Application for Admission Without Examination

• Are admitted as an attorney in the highest court of another jurisdiction;
• Are in good standing in every jurisdiction of licensure;
• Have primarily engaged in the active practice of law for at least 1,000 hours per year for five of the past seven years;
• Have not taken and failed an Ohio bar examination in the past five years;
• Are a citizen or resident alien of the United States; and
• Meet the other general admission requirements of Gov. Bar R. I, Sec. 10.

The non-refundable application fee is $1,500.  Payment must be submitted in the Bar Admissions Portal.  Additional fees may be required if an applicant is required to submit a petition or foreign education evaluation.  Please note that applicants will also be required to submit NCBE fees, paid to the NCBE directly.

Once your application is complete and filed, the Office of Bar Admissions awaits the report from the NCBE.  After the report is received, a determination is made as to whether the applicant must be sent for further character and fitness review.  Applicants who are eligible to bypass that process will have their application materials submitted to the Court for its review and decision.  On average, those applications can take four to six months to complete fully.  Applications that do not meet the standard of criteria as set forth by the Board of Commissioners on Character and Fitness to skip further review will be sent to a local bar association in Ohio for an in-person interview.  These applications can take, on average, six to ten months to complete fully.

In Ohio, admission to the bar without examination (or “admission on motion”) is available to any applicant that is actively licensed in another U.S. state or territory and who otherwise meets the eligibility requirements.  It is not based upon reciprocity (i.e., “comity” or “mutuality of admission”); jurisdictions with reciprocity requirements extend admission without examination only to those candidates who are licensed in reciprocal states, and require that candidates from all nonreciprocal states take the bar exam before gaining admission.

This affidavit must cover all employment (legal and non-legal) and unemployment since the date the applicant was first admitted to the practice of law.  The affidavit should also list all of the applicant’s jurisdictions of licensure and the date that the applicant was admitted to each.

For any practice that occurs or occurred in a jurisdiction in which the applicant is not admitted, or practice that occurs or occurred prior to an applicant’s admission to that jurisdiction, the applicant must cite a specific rule or statute from the jurisdiction in which the practice occurred that states that the practice was affirmatively permitted at the time the practice occurred.  Advisory opinions do not constitute affirmative authority.  Please note, the Court considers the practice of law in a jurisdiction to be the practice of any law in that jurisdiction.  For example, an applicant who resides in State A and provides legal services based on the laws of State B remotely from their home is considered to be practicing law in State A, regardless of what laws are actually being practiced.

Applicants must provide affidavits that will verify the applicant has primarily engaged in the active practice of law for at least 1,000 hours per year five of the most recent seven years.  For some applicants this may be demonstrated with just one affidavit, others may need to provide multiple affidavits.

This affidavit must be completed by someone who is capable of attesting to your employment, employment dates and practice of law; typically, this will be a human resources representative or supervisor. 

For those that are self-employed, an affidavit from another attorney that is a member of the bar in the jurisdiction in which the practice occurred is acceptable as long as the affiant knows the applicant and can verify the applicant’s practice of law.

The Certificate of Presentation must be completed by an Ohio attorney in good standing with the Office of Attorney Services.  Inactive Ohio attorneys in good standing may complete this form.

The Supreme Court of Ohio is not able to refer applicants to an Ohio presenting attorney.  If an applicant is not familiar with any Ohio attorneys, it is suggested that they reach out to the Ohio State Bar Association, a local Ohio bar association, an in-state employer, or their law school to see if they can be connected to fellow alumni that are admitted to the Ohio bar.

While the wording of Certificate of Presentation indicates that the Ohio attorney will present the applicant to the Court to be sworn-in, the majority of applicants utilize an alternative way to being sworn-in, which is provided in the Rule.   Once approved by the Court, an applicant may be sworn-in by any sitting Ohio state judge, or by a justice in a jurisdiction in which the applicant is licensed.  If an applicant elects to be sworn-in by a judge or by a justice in another jurisdiction, the presenting attorney does not need to be present for the oath of office.  If the applicant elects to be sworn-in by a judge or justice, the Office of Bar Admissions will provide the applicant with the appropriate paperwork.

Applicants are required to provide a Certificate of Good Standing for every jurisdiction in which they have been admitted to practice law.  Certificates must be obtained from the source that each jurisdiction has deemed the appropriate authority – you can see the list of those sources [List of Official Agencies that Issue Certificates of Good Standing for Each Jurisdiction (ohio.gov)].  Please note that certificates are only valid for a period of 60 days.

Applicants that obtained their undergraduate and/or law degree abroad must submit a course-by-course evaluation from either Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) or World Education Services (WES) demonstrating that they have completed:

• At least three years of fulltime post-secondary education in order for the Court to find undergraduate educational equivalence; and
• At least three years of fulltime post-secondary formal legal education and received a law degree in order for the Court to find legal educational equivalence. Applicants with foreign legal education must also complete thirty credit hours at a law school approved by the American Bar Association, and at least twenty credit hours must come from the [list of courses specified by the Court].   The thirty credit hours must be completed within a period of 48-months. 

Please note that a course cannot count towards both the undergraduate requirement and the legal education requirement, meaning that applicants must have at least six years of education in total.  Additionally, online courses are not accepted.  Applicants with foreign education are also required to submit a non-refundable fee of $150 in the Bar Admissions Portal.  Applicants with foreign legal education cannot begin the application process until they have successfully completed the thirty credit hours at an ABA-approved law school. 

Applicants with foreign education are still required to meet the other eligibility requirements for Admission Without Examination, including the licensure and practice requirements.  Admission to practice law in a foreign country and foreign practice are not considered in determining eligibility.