The State Board of Law Examiners and the bar admissions process are governed by Title 19, Chapters 100 and 200 of the Maryland Rules.
Maryland Bar Admission Rules on government.westlaw.com
Rules of the Board (Word) (PDF)
Pursuant to amended Maryland Rule 19-102(d), effective October 1, 2024, the Rules of the Board are hereby posted on the Board’s page of the Judiciary Website.
Amended Board Rule 5 (Examination Format, Qualifying UBE Score, and Grading) (Word) (PDF)
Pursuant to Maryland Rule 19-102(d), the State Board of Law Examiners gives notice, on December 5, 2025, that the State Board of Law Examiners has approved amendments to Board Rule 5, which clarifies the definition of a qualifying score on a Legacy UBE administered after March 1, 2026 in a UBE jurisdiction other than Maryland, establishes the qualifying score on the NextGen UBE in Maryland beginning with the July 2026 administration, and describes the content and grading responsibilities on both forms of the exam. These amendments to Board Rule 5 will become effective on March 1, 2026 in conjunction with the changes to the Maryland Rules governing bar admission approved by the Supreme Court of Maryland on November 4, 2025, which will also become effective on March 1, 2026. The 225th Rules Report Order containing the amended bar admission rules may be found HERE.
Bar admission rules for applicants who pass(ed) a Maryland General Bar Exam or Maryland Out-of-State Attorney’s Exam given before March 1, 2019
The bar admissions process for Maryland bar applicants and petitioners who pass or have passed a Maryland General Bar Examination or Maryland Out-of-State Attorney’s Examination administered prior to March 1, 2019 (i.e., individuals who pass their exam in February 2019 or passed an exam in July 2018 or earlier) shall be governed by Maryland Rules 19-101 to 19-105 and Maryland Rules 19-201 to 19-213 and the Rules of the Board that are set forth in the 178th Rules Committee Report, Part III, and enacted by the Court’s Rule’s Order of June 6, 2016. Those Rules may be found HERE at pages 8-65 (Court Rules) and pages 87-106 (Board Rules). After March 1, 2019, these Rules will continue to govern each such applicant and petitioner until he or she is admitted, or is denied admission pursuant to Rule 19-204 or Rule 19-216(e), or withdraws the application or petition pursuant to Rule 19-202(b) or Rule 19-216(e)(3), or whose application has lapsed pursuant to Rule 19-214(e). An applicant described in this paragraph who reapplies for admission shall be subject to the then-current bar admissions rules.