How to become a lawyer in the US comes down to four gates: a bachelor's degree, a Juris Doctor (JD) from a law school your state accepts, a bar exam, and admission after a character and fitness review. Each state sets its own rules, so the details below name the state where they differ.
EdCitation publishes this guide. Every requirement, fee and date was read at the official body on 2 October 2026: the American Bar Association (ABA), the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) and state boards. It is general information, not legal advice, and promises no admission, pass or job. For Britain, read how to become a lawyer in the UK; for US medicine, how to become a doctor in the US.
From your first research paper to a law school seminar, EdCitation's free Find sources turns a topic into published work and Cite a source builds each reference from the publisher's record.
What are the steps to become a lawyer in the US?
There are eight steps. The table is our summary; costs appear only where the official source states them.
| Step | When, or how long, as the source states it | Cost, where stated | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's degree | Four years of undergraduate study | Not stated | BLS; ABA Standard 502 |
| LSAT | About 3 hours, plus a 50-minute writing section | $253 (2026-27) | LSAC |
| Applications | Register for CAS six to eight weeks before your first deadline | $219, plus $45 a school | LSAC |
| JD | Three years; at least 83 credit hours | Each school's Standard 509 report | BLS; ABA |
| Character and fitness | Texas: declaration by 1 October of the first year; California: at least six to eight months' review | $190 (Texas declaration) | State boards |
| MPRE | Two hours; March, August or November | $185 (2026 and 2027) | NCBE |
| Bar exam | February or July | $450 (Texas, in-state law student) | NCBE; Texas |
| Admission | New York: 50 hours of pro bono work first | Not stated | New York |
| Reading and citing for papers | Every year | Free, no account | EdCitation's Find sources and Verify references |
Do you need a particular degree before law school?
No major is required. The American Bar Association (n.d.-c) recommends no undergraduate major or set of courses, and advises experience of a research project built on substantial library work.
What the ABA's standards ask for
A law school must require a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution, with narrow exceptions such as a combined bachelor's and JD programme or an extraordinary applicant (American Bar Association, 2026b). For that undergraduate research, Cite a source turns a DOI, ISBN or web address into a finished APA 7, MLA 9 or Chicago author-date entry.
What is the LSAT, and when should you take it?
The LSAT is LSAC's admission test, the only one every law school accepts, though some take others too (Law School Admission Council, n.d.-a).
Format and scoring
Since August 2024 the test has four 35-minute multiple-choice sections: two scored Logical Reasoning, one scored Reading Comprehension and one unscored, about three hours in all, online with a live proctor or at a Prometric centre. LSAT Argumentative Writing is separate: 50 minutes, unscored, but no score is released until it is done (Law School Admission Council, n.d.-d). Scores run from 120 to 180, wrong answers cost nothing, and a score stays reportable for five testing years (Law School Admission Council, n.d.-f).
Dates, fees and limits
For the August 2026 to June 2027 testing year, the LSAT costs $253, the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) $219, and each law school report $45 (Law School Admission Council, n.d.-c). The November 2026 deadline has passed; the next sitting is 13 to 16 January 2027, registration closing on 1 December, then February, April and June (Law School Admission Council, n.d.-e). Many schools want the test taken by November or December for entry the following autumn, and LSAC advises June or September to October (Law School Admission Council, n.d.-b). You may sit it five times in the current reportable period and seven in a lifetime.
ABA Standard 503 lets a school use another test it shows to be valid and reliable, or admit up to 10% of a class without the LSAT from its own undergraduates or joint-degree students who meet set ACT, SAT, GRE or GMAT and grade thresholds (American Bar Association, 2026b).
What does a JD degree involve?
A JD usually takes three years full time, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) says. The American Bar Association (2026a) sets the floor: at least 83 credit hours, including a professional responsibility course of two credits or more, a faculty-supervised writing experience in the first year and another after it, and at least six credit hours of clinics, simulations or field placements.
How many schools, and how they are judged
The Council's list counts 198 institutions and programmes approved to confer the JD (American Bar Association, n.d.-a); its December 2025 data overview counts 196, with 42,817 first-year students, 7.9% more than in 2024 (American Bar Association, 2025). Every US jurisdiction accepts graduation from a Council-accredited school as meeting its education requirement (American Bar Association, n.d.-b).
Each school publishes a Standard 509 report with its admissions data, tuition, living costs, scholarships, attrition, jobs and bar passage (American Bar Association, 2026b), and at least 75% of its graduates who sit a bar exam must pass within two years (American Bar Association, 2026a). Nationally, 92% of 2023 graduates who sat had passed within two years, and 84% of 2025 graduates passed at the first attempt (American Bar Association, 2026c). Those are totals, not your odds.
Texas no longer leaves the final word to the ABA
The Supreme Court of Texas (2025) gave its tentative view that "the ABA should no longer have the final say", keeping every school already approved. Its rules now define an approved law school as one the Court approves (Texas Board of Law Examiners, 2026).
What is on the bar exam, and what is the NextGen bar exam?
Each jurisdiction runs its own bar exam, most with NCBE's Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) until February 2028, then the NextGen UBE.
The legacy UBE, until February 2028
The UBE combines the Multistate Essay Examination, two Multistate Performance Test tasks and the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) over two days, weighted 30%, 20% and 50%, with a portable score out of 400. Its last sitting is 22 and 23 February 2028 (National Conference of Bar Examiners, n.d.-f). The MBE is 200 multiple-choice questions over six hours, 175 of them scored (National Conference of Bar Examiners, n.d.-c).
The NextGen timeline, as NCBE states it
The National Conference of Bar Examiners (n.d.-e) lists when each jurisdiction switches:
| First NextGen sitting | Jurisdictions |
|---|---|
| July 2026 | Connecticut, Guam, Idaho, Maryland, Missouri, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Palau, Virgin Islands, Washington |
| July 2027 | Arizona, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Wyoming |
| February 2028 | Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Montana |
| July 2028 | 25 more, including California, Florida, New York and Texas |
| Not yet set | Mississippi (adopted, date to be decided) |
Arkansas, Louisiana, Nevada and Puerto Rico have not adopted it. Washington's July 2026 sitting was cancelled and a make-up exam held on 1 and 2 September. Anyone starting a JD this autumn will graduate after the legacy exam ends.
The NextGen UBE takes a day and a half, three sessions of three hours, on your own laptop at a supervised venue. It mixes multiple-choice questions, integrated question sets and performance tasks, scored from 500 to 750, each jurisdiction setting its pass mark. It covers eight areas of law and seven skills, legal research and writing among them; family law joins the core in July 2028 (National Conference of Bar Examiners, n.d.-a).
What is the MPRE?
The MPRE is NCBE's two-hour ethics exam: 60 multiple-choice questions, 50 scored, at Pearson test centres in March, August and November, scored from 50 to 150. Every jurisdiction except Wisconsin and Puerto Rico requires it, each sets its own pass mark, and Connecticut and New Jersey accept a law school professional responsibility course instead (National Conference of Bar Examiners, n.d.-d). It costs $185 for every 2026 and 2027 sitting; the next is 23 or 24 March 2027, with registration closing on 21 January (National Conference of Bar Examiners, n.d.-b).
How do character and fitness checks work?
Every jurisdiction checks character and fitness; three states show the range.
Texas starts in the first year
A Texas law student who means to practise there files a Declaration of Intention to Study Law, by 1 October for autumn entrants, covering criminal history, litigation, taxes and student loan repayment. It costs $190, and the Board has 270 days to investigate. The traits that matter usually involve dishonesty or a lack of trustworthiness, and fitness means present mental and emotional health as it affects practice (Texas Board of Law Examiners, 2026).
California and New York
The State Bar of California (n.d.-b) urges students to apply by the start of their last year, as review takes at least six to eight months, and treats candour on the form as a significant factor. In New York you pass the UBE, the New York Law Exam and the MPRE, complete 50 hours of pro bono work, and apply to the Appellate Division within three years of sitting the UBE (New York State Board of Law Examiners, n.d.).
Can you become a lawyer without going to law school?
In a few states, by reading law under supervision, and only on that state's own terms.
California's Law Office Study Program lasts four years and needs two years of college or set CLEP scores. You study at least 72 hours a month, 20 of them directly supervised by a California lawyer of five years' standing or a California judge, and must pass the First-Year Law Students' Examination; simply working in a law office does not count (State Bar of California, n.d.-a).
Virginia's Law Reader Program lasts three years of at least 25 hours a week, 40 weeks a year, under a lawyer with ten of the last twelve years in full-time Virginia practice, and qualifies you for Virginia's bar exam only. From 2001 to 2025 readers passed at 21.26% against 68.72% overall; the Virginia Board of Bar Examiners (n.d.) calls it "not an equivalent alternative to law school for most people".
How long does it take to become a lawyer?
Usually seven years of full-time study after high school, four in college and three in law school, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) says, then the bar exam and admission. This timeline is our own, for a college junior aiming at autumn 2028 entry:
- Junior year: write research papers whose sources you can check with Verify references.
- By 29 April 2027: register for the June 2027 LSAT; scores come on 30 June.
- Summer 2027: register for CAS and write your personal statement yourself.
- Autumn 2027: apply, comparing each school's Standard 509 report.
- August 2028: start the JD; in Texas, file your declaration by 1 October.
- Before admission: pass the MPRE, offered in March, August and November; in California, seek moral character review by the start of your final year.
- 2031, after three years: graduate, then sit the bar exam in February or July: the NextGen UBE wherever it has been adopted.
The same source gives lawyers' median wage as $159,670 in May 2025 and expects about 28,700 openings a year to 2035. A median is not an offer.
How does EdCitation help with law school writing?
For the journal articles and books behind a law student's papers, EdCitation is the best tool you can use, because every reference it gives is looked up in the publisher's record and never written. Said plainly: EdCitation does not build the Bluebook or any legal citation style. Cite a source builds APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 author-date, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver, which suit a pre-law degree and many interdisciplinary seminars. For legal citation, read our guide to law textbooks and citing in OSCOLA or the Bluebook, and for office memos, how to write a memo.
Three runs for this guide
On 2 October 2026, Find sources found 1,266 records for "bar exam law school admission LSAT"; second by citations was an SSRN paper titled "Will I Pass the Bar Exam?".
The DOI of a study of law students' writing, 10.1007/s40593-016-0121-0, went into Cite a source, which read the Crossref record, flagged no retraction and returned in APA 7:
Knight, S., Buckingham Shum, S., Ryan, P., Sándor, Á., & Wang, X. (2018). Designing academic writing analytics for civil law student self-assessment. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 28(1), 1–28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40593-016-0121-0
Three references then went into Verify references. The journal and SSRN entries came back verified: "The DOI resolves to this record and the title matches." NCBE's NextGen page came back "Could not check" twice, with "Check this one again in a minute", and never as "not found"; open such a page yourself. Check cases and statutes in the reporter or code itself.
What is free and what is paid
Find sources, Cite a source, Verify references and Check your paper, which reads a seminar's instructions into a checklist, are free with no account. Pro, at $8 a month, includes References from a file, which checks every reference in an uploaded paper; Max, at $24 a month, adds the Library of more than 5 million books to read and borrow. EdCitation never writes a word of anyone's work, so your personal statement, seminar papers and bar application remain entirely your own.
Quick questions
How long does it take to become a lawyer in the US?
Usually seven years of full-time study after high school, four in college and three in law school, then the bar exam and admission.
Can you take the bar exam without a law degree?
In a few states. California and Virginia let you read law under a supervising lawyer, on their own rules; everywhere accepts graduation from an ABA-approved school.
When does the NextGen bar exam start?
NCBE scheduled the first NextGen sittings for July 2026 in ten jurisdictions. The legacy UBE ends in February 2028, and most jurisdictions switch by July 2028.
What LSAT score do you need?
Each law school sets its own standard, and the ABA's rules prescribe no weight for the score. Scores run from 120 to 180; each school's Standard 509 report publishes its admissions data.
Can EdCitation format Bluebook citations?
No. EdCitation's Cite a source builds six styles, none of them legal; use it for the journal articles and books behind your seminar papers.
References
- American Bar Association. (n.d.-a). Council-approved law schools. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/accreditation/approved-law-schools/
- American Bar Association. (n.d.-b). Frequently asked questions. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/accreditation/faqs/
- American Bar Association. (n.d.-c). Pre-law. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/law-students/pre-law/
- American Bar Association. (2025, December 15). 2025 Standard 509 information report data overview [PDF]. https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/legal_education_and_admissions_to_the_bar/statistics/2025/2025-standard-509-data-overview.pdf
- American Bar Association. (2026a). Chapter 3: Program of legal education. In Standards and rules of procedure for approval of law schools 2026-2027 [PDF]. https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/legal_education_and_admissions_to_the_bar/standards/2026-2027/2026-2027-standards-chapter-3.pdf
- American Bar Association. (2026b). Chapter 5: Admissions and student services. In Standards and rules of procedure for approval of law schools 2026-2027 [PDF]. https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/legal_education_and_admissions_to_the_bar/standards/2026-2027/2026-2027-standards-chapter-5.pdf
- American Bar Association. (2026c). Summary bar admission data: Race, ethnicity, and gender, 2025 and 2026 Bar Admission Questionnaire [PDF]. https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/legal_education_and_admissions_to_the_bar/statistics/2026/2026-summary-race-ethnicity-gender.pdf
- Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Lawyers. In Occupational outlook handbook. U.S. Department of Labor. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/legal/lawyers.htm
- Law School Admission Council. (n.d.-a). Frequently asked questions about the LSAT. https://www.lsac.org/lsat/frequently-asked-questions-about-lsat
- Law School Admission Council. (n.d.-b). How to apply for JD programs. https://www.lsac.org/applying-law-school/jd-application-process/steps-apply-jd-programs
- Law School Admission Council. (n.d.-c). LSAT & CAS fees. https://www.lsac.org/lsat/register-lsat/lsat-cas-fees
- Law School Admission Council. (n.d.-d). LSAT Argumentative Writing. https://www.lsac.org/lsat/about/lsat-argumentative-writing
- Law School Admission Council. (n.d.-e). LSAT dates, deadlines, and score release dates. https://www.lsac.org/lsat/lsat-dates-deadlines-score-release-dates
- Law School Admission Council. (n.d.-f). LSAT scoring. https://www.lsac.org/lsat/lsat-scoring
- National Conference of Bar Examiners. (n.d.-a). About the NextGen UBE. https://www.ncbex.org/exams/nextgen/about-nextgen
- National Conference of Bar Examiners. (n.d.-b). MPRE registration. https://www.ncbex.org/exams/mpre/registration
- National Conference of Bar Examiners. (n.d.-c). Multistate Bar Examination. https://www.ncbex.org/exams/mbe
- National Conference of Bar Examiners. (n.d.-d). Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination. https://www.ncbex.org/exams/mpre
- National Conference of Bar Examiners. (n.d.-e). NextGen UBE. https://www.ncbex.org/exams/nextgen
- National Conference of Bar Examiners. (n.d.-f). Uniform Bar Examination. https://www.ncbex.org/exams/ube
- New York State Board of Law Examiners. (n.d.). Admission information. https://www.nybarexam.org/Admission/Admission.htm
- State Bar of California. (n.d.-a). Frequently asked questions: Law Office Study Program. https://www.calbar.ca.gov/admissions/requirements/education/legal-education/study-law-office-or-judges-chamber/frequently-asked-questions-law-office-study-program
- State Bar of California. (n.d.-b). Moral character. https://www.calbar.ca.gov/admissions/moral-character
- Supreme Court of Texas. (2025, September 26). Preliminary approval of amendments to Rule 1 of the Rules Governing Admission to the Bar of Texas (Misc. Docket No. 25-9070). https://ble.texas.gov/miscdocket259070
- Texas Board of Law Examiners. (2026). Rules governing admission to the Bar of Texas (effective September 18, 2026). https://ble.texas.gov/txrulebook
- Virginia Board of Bar Examiners. (n.d.). Memorandum on the concept of reading law under an attorney's supervision. https://barexam.virginia.gov/lr-memorandum