CHECKLIST FOR A COMPLETE RE-EXAMINATION APPLICATION

PLEASE NOTE: This Checklist is not a substitute for reading Rule 7, the Board Policies and Procedure and the related website information.

Before reviewing this list, verify that you have submitted the correct application. A Re-Examination Application is used by applicants seeking admission in Tennessee by examination who have taken the Uniform Bar Examination in Tennessee within the last three years.

DO NOT USE THE RE-EXAMINATION APPLICATION IF YOU:

• Are applying for admission by examination for the first time; or
• Previously applied to the Bar of Tennessee by examination less than 2 years ago but have not taken the examination in Tennessee; or
• Have previously take the examination in Tennessee but the application has expired pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 7, § 3.04(a)(8).

DEADLINES AND FILING REQUIREMENTS:

There are two deadlines for Application for Admission by Examination:

• The Application Deadline, which is December 1 for February exams and May 1 for July exams; and
• The Final Deadline, which is December 20 for February exams and May 20 for July exams.

Please see Rule 7, §§ 3.01 and 3.03 and Board Policies P-3.01 and P-3.03 for information regarding the Application and Final Deadlines.

To meet the Application deadline, an application for admission by re-examination consists of the following items that are uploaded by you to your Tennessee application on or before the Application Deadline:

1. The NCBE application, if last submitted for an examination more than 2 years ago, completed online before submitting your Tennessee Synergy application and saved as a .pdf file with attachments provided to the NCBE (uploaded to the Tennessee application in Synergy by Applicant after submitting the Synergy application);
2. The Tennessee Application for Admission by Re-Examination – completed online in Synergy – Please use the NCBE application number beneath the bar code for the Application Number in the Synergy application;
3. Full payment of fees, paid online by credit card after you have finalized and submitted your Tennessee application, or paid by money order or check mailed to the Board office (TBLE, 511 Union Street, Suite 525, Nashville, TN 37219). For more information on fees, click here.
   • Note that if you plan to request testing accommodations, you must complete the Request for Non-Standard Testing Accommodations in Synergy and upload Form 1 or Form 1A by the Application Deadline so that the Board will have sufficient information to notify you of missing items. Again, you will have until the Final Deadline to complete the application process.

If you have not completed step 1, if required, and steps 2 & 3 above by the Application deadline, you will not be eligible to take the exam. If your online fee payment is unsuccessful as of the deadline, you will not be eligible to take the exam. Please note that applications close at 11:59:59 PM on the day of the Application Deadline. Applicants who have met the Application Deadline have until the Final Deadline to complete the application process.

To meet the Final Deadline and complete the application process, you must have the following required items uploaded to your Synergy Application or, when required to be provided by a third party directly to the TBLE, mailed or uploaded so that it is received by the TBLE on or before the Final Deadline. For detailed information about these documents and forms, visit www.tnble.org and select Admission by Examination, How to Apply – Re-Examination. See also, Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 7 and Board Policies P-3.01 and P-3.03 regarding deadlines and documentation requirements.

The Board will send at least one notice of deficiency if any of the following items are missing or have been filed in the incorrect format; however, you may still have a deficiency, such as submitting the incorrect application, for which you will not receive notice prior to the Final Deadline, or by failing to complete the NCBE application process, as described below.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS: The following items are required to complete your application and must be received by the BLE on or before the Final Deadline:

1. Completion of the NCBE application process (required every 2 years): completion of the online NCBE application that has been submitted to the NCBE (a .pdf of the application would have been uploaded with the Tennessee Application on or before the Application Deadline), payment of all NCBE fees, and all required documents have been provided to the NCBE in the format and by the process required; to see your application status and steps left to complete, you will need to check your NCBE Dashboard. Applicants are responsible for managing their NCBE dashboard as the Board does not have access to and will not provide notice regarding steps needed to complete the NCBE application process prior to the Final Deadline;
2. Your current resume in .pdf format only (required each exam);
3. A color photo, similar to a passport-type photo, that includes your head, full face, and shoulders against a light background (required each exam in .jpg format only; see Board Policy P-3.01(c) and FAQs on the Board website);
4. An unexpired Government-Issued Photo ID, such as a driver’s license, military ID, or passport (copy the page with your picture), but not a school ID, uploaded to Synergy in jpg or .pdf format (required each exam); and
5. Acknowledgment of Receipt of the General Instruction Manual for the current exam, available on the Board’s website, here, signed and uploaded to Synergy after reading the Manual.

OTHER DOCUMENTS THAT, IF APPLICABLE, MUST BE SUBMITTED BY THE FINAL DEADLINE:

• APPLICANTS SEEKING NON-STANDARD TESTING ACCOMMODATIONS and who met the Application Deadline for the Request for Non-Standard Testing Accommodations,  all required forms (In folder labeled, “AA Non-Standard Testing Accommodations Forms,” which includes documents from Qualified Professional and other testing agencies as noted on Forms 2, 3, and 4; the forms must be mailed to the TBLE or uploaded to the secure upload link by the Qualified Professional or those completing Forms 3 and 4. Qualified Professionals and those completing Forms 3 and 4 may email BLE.Administrator@tncourts.gov to obtain the secure upload link.
• APPLICANTS WHO GRADUATED FROM A NON-ABA-ACCREDITED U.S. LAW SCHOOL: If you received your law degree from a school in the United States that is not accredited by the ABA but has been approved to issue a J.D. degree in a state other than Tennessee, you must provide additional documentation. Please see the requirements in Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 7, § 2.02(c), Policy P-3.01(11), and on our website at www.tnble.org. Some of this documentation, such as your Affidavit of Past Practice, must be submitted each time you apply;
• APPLICANTS WHO RECEIVED THEIR LEGAL EDUCATION OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES:  
• If you were previously approved to take the exam as provided in Rule 7, Section 7.01(a), based on substantially equivalent education, you do not have additional requirements.
• If you were approved previously approved to take the examination based on foreign legal education, an LL.M. in the U.S., and time in practice, please note that the requirements have changed. You must provide the following:
  • The completed“Foreign-Education Option Election” form;  
  • An equivalency evaluation, as provided in Rule 7, section 7.01(c) and Policy P-7.01;
  • If seeking admission under:
    • Rule 7, Section 7.01(b)(1), based on admission in another jurisdiction and time in practice,  a completed Affidavit of Practice in a Foreign Country if licensed outside the United states, or a completed Affidavit of Past Practice if licensed in the United States.
      • NOTE: If applicant is licensed in both a foreign jurisdiction and a U.S. jurisdiction, applicant must provide both forms detailing applicant’s practice in each jurisdiction; time in practice in the U.S. in a jurisdiction that permits such practice without a license or registration as a Foreign Legal Consultant should be documented on an Affidavit of Past Practice and include documentation that supports the claim that the practice in that jurisdiction was permitted. 
    • Rule 7, Section 7.01(b)(2), based on foreign legal education and a U.S. LL. M., the Foreign Education Legal Studies in the United States form, completed and signed by the Law School Dean or designee;
  • For all applicants with foreign legal education, the completed “Non-US Law Degree Verification and Dean’s Certification” form; and
  • The documents listed in paragraph (9) and (10) below, if applicable.
  • Documents not in English: If the responses are not in English, a translation to English by a certified translator must be provided with the original document.
  • See Rule 7, Section 7.01, Policy P-3.03, and P-7.01, all found here;
• APPLICANTS LICENSED IN A FOREIGN JURISDICTION: Three letters from attorneys in each country in which applicant is licensed who can verify that applicant is licensed and attest to applicant’s practice in that country (every two years unless a change in status; .pdf format only), provided:
  • The three letters from attorneys or judges verifying applicant’s license in a foreign country and attesting to applicant’s practice in that country must relate to applicant’s work with the recommender in the practice of law and, if from a relative, the relationship must be disclosed in the letter.
  • Letters from an Applicant’s parents, grandparents, siblings or spouse who are practicing attorneys are not permitted.
  • Documents not in English: For documents that are not in English, a translation to English by a certified translator must be provided with the original document.
• APPLICANTS WHO ARE LICENSED IN ANOTHER U.S. JURISDICTION: You must provide the following:
  • Certification of admission to the highest court of each state in which you are licensed (required to be uploaded to Synergy every two years, unless a change in status, in .pdf file format only); and
  • Certification from the disciplinary authority of each state in which you are licensed attesting to your current standing (required to be uploaded to Synergy every two years, unless a change in status, in .pdf file format only).
  • The certification may take the form of one certificate or two, but must show the date of admission to the highest court and certify your current standing (disciplinary and administrative, with disciplinary history) with the bar of the state(s) in which you are licensed.

For detailed information about these documents and forms, visit www.tnble.org  and select Admission by Examination, How to Apply – Re-Examination.

REMINDERS AND NOTICES: Applicants are responsible for ensuring that all documents are submitted in the correct format on or before the Final Deadline. Documents must be RECEIVED BY the Final Deadline to be considered, even if coming from a third-party. See Board Policy P-3.03. Applicants who are provided notice of a deficiency must correct the deficiency on or before the Final Deadline. The Board is not authorized to extend or modify deadlines for filing. See Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 7, § 12.12.

Click here to access FORMS for Admission by Examination and Non-Standard Testing Accommodations