Online ("eBar") Application Instructions

These instructions will assist you in completing the online electronic Application and/or Petition process (“eBar”).  Applicants are required to not only create and submit their applications and/or petitions electronically but also mail hard copies of their Applications and/or Petitions to the State Board of Law Examiners with original signatures, notarization, and supplemental documentation as necessary along with the appropriate fees.  Complete applications and/or petitions must be received in the State Board of Law Examiners Office by 4:30 pm on the filing deadline. 

Any application and/or petition filed after the deadline or filed by the deadline but incomplete (and adequate remediation occurs after the deadline) will not be considered until accompanied by a request for good cause to file late.  The requirements of Board Rule 2 (“Filing Late for Good Cause”) must be met by the applicant in order for a good cause request to be determined by the Board.  Non-conforming requests will be denied. 

GENERAL BAR EXAM

For law school graduates and attorneys who do not meet the eligibility requirements to sit for the Attorney exam, the General Bar requires that applicants complete both the Application (Parts I and II) and a Petition if they are taking the Maryland General Bar exam for the first time.  Applicants who have taken the Maryland General Bar exam before only need to submit a Petition (retake or retake order).  Retake applicants will follow the same process for filling out an online petition.  Ebar will produce the corresponding petition for each applicant.  Applicants whose applications become stale (more than 24 months old) will be required to submit an entirely new application. 

To access eBar, click on the tab for the General Bar Exam Electronic Application.  You may also access the site at https://jportal.mdcourts.gov/ebarapp/login.do?tmpl=g

OUT-OF-STATE ATTORNEY (RULE 13) EXAM

For applicants meeting the requirements to sit for the Maryland Out-of-State Attorney exam, only a petition is necessary. To access eBar, click on the tab for the Out-of-State Attorney Bar Exam Electronic Application. You may also access the site at https://jportal.mdcourts.gov/ebarapp/login.do?tmpl=o

CREATING AN ACCOUNT

In the eBar system, your e-mail address becomes your User Name. It is critical that the e-mail address you provide not change during the course of the examination process- from the time you create your account through the swearing-in ceremony. The password you create must be a minimum of eight characters and must contain at least a letter, a number, and any of these special characters !,@,#,$,%,&,*. Please write down your password. Passwords are case sensitive. (Resetting passwords occurs during business hours (M-F 8:30am – 4:30pm).)

CAUTION: You may use any e-mail account provider you choose but please note the following caution. E-mail account providers hosted with a “.net” domain and AOL do not interface with our online eBar system. Please plan accordingly.

CAUTION: Passwords and the Security Question Answers are case-sensitive. The system will lock your account after 5 failed login attempts. Subsequently, you will need to contact the Board’s Office by phone during normal business hours to unlock your account. Email requests are not valid requests due to Rule 19 Confidentiality safeguards.

NOTE: In order to apply for an eBar account, you must have a U.S. issued social security number. If you do not have one, you must contact the State Board of Law Examiner’s office in writing with a signed and notarized affidavit along with supporting documents that demonstrate you are legally in the United States without a social security number.

As you fill out the required fields to create your user account, please review your entries before you save your data. Often, applicants will make errors in entering data for their social security numbers, date of birth, place of birth, suffix, prefix, etc. Please review all the data you enter before you save it. Mistakes may only be corrected after you send a signed writing to the Board noting the error and correction to be made.

Once you have filled out the information to create an eBar account, you will receive a confirmation e-mail that you will use to activate your account. Please be aware of your privacy settings on your e-mail account. Also, some e-mail account providers will block our e-mails from getting through to the applicant. If you do not receive an e-mail within a few hours of creating your user account, contact the SBLE Office at (410) 260-3640 during normal business hours (M–F 8:30am to 4:30pm) to manually active your account.

FILLING OUT THE APPLICATION AND/OR PETITION ONLINE

Once you have activated your account, you will be able to begin filling out the screens required in order for you to electronically submit your Application and/or Petition.

On the top right of your screen you will see A+, reset, and A-.  These are screen viewer adjustments.  If you want to increase the size of the screen fonts, click on the A+ symbol.  If you want to decrease the size of the screen fonts, click on the A- symbol.  If you want the screen fonts back to their original size, click “reset”.

The first screen you will see is the “My Status” screen.  There is a button to create a “New Application” for the General Bar exam and “New Petition” for the Out-of-State Attorney exam.  Click on that button to begin the online application process.  After you click on the button, you will notice that you are no longer on the “My Status” page.  eBar has moved you into the “My Application” page.

As you begin to fill out the Application and Petition (General Bar) or Petition (Out-of-State Attorney), you will notice a “Save Application” button on each page.  You must click on it when you are ready to move on to the next page.  If you do not click “Save Application” at the bottom of each page, you will lose the data you entered for that page.  However, first review the data you entered to ensure it is completely filled in and correct before you save it.

As you are completing the information, you will need to click on “Add Details” to enter information for residences, employment, marriage details, etc.  Out-of-State Attorneys will enter jurisdictions where they became licensed.  Click on the “Add Details” button.  Enter your information and then click on “Save Details”.  You can also edit details by clicking on the “Edit Details” button after you have highlighted the details you wish to edit.  There are only certain questions you will need to click on “Add Details” if the question applies to your situation.  You do not need to add details in the marriage details section if you are not married.

CAUTION:  Do not click on “Save Application” when you are in the “Add Details” box.  You must save the information within the “Add Details” box by clicking on the “Save Details” box.

HELPFUL HINTS: (1) When you are filling in your Residence details, please note that you must put a beginning and end date even if you are still at that address.  That field is solely used to validate where you have lived for the last ten years.  Remember that any changes to your address subsequent to submitting your Application and/or Petition must be made in writing to the State Board of Law Examiners office. (2) Employment.  You must fill out employment details even if you have never had a job.  If inapplicable, then note Not Applicable in each required field.  Then click on “Save Details”.  (3) When you log back in to eBar, if you exit before submission is complete, you may resume entering data by accessing your Application and/or Petition in the “My Application” page.

Each time you log out of your eBar account without submitting your Petition, you will be required to verify your response to the Petition, laptop request, and special accommodations request.  Just remember to click “Save & Next” to go to the next page.

When you have completed the Application and/or Petition, eBar will show you a checklist of what you have just completed.  If you have a green √ box next to the item, then you are ready to submit your Application or Petition electronically. 

For General Bar applicants, once you have completed your Application, there will be a red x by your Petition, laptop request, and accommodations request.  The reason for that red x is that you have not created a Petition yet- only an Application.  Click on the “Petition to Sit for the Maryland Bar Exam” and then fill out the fields for the petition including laptop request and accommodations request.  The default setting for laptop request is hand writer and no accommodations requested for accommodations.  If you request to use a laptop or to receive a test accommodation, you must check the box on the lower left hand side of the screen that you have read, understand and agree to the terms relative to your request.

Once your Application and/or Petition checklists all have green √ marks, then you may submit your Application and/or Petition online.  Click on the buttons at the bottom of the Application Checklist to “Submit Application” and then “Submit Petition”.

If you are successful, you will receive a message toward the top of your screen.  You may then go to your “My Status” page which will indicate your Application and/or Petition has been submitted online.  Now you are ready to submit the hard copy of your application and/or petition. 

MAILING YOUR HARD COPY APPLICATION AND/OR PETITION

Once you have submitted your Application and/or Petition electronically, go to your “My Status” page.  Notice the printer icons for the Application (one for Part I and one for Part II) and for the Petition.  Click on those icons to print a copy of your Application and/or Petition. 

CAUTION:  If your printed copy has “Void” on it, it indicates that you did not electronically submit the application and/or petition.  Go back to My Application and scroll down to the bottom of the page until you see Submit Application and Submit Petition.  Click on Submit Application.  You will get a confirmation message.  Then click on Submit Petition.  You will get a confirmation message.  Then return to My Status to print documents.  You should now find a clean copy with no “Void” marks on it.

You must sign where indicated and have the forms notarized as required.  You must also provide supplemental documentation as necessary in order for your Application and/or Petition to be complete.  Only complete Applications and/or Petitions with the correct filing fee will be treated as filed in the State Board of Law Examiners office.

As the State Board of Law Examiners receives your hard copy Application and/or Petition along with original signatures, notarization and supplemental documents, you may view your “My Status” page to see what changes have been made to your status.  You may also receive e-mails from the eBar system when your status has changed.

Note:  When you print the Part II of the Application, there is a Checklist (1st page) to ensure you include all the required documents.  Please review the checklist carefully.

APPLICATIONS THAT ARE OVER TWO YEARS OLD (24 MONTH RULE)

Applicants whose applications become stale (more than 24 months old) are required to complete, submit and mail/hand-deliver an entirely new application.  eBar is designed that you may copy old information from your prior electronic Application in order to assist you in completing your new updated Application.  This provision is only available if you filed your original application or updated application after October 4, 2010 in the eBar system. 

CAUTION:  If an update is required, you may not file a new Petition in our office to take a bar examination until the completed new updated Application is filed in our office along with the appropriate update fee.

COMMON MISTAKES IN MAILING HARD COPY APPLICATIONS/PETITIONS

General Mistakes
1.  Waiting until the week of the filing deadline to work on their application and petition.

2. Failing to read thoroughly the application and petition materials.

3. Turning in an incomplete Application and/or Petition believing it will satisfy the requirement for filing with the State Board of Law Examiners under Bar Admission Rules 2 (Applications) and 6 (Petitions).

4.  Having documents notarized by a Notary Public with an expired Notary license.  The Notary must have a current Notary license and the expiration date must not have expired.

5.  Delays in submitting Applications because the applicant does not know specific dates such as for residence, education, employment, etc.  If applicants are uncertain about exact dates, it is recommended that applicants use the beginning of the month.

6.  Failing to include the correct filing fees for the Application and/or Petition.

Specific Mistakes
1. Make sure that you sign the Side 2 of your Petition in front of a licensed notary who must authenticate, sign and affix the notary seal to the form.

2.  Part I of the Application must be an original document containing the original signature of both the applicant and certifying authority including the school stamped seal.  Please note that many law schools will not certify your Part I on behalf of your undergraduate institution.  Thus, you will, in most cases, have to contact your undergraduate institution to complete the certification requirement.  Our office does not accept faxes, emails, photocopies and/or scanned copies of the Part I Application.

If you are substituting an official transcript in lieu of the Part I (F-5) form, you must have the undergraduate institution mail directly to the State Board of Law Examiners Office an official transcript conferring your undergraduate degree.  You will be notified via eBar notification if our office receives your official transcript without your bar application.

CAUTION: You will not be able to file your application without a certified Part I form and/or an official transcript in our office.

3.  Part II of the Application requires applicants to read the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct and sign that they have read the Rules and have no outstanding tax liabilities against them in Maryland.  Applicants must hand write a response relative to the Rules of Professional Conduct and affirm their duty to full candor and supplement their information up through the time for admission to the bar.  Part II also requires applicants to complete an Authorization and Release form and sign it before a licensed notary public who is then required to authenticate, sign and seal the form as well.

LAPTOP APPLICATIONS
For applicants who wish to use laptop computers for the Day 1 (Essay Day) portion of the Maryland bar exam, you must (1) check the laptop designation in eBar first and (2) print off and mail/hand-deliver a printed and complete Laptop Application Form to the Board’s Office by the filing deadline.  This process must be repeated for each exam as no carry over is allowed.

CAUTION:  Requesting to use a laptop in eBar is only the first step in the laptop application process.  The Board must receive a Laptop Application form in its office by the filing deadline.  Otherwise, you will default to a handwriter status and will have to handwrite the essay portion of the Maryland Bar Exam.

EBAR HELP

As you are creating your eBar Application and/or Petition, there is an “eBar Help” button on the main page to your Application and/or Petition.