Bar Examination FAQs

The July 2026 Ohio Bar Examination will be held on July 28-29, 2026.  

Examinees will test at one of the following locations:

• Cleveland Exam Site: Cleveland State University College of Law, 1801 Euclid Ave. Cleveland, OH 44115
• Toledo Exam Site: University of Toledo College of Law, 1825 W. Rocket Dr., Toledo, OH 43606
• Columbus Exam Site: OSU Moritz College of Law, Drinko Hall, 55 W 12th Ave, Columbus, OH 43210
• Cincinnati Exam Site: University of Cincinnati College of Law, 2925 Campus Green Dr, Cincinnati, OH 45221

*Examinees granted nonstandard testing accommodations will test at one of two locations:

• Case Western Reserve University School of Law, 11075 E. Blvd., Cleveland, OH 44106
• Capital University Law School, 303 E. Broad St., Columbus, OH 43215

Space permitting, examinees who graduated from an Ohio law school will be assigned based on the law school they attended.  All others will be assigned based on residence address.  Ohio law school-based assignments are as follows:

• Cleveland Exam Site: Cleveland State University College of Law, University of Akron School of Law, and Case Western Reserve University School of Law (*)
• Toledo Exam Site: University of Toledo College of Law and Ohio Northern University Claude W. Pettit College of Law
• Columbus Exam Site: OSU Moritz College of Law and Capital University Law School (*)
• Cincinnati Exam Site: University of Cincinnati College of Law, University of Dayton School of Law, Northern Kentucky University Salmon P. Chase College of Law

*Applicants granted nonstandard testing accommodations will be assigned to either Case Western Reserve University School of Law or Capital University Law School. 

Location assignments will be communicated to applicants in May by email.  Once you have been assigned to a location, you may use the Testing Location Reassignment Request form to request reassignment to a different testing location if good cause exists.  A link to the form will be provided at a later date.

Only requests submitted on or before June 15 will be considered.  Requests will be considered in the order in which they are received and will be granted only if: (1) there is good cause and (2) space is available.  The decision granting or denying your request for reassignment will be communicated to you by June 22.

If you have been granted nonstandard testing accommodations and wish to request reassignment, please email testingaccommodations@sc.ohio.gov.

Approximately 3 weeks before the exam, examinees who receive final approval to sit for the examination will receive notice in the Bar Admissions Portal.  This will include your admission ticket containing your identification number (Applicant ID), assigned testing location, arrival time, and exam day instructions. 

• Log into the Bar Admissions Portal.
• On the right-hand side, under Application Submitted, select “View Status” for the July 2026 application.
• A new window will open, and you can download the available document.

It is imperative that examinees confirm/update the email address that they have on file to receive the latest notifications from our section.

Assigned entrance times will be included with your admission ticket. The one-page ticket must be printed and brought with you on Tuesday, the first day of testing, to authorize your admittance into the exam. Do NOT bring the entire packet with you on Tuesday.

• Pens - Black or Blue (Tuesday only)
• Non-mechanical, number 2 pencils (Wednesday only)
• Erasers
• Handheld, manual pencil sharpeners (electric and battery-powered sharpeners are not permitted)
• Water (clear plastic water bottle with clear water [no tint or color])
• Government issued ID, money, credit cards, hotel key cards (no wallets)
• Keys
• Medication
• Eyeglasses (no cases)
• Menstrual products, including tampons, maxi pads, and liners
• Personal size hand sanitizer
• Laptop charger (does not need to be in plastic bag)
• Parking pass
• Wired mouse and/or keypad 

Each examinee is permitted to bring one clear plastic gallon bag in which they must keep their permitted items.  You should have NO items in your pockets.  Staff will visually inspect the clear plastic bag before you enter the testing room.  Purses, other bags, and non-permitted items, including coats, must remain in the designated area for personal belongings.  Examinees will not have access to those non-permitted items until they are dismissed by the exam administrator for lunch and at the end of the day.

Generally, any item not expressly permitted in the exam hall may not be brought into the testing area.  However, the following items are expressly prohibited:

• Firearms or weapons of any kind
• Purses, wallets, bags, or backpacks
• Hats
• Headphones and earplugs (each examinee will be provided a set of earplugs)
• Paper of any kind
• Food or liquids, except bottled water as described above
• Gum, mints, and cough drops
• Cellular telephones, pagers, or any wireless communication device
• Watches or clocks
• Mouse pads
• Ergonomic items (including, but not limited to, keyboard or laptop stands)
• Wireless mouse and/or keyboard
• Gaiters and bandanas
• Calculators, handheld computers, or any other electronic devices
• Disinfectant wipes
• Tissues
• Eyeglass cases
• Highlighters

Exam day instructions will provide detailed information regarding the items that will be available at the exam site for examinee use. This includes:

• Tissues
• Hand sanitizer
• Earplugs
• Scrap paper

Yes. Menstrual products including tampons, maxi pads, and liners may be brought into the exam room in the examinee’s clear plastic bag of permitted items. To protect the sterility of menstrual products, examinees will not be required to open an original product for inspection unless the menstrual products are not visible in the clear plastic bag. An assortment of menstrual products will also be available in each restroom.

Examinees will have access to restrooms during testing and are permitted to take menstrual products back and forth to the restroom as needed (an assortment of menstrual products will also be available in each restroom). Each restroom is proctored for exam security.

The Exam Administrator will dismiss examinees once all test materials are collected and accounted for. Examinees are not permitted to leave their testing room during the last 15 minutes of the testing session and after testing is complete until instructed to do so by the Exam Administrator.

If an examinee has a medical condition or other circumstance that is not covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act that requires them to have items that are not normally permitted (such as diabetic supplies, lumbar support, or a lactation pump) or requires special seating arrangements (such as a wheelchair-accessible table or access to a lactation room), they must submit a Special Arrangement Form. The deadline to submit the Special Arrangement Form is July 7, 2026. If the request is approved, the examinee will receive an email providing them with information regarding their specific request. Please note that a new Special Arrangement Form is required for each administration of the examination for which one applies.

 Please notify the Bar Admissions Section immediately at baradmissions@sc.ohio.gov.

Examinees that wish to use their laptop for the MPT and MEE portions of the exam must register their laptop with ExamSoft. Registration opens on June 9, 2026, at 10:00 A.M. and will close on July 8, 2026, at 4:00 P.M. More information can be found here: Ohio ExamSoft Registration.

The deadline for uploading MEE and MPT answers is 10 p.m. on Tuesday, July 28, 2026.

A list of successful examinees will be posted to the Supreme Court of Ohio’s website on October 23, 2026, at 8 a.m.  Examinees’ individual scores will be available on the Bar Admissions Portal starting at that same time.

When exam results are released, the individual result letter and score report will be posted in the examinee’s Bar Admissions Portal account. The letter will indicate the result and eligibility for admission.

• Log into the Bar Admissions Portal.
• On the right side of the screen, under Application Submitted, select “View Status” for the July 2026 application.
• A new window will open, showing the letter and score report.

The result letter in the examinee’s Bar Admissions Portal account will provide details on eligibility. Those who are successful on the exam must also have a Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) score of 85 or higher and a passing score on the Ohio Law Component (OLC).

After completing the July bar exam, examinees will receive an email with instructions for taking the OLC and registering with ExamSoft.  Examinees are required to take and pass the OLC only once.  Accordingly, an examinee who previously earned a passing score of 80% or higher on the OLC following an unsuccessful bar exam attempt is not required to retake the OLC.  Likewise, an examinee who does not pass the July 2026 bar exam but achieves a passing OLC score after the July exam will not be required to retake the OLC.  For more information regarding the OLC, please visit: Ohio Law Component.

You can verify this information in your Bar Admissions Portal account. To have your score sent to Ohio, you must complete the following steps:

1. Log in to your NCBE Account and click on “Score Services.”  
2. Select “MPRE – Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination” from the drop-down menu and click “Next.”
3. Follow the steps to complete your request, which will be processed the next business day.  You will receive a confirmation email when you make the request and again when your request has been processed.

Note that failure to submit your MPRE score to Ohio by the deadline provided by the Bar Admissions Section may preclude you from participating in the bar admissions ceremony.

You are not permitted to practice law until you have taken and passed the bar examination, MPRE, and OLC; taken the oath of office; and registered as an attorney with the Registration and Continuing Legal Education Section. NOTE: You cannot take your oath of office before the scheduled bar admissions ceremony.

The admissions ceremony for those eligible for admission to the practice of law will be November 16, 2026.