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Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar
Rule 704A Admission By Transferred Uniform Bar Examination Score for Qualifying Graduates of Foreign Law Schools
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Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar
625 South College Street
Springfield IL 62704
Phone 217-522-5917;
Fax 217-522-3728 and -6589
INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING APPLICATION FOR RULE 704A ADMISSION BY TRANSFERRED UNIFORM BAR EXAMINATION SCORE
The requirements for Admission by Transferred UBE Score are outlined in the Illinois Supreme Court Rule 704A.Click here to read Rule 704A Please read and understand these requirements before making application under Rule 704A.
You will be asked below to acknowledge that you have read and understand these Pre-Application Instructions before accessing the application forms.
1. TWO-PART APPLICATION. Your application consists of two equally important parts:
1) An online application submitted on this website; and
2) Paper Documents, copies of which may be uploaded via the “Upload New Documents” button upon submission of your completed application. NOTE: The ability to upload documents will appear AFTER submission of your application. You will still need to mail originals to the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar (IBAB) at the above address.
For your application to be properly submitted, you must submit the completed electronic application, prescribed filing fee, authorization and release form, and paper documents, and you must be requesting transfer a UBE score of at least 266 attained within the preceding four years. Your complete application – including both the online application and the paper portion of your application - must be submitted within 90 days of Preliminary Questionnaire approval. In addition, the online application must be submitted within four years of attaining your UBE score. For purposes of Rule 704A and these instructions, a UBE score is deemed to have been “attained” on the Wednesday of the week the examination was administered (usually the last Wednesday in February or July). Applications submitted more than four years after the qualifying UBE score was attained will not be considered without prior approval from the Illinois Supreme Court.
If you fail to submit your complete application within 90 days of your Preliminary Questionnaire approval, including submission of all required paper documentation, then your application will be deemed abandoned and you shall be required to submit an entirely new application and fee as if applying for the first time.
The paper documents consist of:
(a) Transferred UBE Score. You must submit to the Board’s office your official UBE score of at least 266 that was attained in the preceding four years from the date of your properly submitted application. Instructions for submitting your request can be found at the website of the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE): http://www.ncbex.org/exams/ube/scores
(b) Proof of MPRE Score. You must submit to the Board’s office your official MPRE score of at least 80. To register to take the MPRE or to transfer an MPRE score to Illinois, visit the NCBE website at http://www.ncbex.org/exams/mpre/registration.
(c) Any and all records and other documents, such as police reports/citations, court and military records, required as a result of your answers to the character and fitness questionnaire. These documents are either uploaded or mailed.
(d) Driving record for the last 10 years in all jurisdictions you have held a driver’s license, if applicable. Your driving record(s) may be either uploaded or mailed.
(e) Three Attorney Verification(s) of Character and Fitness forms. Each of these 3 forms must be completed by a lawyer licensed and practicing in Illinois who has known you at least six months and who is unrelated to you by blood, adoption, or marriage and who is other than the employers, former employers, and character references listed elsewhere in your application (including the Professional References listed in Question 21 of the Character and Fitness Questionnaire; the Personal References listed in Question 26 of the Character and Fitness Questionnaire; and the Educational References listed in Question 27 of the Character and Fitness Questionnaire; and other than lawyers enlisted as third-party proof of your practice, described in Paragraph (i) below). If you do not know 3 Illinois lawyers meeting the requirements of this paragraph, you may substitute lawyers licensed elsewhere in the U.S. or lawyers currently licensed and practicing in the jurisdiction where your most recent practice occurred and who otherwise meet the requirements of this paragraph.
Click here for the Attorney Verification of Character and Fitness form.
(f) Proof of legal education.
(i) For each law school attended, provide to IBAB a final official transcript, or a statement on the law school’s letterhead, that includes the dates of attendance for each period of study, the courses taken and passed for each period of study, the degree awarded, and the date the degree was conferred. If the transcript does not contain all necessary information, it must be supplemented with a letter. (ii) If you completed a program of study, including for an LLM or Master’s Degree, at a law school in the U.S. or at a law school in another country, provide to IBAB a final, official transcript from that law school. If a degree was issued, submit proof of receipt of the degree including the date received. If you are still in attendance at such law school, provide the name of the school and your program of study with the anticipated completion date. (iii) Provide IBAB a “Course-By-Course” evaluation report of your foreign legal education prepared by Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc. (ECE). The instructions, application and amount of fee to be paid directly to ECE by you are available at www.ece.org. The report must be sent by ECE directly to: Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar
625 South College Street
Springfield IL 62704
It is your responsibility to ensure that your law school(s) and the ECE provide the required documentation on your behalf.
(g) Certificate(s) of Licensure. Certificate of the admitting authority in each country and/or U.S. jurisdiction in which you are licensed, certifying that you have been admitted to, and at the time of making said application are a member in good standing of, the bar of that country and those jurisdictions, and must reflect any history or lack of history of discipline on that license. (Form supplied by the admitting authority.) Please submit original documentation, by mail, for all jurisdictions and federal courts in question.
(h) Disciplinary History from the disciplinary authority of each jurisdiction in which you may be licensed (if separate from and not included on the Certificate of Good Standing also required). Please submit original documentation, by mail, for all jurisdictions and federal courts in question.
(i) Proof of practice affidavits. Proof that you have been actively and continuously engaged in the practice of law under such license(s) for at least five of the seven years immediately prior to making application to Illinois. To qualify under Rule 704A, an applicant must have devoted no fewer than 80 hours per month and 1000 hours per year to the practice of the law under a license in the foreign country in which the law degree was conferred and/or a U.S. state or territory or the District of Columbia.
Such proof shall include the following:
(A) your self-composed personal affidavit. Your personal affidavit must be notarized to be considered a qualifying affidavit. This affidavit must contain specific and complete details of your qualifying practice during five of the seven years immediately preceding your application. Such affidavit must fully describe the dates of your practice, the nature of your practice (e.g., private practice, in-house counsel, government practice, etc.), the substance of the law you practiced (type of law you practice), the extent of your practice (number of hours per month, number of hours per year, and number of years), and the physical location(s) of your practice throughout the period in question. If your practice occurred in a jurisdiction where you are not licensed, but you are permitted to practice, your affidavit should explain and include citation to any relevant rule, statute, order, or written authorization from the admitting or disciplinary body of the jurisdiction where the practice physically occurred. Your personal affidavit must be notarized to be considered an affidavit. (B) the self-composed affidavits of no fewer than three lawyers licensed in and engaged in the active and continuous practice of law in the foreign country or U.S. jurisdiction, or in EACH of the foreign countries or U.S. jurisdictions, if more than one, from which your qualifying practice occurred. The affidavits must include specific and complete details of the dates of your practice, the nature (i.e., private practice, in house counsel government practice, etc.), substance (type of law you practice), extent (number of hours per month, number of hours per year, and number of years) and physical location (where you practiced) of your practice during the period(s) in question, and must describe how they are familiar with you and your legal practice. These affidavits must contain the complete name, address, phone number, and email of the person attesting to your law practice. The affidavits must be notarized to be considered qualifying affidavits.
No form is supplied for the affidavits. Each of the affidavits should be drafted by the affiant and based upon his or her own personal knowledge.
If any of the above documents are not in English, you must also provide an official, certified translation of the documents into English. The Board will not accept self-translations.
The paper portion of your application must be received in our office on or before 90 days after your Preliminary Questionnaire is approved. If we do not receive all of your original documents and paperwork on or before day 90 after Preliminary Questionnaire approval, your application shall be denied and you will lose your registration fee. Because of potential delays in delivery, we recommend applicants applying under Rule 704A post their documents at least four weeks prior to the final deadline. We also encourage applicants to obtain tracking information for any documents mailed.
2. 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 direct email me 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.
3. FILING DEADLINE AND FEE. A properly submitted application for admission by UBE score transfer must be received within 4 years after the UBE score was attained in the transferring jurisdiction. (See above regarding the date on which a UBE score is deemed to have been “attained.”) The fee is $1,500. Pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 706(j), filing fees are not refundable or transferable even if you withdraw your application or for any other reason. 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 be postmarked within 14 days of the electronic application submission date. As you are responsible for the timely delivery of your payment, we strongly recommend that you use a mail or courier service that will track the delivery of your package. UNACCEPTABLE forms of payment: personal checks, travelers checks, and corporate and law firm checks.
UNACCEPTABLE forms of payment: personal checks, travelers checks, and corporate and law firm checks.
ILLINOIS EDUCATIONAL COMPONENT
Illinois has post-admission MCLE requirements. The rules and all requirements can be found here: Supreme Court Rule 793c:
http://www.illinoiscourts.gov/supremecourt/rules/Art_VII/artVII.htm#793
Minimum Continuing Legal Education Board of the Supreme Court of Illinois information:
https://www.mcleboard.org/files/AttorneyMCLERequirement.aspx
MISCELLANEOUS - Name of 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.
4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. Properly filed applications will be acknowledged by email within 2-4 weeks of receipt.
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