Bar Application

The Hawaii Board of Examiners recommends for admission to the bar individuals who have demonstrated minimum competency and requisite character. The Board may recommend for admission only applicants who have proven a record of conduct that will justify the trust of clients, adversaries, courts, and others with respect to professional responsibilities. See, e.g., Rule 1.3 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of the State of Hawaii and In re W.D.P., 104 Hawaii 435, 91 P.3d 1078 (2004).

Notice and Caution

Notice

Each applicant is expected to read and comply with rules governing the process for admission to the bar. See Rule 1 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of the State of Hawaii and the Hawaii Board of Bar Examiners’ Rules of Procedure.

 A qualified applicant for admission to the bar of the State of Hawaii will not be admitted to practice until the applicant has proven 

• educational requirements

• character and fitness requirements

• knowledge requirements.

 Character and fitness are proven by evidence submitted with the application and evidence provided by the National Conference of Bar Examiners’ character and fitness report. An applicant will not be admitted until a favorable NCBE’s report is received and reviewed by the Board of Examiners. We urge you to submit your application as early as possible, so the NCBE can begin its investigation. There have been instances in which the NCBE has not completed its review by the time of the semiannual admission ceremony. By submitting your application early, you reduce the possibility of that occurring.

 Knowledge is proven by the scores on the Hawaii Bar Examination and the Multi-State Professional Responsibility Exam (the MPRE). The rules require a passing MPRE score within 2 years before the Hawaii bar exam or no later than 1 year after the Clerk issues a notice of passing the Hawaii bar exam.

Caution

 For those who are completing the electronic application, we strongly urge you to not wait until after the close of business (4:30 p.m. HST) on the due date to submit the application. Your application may be deemed untimely if you wait until after the close of business on the due date to try to e-file the application and the e-filing fails.

Submit your application, whether on paper or electronically, as early as you can.

Formal Application

A person seeking admission to the bar of the State of Hawaii must submit a formal application for admission. The application may be submitted either (1) electronically through the Hawaii Judiciary’s Electronic Filing and Service System or (2) on paper, using the forms provided on this website.

Examination Dates & Application Deadines

Bar examinations are given on Tuesday and Wednesday during the week of the last Wednesday of February and July.

If you want to sit for the:

• February examination, the application must be submitted by November 1.
• July examination, the application must be submitted by April 1.

Basic Advisories

1. Read Rule 1 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of the State of Hawaii, with particular attention to Rule 1.3.
2. The applicant is responsible for submitting a complete application. Incomplete applications may be rejected.
3. Fees will not be transferred or refunded.
4. The applicant must:

1. Review the application and forms to determine the attachments needed,
2. Assemble the forms and attachments as Adobe PDF files (for electronic applications) or paper copies (for paper applications),
3. Submit the forms and attachments with the application or as otherwise instructed.

      Select:

Electronic Application

Paper Application

Taking the Exam

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