COVID-19 and the Bar Exam
Since nearly every state has adopted some component of the bar exam drafted by the National Conference of Bar Examiners, state boards of law examiners sometimes act as a group when making exam administration decisions. This usually prevents one jurisdiction from administering National Conference of Bar Examiners-drafted questions before another jurisdiction, thereby reducing potential cheating by examinees who might take the exam after a previously administered bar exam using the same questions.
Obviously, with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic taking law schools—and the world—into uncharted territory, students are naturally worried about the bar application deadlines and the bar exam.
Since the bar exam is administered by individual jurisdictions, the NCBE announced that it is in close contact with jurisdiction bar admission agencies as they consider possible options for the July exam in the event that shutdowns and prohibitions against large gatherings remain in effect. The NCBE has posted a page with COVID-19 updates here. The NCBE will update this page as new information becomes available.
As for individual jurisdictions go, I am not aware of any state that has made any changes to the exam administration. In fact, many states have expressly announced that all application deadlines and administration dates remain the same. Make sure you check your individual state board of law examiner for specific information.
Here are the links to some state boards of law examiners, along with relevant announcements about COVID-19, as of March 19, 2020:
“Application deadlines for the July examination are unchanged. The Initial Deadline is May 1, 2020, and the final deadline for applications, payment of fees and all required documents is May 20, 2020. Applications can be filed and paid online and documents uploaded into the Synergy Application Portal.”
“There are no plans at this time to cancel or alter the July 2020 bar exam, and all deadlines for applications remain in place.”
“… plans for the July bar exam remain intact.”
