(a) Application Fees. Each application for admission to the bar shall be accompanied by the appropriate fee. Payment shall be made by debit card, credit card, personal check, cashier's check, certified check, or money order payable to the Board of Bar Examiners. The payee will be charged a convenience fee for any payment made by debit card or credit card. (1)Applicants admitted in another jurisdiction for one year or more. Each application for admission to the bar by an applicant who has been admitted to practice in any other jurisdiction for one year or more shall be filed with the Board on forms prepared by the Board and shall be accompanied by a fee of $650 plus any applicable late fees. Applicants admitted to practice in any other jurisdiction for one year or more shall also authorize the National Conference of Bar Examiners to prepare a full investigative report and supply it to the Board in a timely manner and shall pay the fee the National Conference sets for that service directly to the NCBE.(2)Applicants never admitted in any jurisdiction or admitted in another jurisdiction for less than one year. Each application for admission to the bar by an applicant who has never been admitted to any bar, or who has been admitted to another bar for less than one year, shall be filed with the Board on forms prepared by it and shall be accompanied by a fee of $600 plus any applicable late fees.(3)Applicants seeking admission pursuant to Rule 11A and 11B. Each application for admission to the bar upon motion pursuant to Rule 11A or by transferred Uniform Bar Examination score pursuant to Rule 11B shall be filed with the Board on forms prepared by the Board and shall be accompanied by a fee of $900. Applicants seeking admission under Rule 11A and 11B shall also authorize the NCBE to prepare a full investigative report and supply it to the Board in a timely manner and shall pay the fee the NCBE sets for that service directly to the NCBE.(b) Late Fees. The Board may determine to accept applications after the deadlines set forth in Rule 5(a) if in the exercise of its discretion or in the opinion of the Court no undue hardship will result to the Board's administrative procedures by such acceptances. The Board may set a schedule of late fees if it decides to accept such submissions. Any policy and associated schedule of fees so adopted shall be made available to applicants on forms provided by the Board or on any other publicly available form of electronic transmission maintained by it.(c) Additional Fees and Costs. The Board of Bar Examiners may assess and collect additional fees equal to any actual or administrative costs it expends or incurs on an applicant's behalf, including but not limited to, copying costs, investigative costs, or costs for special accommodations. If the Board seeks reimbursement, payment may be made by personal check, cashier's check, certified check, or money order payable to the Board of Bar Examiners.(d) Fees Nonrefundable. All fees paid to the Board, including application fees, forms and materials fees, and late fees are nonrefundable. If an applicant does not take the examination for which application is initially made, the Board shall credit the application fee paid toward any one of the next four administrations of the examination for which application may be made and shall assess such additional charges as may be necessary to update the information in the applicant's file. If an applicant for reciprocal admission under M. Bar Admission R. 11A withdraws that application, the Board shall credit the application fee paid toward any one of the next four administrations of the examination from the date of the withdrawal of the application and shall assess such additional charges as may be necessary to update the information in the applicant's file.(e) Use of Fees Paid. The fees collected pursuant to the foregoing sections, together with any other funds made available to the Board, shall, subject to the provisions of Rule 6A, be used to pay the costs of administering these rules, to pay the costs of performing the responsibilities charged to the Board, including the reasonable expenses of members and any per diem as may be fixed by the Court, and for such other purposes as the Board, with the approval of the Court, may determine.(f) Audit. The Board shall annually obtain an independent audit by a certified public accountant of the maintenance and disposition of the funds entrusted to it. The Board shall file a copy of such audit with the Court. Amended effective 3/1/1992;1/2/1996;3/1/2000;10/15/2001;1/1/2005;5/25/2006;1/1/2006;October 10, 2014, effective 10/14/2014;5/3/2017; amended February 27, 2023, effective 3/1/2023.Advisory Note - March 2023
The purpose of the change to subdivision (a) is to allow the Board to receive payments electronically at the time an application is filed. Now that the Board is accepting applications online, applicants expect to be able to pay the application fee online at the same time. The convenience fee is designed to offset the transaction cost that will be paid by the Board for electronic payment processing. Applicants who do not want to pay the convenience fee will still have the option to pay by other methods.