Supreme Court of Missouri
en banc

8.03  REQUIREMENTS FOR ADMISSION TO THE BAR
 
(a) Every applicant for admission to the bar of this state shall meet the following requirements:
 
(1) Comply with all provisions set out in this Rule 8;
 
(2) File all application forms prescribed by the board and pay all prescribed fees;
 
(3) Either:
 
(A) Satisfy the requirements for admission as set out in Rule 8.07 and Rule 8.08; or
 
(B) Satisfy the requirements for admission as set out in Rule 8.09, Rule 8.10 or Rule 8.105;
 
(4) Be a citizen or national of the United States, an immigrant alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States, or an alien otherwise authorized to work lawfully in the United States;
 
(5) Satisfy the legal education requirements set out in Rule 8.07, Rule 8.09, Rule 8.10, or Rule 8.105; and
 
(6) Receive the approval of the board as to eligibility for admission and character and fitness as set out in Rule 8.11.
 
(b) An applicant seeking readmission to the bar because of disbarment by this Court is not required to meet the requirements set out in Rule 8.03(a)(6).
 
(c) Applicants for admission by examination must satisfy all requirements for admission to the bar of this state within one year after the date of written notification to the applicant of passing the bar examination or the applicant’s examination scores shall be void.

Applicants who transfer an examination score earned on the Uniform Bar Examination taken in another jurisdiction must satisfy all requirements for admission to the bar of this state within one year after the date of written notification to the applicant of acceptance of the transferred examination score.  The board may extend the time period specified in this Rule 8.03(c) for good cause shown.
 
(d) The board shall certify to this Court those applicants qualified for admission under this Rule 8.  The applicants so certified shall be granted a license to practice law upon taking and subscribing the oath or affirmation prescribed by Rule 8.15.
 

Regulations of the Board of Law Examiners
 
1.  Payment of any fee shall be by good funds, cashier's check, certified check or in any manner as the Court deems acceptable.  Any insufficiency of payment or rejection of funds or credit shall be considered to be a prima facie basis to reject an application.
 
 
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8.04  INELIGIBILITY


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(d) A person having a complaint pending before the licensing authority of any other state or territory or foreign jurisdiction or who has been suspended or disbarred from the practice of law by the licensing authority of any state or territory or foreign jurisdiction is not eligible to apply for admission to the bar of this state during the time the complaint is pending or the period of such suspension or disbarment.  In no instance shall any such person be eligible for admission until the person has been fully reinstated by such authority or otherwise exonerated.
 
Favorable resolution or termination of a complaint or reinstatement shall not bar or in any way prohibit the board from making an adverse determination as to character and fitness.
 

Regulations of the Board of Law Examiners
 
1. A felony conviction as described in Rule 8.04(a) is a per se disqualification to file an application for admission under Rule 8.07, Rule 8.09, Rule 8.10 or Rule 8.105 until after the period of ineligibility imposed by Rule 8.04(a) has expired.  Once the Rule 8.04(a) period of ineligibility has expired, the board will consider the felony in reaching a determination as to the applicant’s character and fitness.
 

8.05  APPLICATION FOR CHARACTER AND FITNESS REPORT
 
(a) Every applicant for admission under Rule 8.07, Rule 8.09, Rule 8.10 or Rule 8.105 shall file with the clerk of this Court a written application for character and fitness report in the form prescribed by the board.  Applicants shall pay to the clerk of this Court the prescribed non-refundable fee.
 
(b) Except as provided in Rule 8.05(c), the application for character and fitness report shall be filed concurrently with the application for admission under Rule 8.07, Rule 8.09, Rule 8.10 or Rule 8.105.
 
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8.06  TEMPORARY PRACTICE BY LAWYERS APPLYING FOR ADMISSION TO THE MISSOURI BAR
 
(a) Any lawyer meeting the following qualifications may apply to practice law temporarily in Missouri as provided in this Rule 8.06.  The lawyer shall not have previously failed the bar examination administered in Missouri and shall be:
 
(1) An applicant for admission to The Missouri Bar under Rule 8.07, Rule 8.09, Rule 8.10, or Rule 8.105;

 

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(b) The applicant shall file an application with the board, which shall be attested to or sworn and state:
 

(1) The applicant has applied for admission to The Missouri Bar under Rule 8.07, Rule 8.09, Rule 8.10, or Rule 8.105;
 
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(e) The certificate shall be revoked immediately without further action by the Court if the applicant:
 
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(4) Is denied admission under Rule 8.09, Rule 8.10, or Rule 8.105 and is not permitted to take the bar examination; or


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8.07  APPLICATION FOR BAR EXAMINATION
 
(a) Every applicant for admission to the bar by examination shall file with the clerk of this Court an application for bar examination in the form prescribed by the board.  In order to be timely filed, an application shall be properly submitted on or before March 1 for the July examination and on or before the prior October 1 for the February examination.  For applicants who failed the most recent examination and are applying for the next scheduled examination, the application shall be properly submitted on or before May 1 for the July examination and on or before the prior October 1 for the February examination in order to be timely filed.  The prescribed fee, which is nonrefundable, shall accompany the application.  Applications will be accepted no earlier than February 1 for the July examination and no earlier than the prior September 1 for the February examination.
 
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Regulations of Board of Law Examiners
 

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3. Upon written notice to the board postmarked or received no later than 5:00 p.m. on the day before the examination applied for, an applicant may postpone taking the examination applied for and carry forward the application fee one time to the next scheduled examination.  The applicant shall pay a postponement fee as set out in the prescribed fee schedule, within ten days of submitting written notice of postponement.  Except for extraordinary circumstances and good cause shown, an applicant who does not submit timely written notice of postponement shall be required to pay the prescribed application fee in full in order to sit for any future examination.  By allowing an applicant to postpone taking the examination, the board does not waive, alter, or extend any provisions of Rule 8.

8.08  THE BAR EXAMINATION
 
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(c) Applicants for admission by bar examination shall be required to successfully complete the Missouri educational component test (MECT) prescribed by the board and approved by this Court.  Successful completion of the MECT shall occur no earlier than the date of submission of the initial application to take the bar examination and no later than one year after the date of written notification to the applicant of passing the bar examination.  Applicants who do not pass the bar examination within two years after successful completion of the MECT shall be required to successfully complete the MECT again.
 

Regulations of Board of Law Examiners
 
1.  The bar examination is the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) prepared by the National Conference of Bar Examiners, which consists of six Multistate Essay Examination (MEE) questions, two Multistate Performance Test (MPT) tasks, and the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE).
 
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7.  In determining whether an applicant passes the bar examination, the board shall accept the applicant's scaled score on the MBE taken in another jurisdiction and transferred to Missouri only if:
 
(a) The applicant has not previously failed the bar examination in Missouri;
 
(b) The score was attained in an examination administered within the 19 months immediately preceding the date of the examination to be taken in Missouri; and
 
(c) The applicant passed the entire bar examination in one administration in the transferring jurisdiction.
 
It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that the transferring jurisdiction has certified the applicant's MBE score to the board by July 1 for a July examination and by February 1 for a February examination.If the transferred MBE score is not timely certified, the applicant may be required to sit for both days of the examination in Missouri.
 
An applicant is allowed to utilize a transferred MBE score and sit for only the essay portion of the bar examination in Missouri one time.

If such applicant does not achieve a passing score in the applicant's first attempt, the applicant must sit for both days of the examination in any subsequent attempts.  In determining whether an applicant has achieved a passing score, the applicant's transferred scaled MBE score and the applicant's scaled essay score combined must yield a scaled total score of at least 260.
 
If an applicant elects to utilize a transferred MBE and sit for only the essay portion of the bar examination in Missouri, the score the applicant receives will not qualify as a "Uniform Bar Examination" score.
 
8.  Scores of an applicant on the bar examination will not be disclosed to the public, except that the board is authorized to:
 
(a) Make public statistical results of the examination; and
 
(b) Disclose to the law school from which an applicant graduated the applicant's grades, provided the applicant has signed a release form authorizing the board to do so;
 
(c) Disclose to the law school from which an applicant graduated the applicant's pass/fail status; and
 
(d) Certify, upon an applicant's request, an applicant's scaled MBE score to other jurisdictions in which the applicant seeks admission.  


9.  Enrollment ceremonies for successful applicants will be held in Jefferson City at such locations, dates and times as this Court shall set.
 
10.  Testing accommodations will be provided for applicants demonstrating a disability to the extent such accommodations are reasonable, consistent with the nature and purpose of the examination, and necessitated by the applicant’s disability.  Applicants needing accommodations shall file a petition for testing accommodations in such form as prescribed by the board.  A fully completed petition for testing accommodations, including all required supporting documentation, shall be submitted with the application for bar examination in accordance with the filing deadlines set out in Rule 8.07 and subject to the corresponding prescribed fee.

8.09  ADMISSION BY TRANSFERRED UNIFORM BAR EXAMINATION SCORE
 
(a) An applicant who has taken the UBE in a jurisdiction other than Missouri and earned a scaled total score of not less than 260 may be admitted to the practice of law in this state if:
 
(1) The scaled total score was attained on a UBE administered within the twenty-four months preceding the date the application is properly submitted;
 
(2) The applicant holds a first professional degree in law (J.D. or LL.B) from a law school approved by the American Bar Association or furnishes to the board satisfactory evidence that he or she met the requirements of Rule 8.07(d) or (e) at the time the applicant sat for the UBE from which the transferred score was attained;
 
(3) The applicant files the application and related forms required by the board and pays the prescribed, non-refundable fee;
 
(4) The board approves the applicant's character and fitness as required by Rule 8.11;
 
(5) The applicant successfully completes the MECT described in Rule 8.08(c) no earlier than the date the application is properly submitted and no later than one year after the date of written notification of receipt by the Board of an acceptable UBE score;
 
(6) The applicant has earned a scaled score of not less than 80 on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, which score must be received by the Board no later than one year after the date of written notification of receipt by the Board of an acceptable UBE score; and
 
(7) The applicant satisfies all other applicable requirements of Rule 8;


8.10  ADMISSION WITHOUT EXAMINATION
 
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(b) A person admitted pursuant to this Rule 8.10 is required to meet the continuing legal education requirements specified in Rule 15.