Georgia Bar Exam Details

To become eligible for Admission to the Practice of Law in Georgia, an individual must receive Certification of Fitness by the Georgia Board to Determine Fitness of Bar Applicants. You should complete this while you are still in school to maximize savings. You can also register following graduation in the same manner, paying the applicable fee and providing any required supplemental documents. Once obtained, your Certification of Fitness is good for five years, allowing you to take the bar exam any time in those five years.

You will be asked to disclose details about your academic, work, and financial history, as well as any criminal record and civil proceedings. Candor is key. You will also need to include references, your final law school transcripts, driving record, birth certificate, passport and fingerprints.

Your application will be investigated based on the answers you provide, and additional facts discovered in the course of the investigation. Applicants are required to update their Fitness Application online within 30 days of any occurrence that would change the answer to any question on their application. Upon completion of the fitness investigation, your Fitness Application will be presented to the Board to Determine Fitness for a determination of your eligibility to practice law.

Deadlines and associated registration fees:

Bar Examination Dates:
February 24-25, 2026

• Regular Fitness Application Period (closes at 4pm): March 26, 2025-July 2, 2025
• Final Fitness Application Period (closes at 4pm + $500 late fee): July 2, 2025-October 1, 2025

July 28-29,2026

• Regular Fitness Application Period (closes at 4pm): TBA
• Final Fitness Application Period (closes at 4pm + $500 late fee): TBA

Fitness Application filing fees:

• Prior to law school graduation: $450 TBA
• Within one year of law school graduation: $750

Please note there are different fee schedules for applicants who filed during school but haven’t practiced and practicing attorneys. For more information on deadlines and fees, see: gabaradmissions.org/deadlines-and-fees

Only applicants who have been issued and currently hold a valid Certification of Fitness are eligible to Register and submit a Bar Examination Application. For information on the Certification of Fitness, see: gabaradmissions.org/certification-of-fitness

All law students are required to create an NCBE Account that comes with a unique NCBE Number for identification purposes. You will need this number to take the MPRE (Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam) and the MBE. (Multistate Bar Exam), which are developed by the NCBE (National Conference of Bar Examiners). The MBE is administered on day two of the Georgia Bar Exam.

Register with the NCBE at: auth.ncbex.org/account/create

We recommend taking the MPRE any time during 2L year or as early in your 3L year as possible. A scaled score of 75 on the MPRE is required for admission to the Georgia bar. The score must be attained prior to the Issuance of a Certificate for Eligibility for Admission to the Practice of Law. Your passing MPRE score must be submitted to the Georgia Board of Bar Examiners.

The MPRE is a two-hour, 60-question multiple-choice exam developed by the NCBE and administered in the spring, summer, and fall. When registering for the MPRE, students can select one of two dates offered at a time (see chart below) on a first come, first served basis. 

MPRE Dates (Registration Deadline / *Accommodation Registration Deadline):

• March 24 or 25, 2026 (January 22, 2025 / *November 20, 2025)
• August 11 or 12, 2026 (June 11, 2026 / *April 23, 2026)
• November 12 or 13, 2026 (September 17, 2026 / *July 30, 2026)

Registration for 2026 exams will open on December 16, 2025. The 2026 exam fee is $185.

The online, on-demand BARBRI MPRE Review course allows you to watch specific lecture segments that correspond with a particular topic module. The course is accompanied by an outline book (hard copy and/or digital), lecture handout, multiple practice exams, and BARBRI’s exclusive multiple-choice questions. You can register for the free BARBRI MPRE Review Course here: barbri.com/mpre

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You can only apply to take the Georgia Bar Exam after obtaining your Certification of Fitness to Practice Law in Georgia. Once you obtain your Certification of Fitness, you will receive an email from the Office of Bar Admissions containing instructions on how to apply for the exam and pay the filing fee. File early to avoid added late fees.

Filing deadlines:

February (Winter) exam:  

• Timely registration: September 1, 2025 – January 1, 2026 (until 4 p.m.)  
• Final registration:  January 1, 2026 – January 15, 2026 (until 4 p.m.)

July (Summer) exam:  

• Timely: March 1, 2026 - June 1, 2026* (until 4 p.m.)  
• Final registration: June 1, 2026 - June 15, 2026*

*Dates are estimated based on prior years’ deadlines; exact dates have not yet been released for the July 2026 exam 

Type of Bar Exam Application: Filing Fee Charged by Bar Examiners/Charged by NCBE

• Two-Day Bar Exam Application filed by current law student: $400/$107
• Two-Day Bar Exam Application files by law school graduate: $550/$107
• One-Day Attorneys' Exam Application: $550/$35

Applicants who file during the final application period will incur an additional fee of $500.

For more information and exam details, download the free BARBRI Bar Exam Digest at: barbri.com/bar-exam-digest

Your undergraduate school and law school must each provide your official transcripts to the Office of Bar Admissions before you can sit for the Georgia Bar Exam. Transcripts must be received via email or regular mail by 4:00 p.m. on the transcript deadlines.

Transcript deadlines:

• February (Winter) exam — January 31, 2026, 4 p.m.
• July (Summer) exam — June 30, 2026, 4 p.m.

*Dates are estimated based on prior years’ deadlines; exact dates have not yet been released for the July 2026 exam

Transcripts MUST show the degree awarded and the date conferred. Do NOT request your transcript before you have graduated from law school.

For more information on the transcript requirement, go here: gabaradmissions.org/appinfo.action?id=1

You are allowed to use a laptop to type the essay portion of the bar exam by selecting that option on your bar application, paying the fee and then registering your laptop prior to the specified deadlines. Laptop registration typically runs for a month, closing about two weeks before the exam.

Fee: $105

Applicants who choose to handwrite their answers will also incur a fee of $105.

Start the laptop registration process here: examsoft.com/gabar

The Georgia Bar Exam is over two days and requires a passing score of 270 out of a total of 400 points. 

Exam scores are based on:

• 50% – Two Multistate Performance Test (MPT) questions and and four Georgia essays on day one   
• 50% – 200-question, multiple-choice Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) on day two (morning and afternoon sessions) 

MPT testing format: “Closed universe” practical questions using instructions, factual data, cases, statutes, and other reference material supplied by examiners

Essay subjects: Business Organizations, Family Law, Federal Practice and Procedure, Georgia Practice and Procedure, Non-Monetary Remedies, Professional Ethics, Trusts, Wills and Estates, Uniform Commercial Code (Articles 2, 3, & 9), plus all MBE subjects

MBE subjects tested: Constitutional Law, Contracts/Sales, Criminal Law/Procedure, Evidence, Federal Civil Procedure, Real Property, Torts