Character and Fitness Determinations – NCBE Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements

While every jurisdiction evaluates the character and fitness of applicants for admission, not all publish codified standards under which they do so.

Click anywhere in a row to see a summary of that jurisdiction’s answers.

Jurisdiction:

ID	Jurisdiction	Does your jurisdiction have published character and fitness standards?	Will a felony conviction bar an applicant from admission?	Does a separate entity evaluate character and fitness?	Must bar exam applicants be approved for character and fitness in your jurisdiction before they sit for the bar exam?	Do your rules provide for conditional admission?	What categories of conditional admission do your rules permit?	Does your jurisdiction have a structured program for deferring admission?
1	Alabama	No	No	Yes	No	No	—	No
2	Alaska	Yes	No	No	No	No	—	No
3	Arizona	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Substance abuse, mental disability, debt, criminal history, other	No
4	Arkansas	Yes	No	No	No	No	—	Yes
5	California	Yes	No	No	No	No	—	Yes
6	Colorado	Yes	No	No	No	No	—	No
7	Connecticut	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Substance abuse, mental disability	Yes
8	Delaware	Yes	No	No	No	No	—	No
9	District of Columbia	No	No	No	No	No	—	No
10	Florida	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Substance abuse, mental disability	Yes
11	Georgia	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	—	No
12	Hawaii	No	No	No	No	No	—	No
13	Idaho	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Substance abuse, mental disability, debt, criminal history, other	No
14	Illinois	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Substance abuse, mental disability, debt	No
15	Indiana	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Substance abuse, mental disability, debt, criminal history, other	Yes
16	Iowa	No	No	No	Yes	No	—	No
17	Kansas	Yes	No	No	No	No	—	No
18	Kentucky	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Substance abuse, mental disability, debt, criminal history, other	No
19	Louisiana	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Substance abuse, mental disability, debt, criminal history, other	No
20	Maine	No	No	No	No	Yes	—	No
21	Maryland	No	No	Yes	No	No	—	No
22	Massachusetts	Yes	No	No	No	No	—	No
23	Michigan	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	—	No
24	Minnesota	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Substance abuse, mental disability, debt, criminal history, other	Yes
25	Mississippi	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	—	No
26	Missouri	Yes	No	No	No	No	—	No
27	Montana	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Substance abuse, mental disability, debt, criminal history, other	No
28	Nebraska	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Substance abuse, mental disability, debt, criminal history, other	No
29	Nevada	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Substance abuse, mental disability, debt, criminal history, other	Yes
30	New Hampshire	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	—	No
31	New Jersey	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Substance abuse, mental disability, debt, criminal history, other	No
32	New Mexico	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Substance abuse, mental disability, debt, criminal history, other	No
33	New York	No	No	Yes	No	No	—	No
34	North Carolina	Yes	No	No	No	No	—	No
35	North Dakota	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Substance abuse, mental disability, debt, criminal history, other	No
36	Ohio	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	—	No
37	Oklahoma	No	No	No	No	No	—	No
38	Oregon	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Substance abuse, mental disability, debt, criminal history, other	No
39	Pennsylvania	No	No	No	No	No	—	No
40	Rhode Island	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Substance abuse, debt	No
41	South Carolina	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	—	No
42	South Dakota	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Substance abuse, mental disability, debt	No
43	Tennessee	No	No	No	No	Yes	Substance abuse, mental disability, debt, criminal history, other	No
44	Texas	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Substance abuse, mental disability, debt, criminal history, other	No
45	Utah	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	—	No
46	Vermont	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	—	No
47	Virginia	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	—	No
48	Washington	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	—	No
49	West Virginia	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	Substance abuse, mental disability, debt, criminal history, other	No
50	Wisconsin	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Substance abuse, mental disability, debt, criminal history, other	No
51	Wyoming	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Substance abuse, mental disability, debt	No
52	Guam	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Substance abuse, mental disability, debt, criminal history, other	No
53	Northern Mariana Islands	No	Yes	No	No	No	—	No
54	Palau	No	No	No	Yes	No	—	No
55	Puerto Rico	No	No	Yes	No	Yes	—	No
56	Virgin Islands	No	No	Yes	No	No	—	No

Supplemental Remarks

Will a felony conviction bar an applicant from admission?

Connecticut Rebuttable presumption of lack of good moral character.

District of Columbia A formal hearing conducted by the Committee on Admissions is mandatory for applicants who have a felony conviction.

Florida Not an automatic bar, but restoration of civil rights is required to apply for admission. Applicant must provide satisfactory evidence of good moral character.

Georgia Not an automatic bar, but a pardon or restoration of civil rights is necessary.

Illinois Convicted felons must first receive character and fitness certification before being permitted to write a bar examination.

Indiana Conviction of felony is prima facie evidence of lack of requisite good moral character. Applicant has the burden to overcome prima facie
evidence.

Kansas Persons convicted of a felony are ineligible to apply for admission until 5 years after the date of successful completion of sentence or period of probation.

Mississippi Persons convicted of a felony except manslaughter or a violation of the Internal Revenue Code are ineligible.

Missouri Persons convicted of a felony are ineligible to apply for admission until 5 years after the date of successful completion of sentence or period of probation and until they meet all of the other requirements specified in rule pertaining to ineligibility. Persons charged with a felony are not eligible to apply for admission until after the charge is disposed.

Montana An applicant found guilty of a felony is conclusively presumed not to have present good moral character and fitness. The presumption ceases upon completion of the sentence and/or period of probation.

Ohio Applicants convicted of a felony must meet specific conditions and undergo additional review before they can be approved.

Oregon An applicant shall not be eligible for admission after having been convicted of a crime, the commission of which would have led to disbarment in all the circumstances present, had the person been an Oregon attorney at the time of conviction.

Northern Mariana Islands Ineligible unless applicant has been granted full pardon.

Palau Ineligible unless applicant has been granted full pardon.

Does a separate entity evaluate character and fitness?

Alabama The Committee on Character and Fitness of the Alabama State Bar conducts hearings and makes a determination for law student registrants and applicants seeking admission by bar examination, reciprocity, and transfer of UBE score.

Colorado The Office of Attorney Admissions reviews all applications and certifies to the Colorado Supreme Court the applicants found to have met their burden demonstrating the character and fitness to practice law.

Georgia The Board to Determine Fitness of Bar Applicants is separate and distinct from the Board of Bar Examiners. The Fitness Board makes character and fitness determinations. The Office of Bar Admissions reports to both Boards, and both Boards must certify an applicant to the Supreme Court.

Illinois Committee appointed by the Supreme Court determines whether applicants having been assigned to the committee for certification possess good moral character and general fitness for admission to the practice of law.

Indiana The Indiana Supreme Court’s Committee on Character and Fitness interviews each applicant and then submits a report and recommendation to the Board of Law Examiners, which makes a final determination.

Kentucky The Character and Fitness Committee is responsible for determining the eligibility of applicants for admission to the Kentucky Bar.

Maryland Character Committees appointed by the Supreme Court of Maryland perform character investigations and interviews and make recommendations to the State Board of Law Examiners.

Mississippi The Board of Bar Admissions appoints persons to serve on the Committee on Character and Fitness. This committee reviews applications, conducts conferences and hearings with applicants, and makes recommendations to the Board. The Board makes the final determination to approve or deny an applicant on character and fitness grounds.

Montana Montana’s Character & Fitness Commission, which is separate from the Board of Bar Examiners, evaluates all applicants to determine
certification.

New York Character and fitness applications are processed by 1 of 4 appellate departments.

Ohio Local bar association admissions committees make recommendations to the Board of Commissioners on Character and Fitness, which makes final determinations. This Board is separate from the Board of Bar Examiners.

Rhode Island The Rhode Island Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness makes character and fitness determinations for the Court.

Vermont The Character and Fitness Committee.

Virginia The Character and Fitness Committee makes recommendations to the Board; the Board retains ultimate authority. Per Va. Code Section 54.1-3925.1.

Virgin Islands The Committee of Bar Examiners evaluates all applicants seeking admission by special admission, bar examination, UBE score transfer, and admission on motion to make character and fitness determinations for the Court.

Washington The Washington Supreme Court makes the final character and fitness determinations.

West Virginia District Character Committee conducts character and fitness investigation and interviews each applicant, then submits report and recommendation to the Board of Law Examiners.

Must bar exam applicants be approved for character and fitness in your jurisdiction before they sit for the bar exam?

Alabama For exam applicants, character and fitness certification is issued prior to the bar exam unless a hearing before the Committee on Character & Fitness is required. If an exam applicant is required to appear for a hearing, the hearing will only be held if the applicant passes the bar exam.

Arkansas Completion of the character and fitness investigations process for any applicants presenting issues is done after all other requirements for eligibility have been met, including passing the bar exam and securing a passing score on the MPRE.

District of Columbia Applicants are required to submit an application that contains information related to character and fitness before sitting for the bar exam; however, applicants are not reviewed for character and fitness until they have passed the bar exam and obtained an MPRE score of 75 or higher.

Florida Applicants are required to submit the character and fitness application at the time they apply for an examination. The investigation does not have to be complete in order for an applicant to take the examination.

Hawaii Exceptions are determined based on information provided by each applicant (e.g., criminal history, foreign-educated attorneys, attorney complaints, grievances, etc.).

Illinois Applicants who fall under Rule 704b (felony convictions, have been disbarred in another jurisdiction, pending disciplinary charges or felonies, etc.) must have character and fitness approval prior to sitting for the exam. All other applicants may sit for the exam prior to character and fitness approval.

Kansas If an applicant elects to take the bar examination during an ongoing character and fitness investigation or hearing, the Attorney Admissions office will embargo the applicant’s bar examination score until the applicant’s character and fitness qualifications are approved.

Kentucky In rare circumstances the Character and Fitness Committee may approve someone to sit under waiver but not release that applicant’s grades unless and until the applicant is approved for Character and Fitness.

Massachusetts Character and fitness investigations are initiated upon the filing of a petition for admission and are completed in advance of release of bar exam results. Where a petitioner is unsuccessful on the bar exam, the character and fitness investigation is reopened if and when the petitioner applies to retake the bar exam.

Michigan Under Michigan Board of Law Examiners Rule 2, the Board may permit an applicant to sit for the examination prior to character and fitness approval. However, this is in the Board’s discretion.

Missouri A character and fitness investigation is commenced upon receipt of a properly filed application, including a signed and notarized Authorization and Release form, and the investigation is not required to be completed in order to sit for the bar examination.

Nebraska A final determination can be deferred to allow an applicant to sit for the exam. A new rule has been passed to defer all character and fitness determinations until after the bar exam so that bar exam behavior may be considered in final character and fitness approval.

North Dakota The character and fitness investigation is conducted simultaneously with a bar exam application being filed. The investigation does not need to be completed in order for an applicant to sit for the exam.

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania begins character and fitness investigations on applicants as soon as their applications are accepted. A final review is done post-exam.

Rhode Island Rhode Island begins its character and fitness investigations process prior to the bar examination with one-on-one character and fitness interviews between the applicant and a member of the Rhode Island Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness. The purpose of that interview is to determine whether further hearing before the entire Committee is necessary. If so, full hearings are held after the examination for those applicants who pass the examination.

South Dakota Character and fitness investigations are ongoing. A determination of character and fitness is not made until applicant passes the bar exam.

Tennessee Applicants must have submitted the NCBE Application and all forms, including the Authorization and Release forms, and paid NCBE for the investigation (using the processes provided by NCBE for either online or mail submittal of payment and forms) on or before the final deadline for filing an application in Tennessee.

Wisconsin Applicants apply for character and fitness at the same time as they apply for the examination using one application. The character and fitness investigation commences prior to the exam, but applicants are not required to pass the investigation prior to sitting for the exam. If the applicant passes the exam, the investigation is completed; if the applicant fails the exam, the applicant’s file is closed and the investigation is not completed.

Wyoming Applicants are required to submit the character and fitness application at the time they apply for an examination. The investigation does not have to be complete in order for an applicant to take the examination. A determination of character and fitness is not made until applicant passes the bar examination.

Palau Applicants must provide an original certificate of good standing from the bar of each jurisdiction in which the applicant is a member of the bar, or, if the applicant is not and has never been a member of any bar, a letter from the applicant’s law school attesting to the applicant’s good moral character.

Virgin Islands The NCBE Request for Preparation of a Character and Fitness Report with the attendant fees is required upon the filing of the Application for Admission to the Virgin Islands Bar, which allows the investigation process to be conducted prior to the bar examination.

Do your rules provide for conditional admission?

Texas Rule provides for probationary licensing for chemical dependency and other circumstances in which the Board determines that the protection of the public requires temporary monitoring.

What categories of conditional admission do your rules permit?

Maine The Board evaluates each applicant’s character and fitness after they pass the bar exam. According to the rule, the Board can advise the Court to grant a conditional admission. However, the rule does not state categories of cases in which the Board should recommend a conditional admission.

Puerto Rico Committee on Character evaluates each examinee’s character and fitness after he/she passes the bar exam. According to the rule, the Committee can advise the Court to grant a conditional admission. However, the rule does not state categories of cases in which the Committee should recommend a conditional admission.

Does your jurisdiction have a structured program for deferring admission?

Arkansas Issuance of license may be deferred for up to 2 years pending further evaluation, drug tests, etc.

California The State Bar or Committee may suspend the processing of an Application for Determination of Moral Character upon the State Bar or the Committee and an applicant entering into an Agreement of Abeyance pursuant to rule 4.48 of the Rules of the State Bar of California.

Connecticut An application may be held in abeyance for a set period of time if there are pending or unresolved issues pertaining to character and fitness. When the period of abeyance expires, the applicant shall submit evidence of resolution of the issue(s) or can request an extension of the abeyance period.

Minnesota The Board may postpone determination on an applicant’s file if the file contains recent character and fitness issues and a relatively brief record of rehabilitation from past conduct. The period varies but is often 9–12 months in duration. The Board may offer this option to allow the applicant an opportunity to more fully develop and document a history of rehabilitation and evidence that they are able to satisfy the essential eligibility requirements for the practice of law at the time the Board considers and makes a final determination of the application. An applicant is not required to accept an offer to postpone determination and may request that the Board instead make a determination based upon the evidence that then exists.