Admission by Examination

The requirements for admission by examination are found in Rule IV of the Rules Governing Admission to the Alabama State Bar. An applicant seeking to take the Alabama Bar Examination must submit a complete application for admission and:

• Be at least nineteen (19) years of age;
• Comply with the requirements of Rule I of the Rules Governing Admission to the Alabama State Bar (law student registration); and
• Comply with the education requirements set out in Rule IV (see below).

Education Requirements

Certificate of Graduation

Each applicant for admission by examination must have his or her law school submit a Certificate of Graduation, which certifies that the applicant’s legal education and law degree comply with Rule IV. See Graduation Certificate & Undergraduate Transcript Information.

ABA Approved Law Schools

Graduates of a law school approved by the American Bar Association (ABA), at the time of the applicant’s graduation, must comply with the requirements of Rule IV.B.(2)(a). Such graduates are not required to show proof of pre-legal education.

There are three law schools in Alabama that currently maintain ABA approval are:

University of Alabama School of Law (Tuscaloosa)

Samford University – Cumberland School of Law (Birmingham)

Faulkner University – Thomas Goode Jones School of Law (Montgomery)
A complete list of law schools approved by the American Bar Association can be found in the Official Guide to ABA-Approved Law Schools.

Non-Approved In-State Law Schools

Graduates of an unaccredited Alabama law school must comply with the requirements of Rule IV.B.(2)(b). Such graduates must show proof of pre-legal education (transcript of baccalaureate degree from approved college or university). See Rule IV.B.(1)(a).

Graduates of two law schools in Alabama may seek admission by examination under this rule:

Birmingham School of Law (Birmingham)

Miles College of Law (Birmingham)
Graduates of Jones School of Law before June 11, 2006 must also comply with this section.

Non-Approved Out-of-State Law Schools

Graduates of a law school inside the United States, but outside the state of Alabama, that is not approved by the ABA are eligible to seek admission by examination in Alabama, if all of the following are satisfied:

• The applicant is admitted to the practice of law before the court of highest jurisdiction in the state or other jurisdiction in which the law school is located;
• The applicant has, after the applicant’s admission to practice law before the court of highest jurisdiction in that state or other jurisdiction, been continuously engaged in the active practice of law for at least 5 years;
• The applicant is a member in good standing of the bar of that court of highest jurisdiction; and
• The state or other jurisdiction in which the law school from which the applicant graduated extends comity to graduates of Alabama’s non-approved in-state law schools.

Foreign-Educated Applicants

Graduates of a law school outside the United States and its territories are eligible to seek admission by examination in Alabama, if the following are satisfied:

• The foreign law school from which the applicant graduated is approved in the foreign jurisdiction in which it is located;
• The applicant has been admitted to the practice of law in the foreign jurisdiction in which the law school is located; and
• At least one of the following:
  • The law-degree program completed by the applicant includes a substantial component of English common law; and/or
  • The applicant has satisfactorily completed at least 24 semester hours of legal studies in subjects covered by the bar examination in regular law school classes, under the same standards and conditions as are applied to other students, at a law school that was then on the approved list of the ABA or AALS; and/or
  • The applicant has been admitted to the practice of law before the court of highest jurisdiction in a state or other jurisdiction within the United States, and the applicant has, after such admission, been continuously engaged in the active practice of law for at least 3 years in a state or other jurisdiction within the U.S., and the applicant is a member in good standing of the bar of that court of highest jurisdiction.