRE with a scaled score of 85 or higher. Instructions for applicants to request MPRE score services through the National Conference of Bar Examiners are located at http://www.ncbex.org/about-ncbe-exams/mpre/mpre-score-services/. The MPRE requirement must be met no later than two years after passing the TBE. Refer to Rule 5 of the Rules Governing Admission to the Bar of Texas.

If you have already provided proof that you have passed the MPRE, you do not need to provide it again.

The Bar Exam tab contains useful links:

• Bar Exam Information - Format and coverage, dates, locations, filing deadlines
• Questions from Past Exams
• Selected Answers

You are responsible for reading and following the Texas Bar Examination General Instructions.

Pursuant to Texas Government Code Sec. 82.029, on request of a law school that is conducting research on the achievement of the law school’s students or graduates on the Texas Bar Examination, the Board of Law Examiners shall provide the law school with information concerning the results of a bar examination and the achievement of particular applicants on the examination, including examination results disaggregated by section or portion of the examination and any relevant statistics related to the results of the examination. You may be exempt from releasing your identity by completing and returning the Exemption from Release of Bar Examination Results form to the Board of Law Examiners by certified mail or comparable mailing method that provides proof of delivery. This form is valid only if it is received in the Board of Law Examiners’ office before you take the Texas Bar Examination. The Exemption from Release of Bar Examination Results form is available in the Ancillary Forms section of our website.

You must provide your Law School Admission Council’s (LSAC) Account Number. The link for the LSAC account number lookup is http://lsaclookup.lsac.org/lookup.aspx. If you have interacted with LSAC in any way, you have an LSAC account number. If you do not have an LSAC account number, you need to create an account by going to http://lsaclookup.lsac.org/lookup.aspx.

Full Disclosure

It is imperative that you honestly and fully answer all questions, regardless of whether you believe the information requested is relevant. Your responses on your application are evaluated as evidence of your candor and honesty. An honest "yes" answer to a question on your application is not definitive as to the Board’s assessment of your present moral character and fitness, but a dishonest "no" answer is evidence of a lack of candor and honesty, which may be definitive on the character and fitness issue.

Obligation to Update

While your application is pending, you must immediately amend your application with any new or changed information.

You may be obligated to inform your law school of arrests, citations, or other misconduct occurring while you were in law school. Check with your law school for its policies and procedures regarding your obligation to make such disclosures.

You must keep your contact information current—make changes as needed through the Personal Info tab in your ATLAS account.

Certificate of Good Standing (CGS)

If you are a foreign-trained applicant applying under Rule 13(3)(a) or 13(4), you must upload a certificate of good standing from one state or foreign jurisdiction where you are licensed or authorized to practice law. This CGS must be issued within 30 days of the date that you submit this application. After you upload this document to your ATLAS account, keep the original—you must mail it to us upon request.

If you are a foreign-trained applicant applying under Rule 13(3)(c), you must upload a certificate of good standing from a foreign common law jurisdiction where you are licensed or authorized to practice law. This CGS must be issued within 30 days of the date that you submit this application. After you upload this document to your ATLAS account, keep the original—you must mail it to us upon request.

Practice Requirement

If you received a J.D. from a non-ABA approved U.S. law school and you are applying under Rule 13(2), or if you are a foreign-trained applicant who does not have an LL.M. and you are applying under Rule 13(3)(a), then you must document that you have been actively and substantially engaged in the lawful practice of law for at least 3 of the last 5 years immediately preceding the submission of this application. You do not need to provide any documentation that you provided with earlier applications, but, depending on your situation, you may need to provide new documentation of recent practice in order to document that you have been actively and substantially engaged in the lawful practice of law for at least 3 of the last 5 years immediately preceding the submission of this application.