This form is designed to assist you in gathering information, creating your online account, completing your Bar Application and preparing the material to submit a complete application. Click the various links to access information or printer-friendly forms. Applications submitted with accurate and complete responses and all required supplemental documents can be processed more expeditiously. Processing will not be initiated on defective applications and an additional defective filing fee may be charged. A ticket of admission into the examination will not be issued if the complete application and required supplemental documents are not provided. If all required documents are not filed timely, late fees may be assessed.
STEP 1 - PRINT AND USE CHECKLIST
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Print this Checklist
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Check each item when completed to ensure that your Bar Application includes all necessary supplemental documents and information
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STEP 2 - GATHER INFORMATIONAL MATERIALS
It is suggested that you gather this information and have it available when you complete the updated Bar Application.
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A copy of your prior Bar Application and all amendments previously filed by you. If you did not retain a copy, you may request a copy by writing to the address below and submitting the $50.00 copying fee. Do not submit a copy of your prior application to the board. If your prior application was filed via a portal account, you may review in your portal account a PDF of the application and any amendments filed through the portal.
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Five personal references who have known you well within the past 5 years, including full names, current mailing addresses, and telephone numbers.
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Fingerprints (new fingerprints are required)
All applicants for admission to The Florida Bar must have their fingerprints scanned for electronic submission to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and to the FBI by IdentoGo by MorphoTrust USA. Instructions for this step are in the answer to
How do I submit the required fingerprints? in our FAQ. Confirmation of your compliance with this step must be received by the board before processing of your application will begin.
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If not previously provided, transcripts from all undergraduate schools from which you received an undergraduate degree, transcripts from all law schools attended (except your current law school, if you are still attending), even if the credit was transferred to another school or is reflected on another school's transcript, and transcripts from any post-secondary schools attended subsequent to law school. You should request that all transcripts be sent from each educational institution directly to the board's office.
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The following documents may be needed, depending on your response to various items on the Bar Application and whether the documents were previously provided. If any of these documents were previously provided, you are not required to submit them with your new application. These documents may be uploaded through the portal as you work through the bar application.
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A copy of your DD-214, reflecting your character of service and re-entry code.
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For lawsuits where you are personally named a defendant or counter-defendant, include an exact and complete copy of the complaint or other initial pleading, answer, counterclaim, if any, and the disposition of each action, or a letter from the court verifying that the documents are not available. Records are also required for all divorce and bankruptcy proceedings.
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Copies of bar applications or registrations filed in any other jurisdiction. Do not provide the board with a copy of any prior Florida bar application.
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Certificates of Good Standing, dated within six months of your current application submission, from each jurisdiction where you are admitted.
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STEP 3 - COMPLETE THE BAR APPLICATION ONLINE
When you have gathered the information above, you are ready to complete the online Bar Application. A high-speed Internet connection and use of the Google Chrome web browser are recommended.
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Read the
Introduction to the Online Bar Application.
Note for STALE applications: If you already have a portal account with the board and your prior application has gone
stale, you should see a Character and Fitness status of "Application Obsolete" on your portal landing page, and under that, a link to "Create New Bar Application." Click the "Create New Bar Application" link, which will create a PDF of your prior bar application and save it in the Uploaded Documents page of the portal, and will create a new bar application for you to complete. After creating the new bar application, skip to Item 5 below to start the new application. For most application questions, the new application will be pre-populated with your prior online bar application responses/amendments. It is your responsibility to closely review each pre-populated response for accuracy.
Note for TERMINATED applications: If you already have a portal account with the board and your prior application was
terminated or
denied, log into your existing account, and click the "Create New Bar Application" button on the Landing page to begin the new bar application, then skip to Item 5 below to start the new application. If your prior application was terminated, if there are any Outstanding Request(s) Related to Character & Fitness, ensure that you provide all requested information in your new bar application responses or submit the required documentation.
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Follow the instructions to install a Two Factor Authenticator application on your smart device. Authy is the recommended app. Please note that if you do not enable backups in Authy as described in these instructions, or if you use an app other than Authy that does not allow for backups, and if you lose your device prior to filing your bar application, you will not have access to the authentication data you will need to be able to access your account. If that happens, and if you did not write down the “scratch codes” to retrieve information provided to you by the board after you register your account, all of your data will be irretrievable and you will be required to start the registration/bar application process over again. You MUST enable backups to allow you to access your account in the event your smart device is lost, broken, or otherwise unavailable to you. Keep your device on-hand while creating your account. If you do not have a smart device, please refer to the FAQ section for information on how to proceed. |
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Create an Account. You MUST have installed a Two Factor Authenticator app on your mobile device or PC before you complete this step. If you are unable to complete the online application within six months from the date you create your account, your account and all of the information you have entered will be deleted; you will have to start over by creating a new account.
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Log in. To access the bar application, on the left side of the home screen, click the Applicant Portal link. Once in the applicant portal, there will be a notification at the top of the page explaining that the board will communicate with you electronically. Follow the link provided there to the Acknowledgment of Electronic Communication page to read and sign the Acknowledgment of Electronic Communication.
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You may start and stop completion of the online Bar Application as necessary. To securely exit the program, log out and close your browser.
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Complete each item of the application until you have finished and saved each item as finished or complete. It is best to answer the items in order to help ensure responses to subsequent items are accurate. Additionally, within each item, using the tab function will aid in completion of each response in order, and will display the help text when applicable.
Each item must be complete in its entirety, including all prior information from previous application(s) as well as any supplemental information.
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When all items are saved as finished or complete, you will be offered instructions for reviewing a draft version of your Bar Application. Follow the on-screen instructions. Clicking the button to review draft bar application will accumulate your individual item responses into a printer-friendly document and display it on your screen.
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Read and carefully review each item of the draft version of your application to ensure that each item is complete and correct. To make revisions to individual items, select the item, select the pencil icon to make corrections to a previous entry, select the garbage can icon to remove a previous entry, and select “Add Entry” to make additions. Make sure you save your changes. You may generate/print the draft as many times as necessary.
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When you are certain that your application is complete and accurate, return to the Bar Application page and follow the on-screen instructions to finalize your bar application.
Do not press the "Final Version" button without generating a draft and making necessary corrections. When ready to proceed, click the "Final Version" button.
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A “Finalizing Your Bar Application” page will open, providing Section C of the application. Follow the on-screen instructions. You will be required to enter your password as the E-Signature PIN to confirm that all information entered in your bar application is complete and accurate. Once you have entered your E-Signature PIN (password), click the “Finalize Bar Application” button.
You will not be able to make changes or additions to your Bar Application after clicking the “Finalize Bar Application” button.
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If you are not paying your application fee electronically, you must generate and print the Cover Sheet for Bar Application Submission, following the on-screen instructions. Your application cannot be considered if the appropriate fee is not received by the Board.
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Proceed to Section D of the Bar Application
only if you need to register for a future bar examination.
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On the “Your Bar Application has been finalized” page, click the “Display Finalized Bar Application” button to view a printer-friendly final version of your bar application. You may print a copy for your records. Do not mail a printed copy of the application to the board. |
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STEP 4 - CHECKLIST TO SUBMIT A COMPLETE BAR APPLICATION
Check off each item below confirming that you have completed each required item.
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If you are not paying your application fee electronically, you must mail your Cover Sheet for Bar Application Submission with your check or money order.
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Authorization and Release - the form is available under the Supporting Forms section of the Applicant Portal. This must be completed through the portal and submitted electronically. Do not mail a copy to the board.
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Application fee
Please see
rule 2-28 (if previously denied),
rule 2-29 (if filing after going stale), or
rule 2-23.2 or
rule 2-23.4, whichever is applicable (if filing after termination). Clip the check to the Cover Sheet for Bar Application Submission. Alternatively, the board accepts
electronic payment of fees by ACH or eChecks.
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Fingerprints
All applicants for admission to The Florida Bar must have their fingerprints scanned for electronic submission to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and to the FBI by IdentoGo by MorphoTrust USA. Instructions for this step are in the answer to
How do I submit the required fingerprints? in our FAQ. Confirmation of your compliance with this step must be received by the board before processing of your application will begin.
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All of the following as applicable (it is not necessary to mail these documents if you already uploaded them through the portal):
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Documentation of military service (DD-214, Report of Separation, or equivalent)
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Copies of litigation documents
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A copy of the judge's signed order to unseal arrest records
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Copies of bar applications from other jurisdictions (your previously filed Florida Bar Application does not need to be submitted)
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Your finalized Bar Application cannot be considered submitted until you pay the required application fee, execute the Authorization and Release form, and submit proof of being fingerprinted. If mailing the fee to the board, print the Cover Sheet to include with the check or money order, and address your package to the Florida Board of Bar Examiners at the address below.
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U.S. Postal Service:
1891 Eider Court
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1750
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FedEx, Priority USPS, or other delivery service:
1891 Eider Court
Tallahassee, FL 32308
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Do you need to file for admission into a Bar Examination? If yes, refer to our Checklist to File a Re-Examination/Conversion Application (repeater, postponer, or converter) for instructions and forms.
Reporting Changes to the Bar Application
Your Bar Application is a continuing application and you have an obligation to keep the responses to all items current and complete by the filing of timely amendments. Amendments may be filed online through the applicant portal.