1. TWO-PART APPLICATION. Your bar exam application consists of two equally important parts: (1) an online application filed on this website and (2) paper documents to be mailed to the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar (IBAB) at the above address or uploaded via your User Home page after submission of your application. The paper documents consist of:
(a) Court Purpose Driving Record (not a general or public driving record) for the last 10 years from all jurisdictions you have held a drivers license. Not all states refer to it as a Court Purpose Driving Record (Illinois does).
NOTE: The ability to upload documents will appear AFTER submission of your application
(b) Police reports/citations and court records/documents required as a result of your answers to Character and Fitness questions.
(c) Nonstandard testing accommodation (NTA) forms and documentation, if applicable.

2. PHOTOS. Once you have completed the online application and select submit, you will be prompted to upload your photo.
This photo is to be of passport quality with a white background and full face view.
Non-complying photos will be rejected, and you will be required to upload a new photo.
You will not be assigned a seat at the exam until an acceptable uploaded photo is received.

3. ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION. IBAB communicates primarily in two ways: via your user homepage portal and via the email you provide. We will rarely, if ever, send paper mail. All information and announcements are posted at www.ilbaradmissions.org. It is important that you check this website and your personal IBAB account on a regular basis to review our latest postings. Immediately update contact information on your Personal Info page by using the "Click here to update your login information" link, then email the file analyst assigned to your file to also advise. Failure to update regarding an email change could result in your missing very important deadlines and information. TIP: Add our web address to your web address book to ensure that your Internet service provider does not filter out emails from IBAB. You are deemed by IBAB to have received and read any email it sends to the email address you have provided.

4. EXAMINATION SCHEDULE.
Tuesday, February 24, 2026, Multistate Performance Tests (2 questions, 90 minutes each); Multistate Essay Examination (6 questions, 3 hours)
Wednesday, February 25, 2026, Multistate Bar Examination (100 questions, 3 hours); Multistate Bar Examination (100 questions, 3 hours)

Exam schedules and instructions will be posted on our website approximately two weeks before the exam.

*Please be aware that you will need to arrive well before the start of the test and that the dismissal times will vary.

5. STATEMENT OF INTENT
The Multistate Performance Tests, Multistate Essay Examination, and Multistate Bar Examination are proprietary to the National Conference of Bar Examiners. Consequently, only bona fide applicants for admission to the bar are permitted to access these materials by sitting for the bar examination.
By signing the Acknowledgement at the end of this document, you are representing that you are a bona fide applicant, meaning that you intend to sit for the bar examination solely for the purpose of seeking admission to the bar in Illinois or in another jurisdiction that administers the components of the bar examination identified in Section 4 above, and for no other purpose. In addition, by presenting yourself at the bar examination and sitting for the bar examination, you are reaffirming the representation that you are a bona fide applicant, and that you intend to sit for the bar examination solely for the purpose of seeking admission to the bar.
At the discretion of the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar, persons whose conduct on the first day of the bar examination is inconsistent with the status of a bona fide applicant (for example, because you fail to upload your answers from the first day of the bar examination, or because you upload only blank or non-responsive answers) may be prohibited from sitting for the second day of the bar examination.

6. MULTISTATE PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY EXAMINATION (MPRE). You must submit proof of a passing MPRE score, which in Illinois is a scaled score of 80 or above. You need not take the MPRE prior to taking the bar exam; however, you will not be eligible for admission to the bar until you have satisfied this requirement.
If you need to register for the MPRE or if you wish to report your MPRE score to IBAB, you may do so on the NCBE website: www.ncbex.org.

7. CERTIFICATION OF JURIS DOCTORATE. Print and forward the Certification of Juris Doctorate to your law school for completion and delivery to IBAB on or before January 31, 2026. It is your responsibility to ensure that the Dean of your law school files the completed certificate on your behalf.

8. NONSTANDARD TESTING ACCOMMODATIONS (NTA). Applicants seeking NTA on the basis of a disability must file all properly completed NTA request forms on or before the deadline.

9. FILING FEES AND DEADLINES. Your applicable fee and deadline schedule is based on your status with us:

• • Persons who have not previously filed any type of application to the Illinois bar
• • Persons who are repeating the Illinois bar examination
• • Persons who were absent from an Illinois bar examination
• • Persons who filed an Illinois Law Student Registration application prior to 2014. These persons must contact our office for further instructions prior to completing application for a bar exam. Click here for a link to staff assigned by applicant last name: https://www.ilbaradmissions.org/faq.action#226

10. METHOD OF PAYMENT. Fees may be paid in one of two ways:

• • By credit or debit card on our website after you have completed your online application. We accept Mastercard, Visa and Discover. A convenience fee will be added to each credit card payment. Warning: If your credit card charge is denied, your application will NOT have been electronically submitted.
• • By cashier’s check, certified check or money order (US Dollars). The check/money order must accompany your paper documents (see #1, above) and must be postmarked on or before the deadline. As you are responsible for the timely delivery of your payment and documents, we strongly recommend that you use a mail or courier service that will track the delivery of your package.

**Pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 706(i), all fees are nonrefundable and nontransferable.**

11. MISCELLANEOUS – Name on law license, Character and Fitness Committee assignment.

• • Before filling out your application, please be aware that your NAME will appear on your law license exactly as typed on your application.
• • The mailing address entered on your application will determine the Character and Fitness judicial district to which you will be assigned. You may be required to appear in your assigned district for a personal interview with a member of the Character and Fitness Committee. Please be advised that regardless of a subsequent relocation on your part, you will not be reassigned to another district once your file has been referred to a Committee member for review.

12. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. Properly filed applications will be acknowledged by email within 2-4 weeks of receipt.