Alabama
Common questions
Can a lawyer be admitted in Alabama without taking the bar exam (admission on motion)?
Admission on motion available. Rule III (admission without exam): licensed in another US jurisdiction; JD/LLB from ABA/AALS school; actively practiced 5 of last 6 yrs; good standing, no discipline; MPRE 75+; Alabama permanent resident OR certify intent to conduct primary practice (75% of time) in AL; fee $875. Apr 30, 2026 Supreme Court order amends Rules III/IV eff. Jan 1, 2027 (broader law-school approval criteria incl. five listed AL schools; 5 of last 6 yrs, MPRE 75, residency/intent retained).
Does Alabama accept a transferred Uniform Bar Exam score?
Yes (Rule VI(B).C(6)): total scaled UBE 260+; score valid 25 months from administration; MPRE 75+ taken no earlier than 12 months before UBE administration; fee $575. No state-specific course noted in source.
What are the pro hac vice requirements and fee in Alabama state courts?
Local counsel: Yes: must associate an Alabama State Bar member in good standing; exception for pro bono counsel (capital/postconviction indigent criminal). Fee: $300 filing fee (non-refundable; none for pro bono); annual certification $100 due by March 1 for attorneys admitted after Oct 1, 2020.
Admission on motion
- Requirements
- Rule III (admission without exam): licensed in another US jurisdiction; JD/LLB from ABA/AALS school; actively practiced 5 of last 6 yrs; good standing, no discipline; MPRE 75+; Alabama permanent resident OR certify intent to conduct primary practice (75% of time) in AL; fee $875. Apr 30, 2026 Supreme Court order amends Rules III/IV eff. Jan 1, 2027 (broader law-school approval criteria incl. five listed AL schools; 5 of last 6 yrs, MPRE 75, residency/intent retained).
- Years of practice
- five of the six years immediately preceding the date the application is filed, primarily engaged in active practice
- Fee
- $875.00
- Rule
- Rules Governing Admission to the Alabama State Bar, Rule III
- UBE score transfer
- Yes (Rule VI(B).C(6)): total scaled UBE 260+; score valid 25 months from administration; MPRE 75+ taken no earlier than 12 months before UBE administration; fee $575. No state-specific course noted in source.
- UBE minimum
- 260 or above
- UBE score window
- valid for no longer than 25 months after date of administration of the UBE
- MPRE
- 75, within 25 months preceding the Academic Bar Examination
- Other routes
- Rule VIII authorized house counsel (employed exclusively by AL business organization; fee set by Board). Military spouse: none found in the rules page reviewed. Pro bono PHV exempt from fee/local counsel.
- Foreign attorneys
- Foreign-educated applicants with an approved law-degree program outside the US and admission in that jurisdiction may qualify for examination
3 not found in the pulled documents
- Reciprocity
- Not in the pulled documents
- Reciprocity states
- Not in the pulled documents
- Military spouse
- Not in the pulled documents
State-court pro hac vice
- Rule
- Rules Governing Admission to the Alabama State Bar, Rule VII
- Local counsel
- Yes: must associate an Alabama State Bar member in good standing; exception for pro bono counsel (capital/postconviction indigent criminal).
- Limits
- Non-resident, not regularly employed or engaged in substantial business in AL. Repeated appearances absent special circumstances cause for denial; after 5 appearances within 12 months court must examine for good cause.
- Fee
- $300 filing fee (non-refundable; none for pro bono); annual certification $100 due by March 1 for attorneys admitted after Oct 1, 2020.
- Procedure
- Application to Alabama State Bar with filing fee, association of local counsel; annual certification. Detail beyond fee/local counsel not extracted.
Language from the source documents
13 quoted passages
On motion
An applicant who meets the requirements of (a) through (k) of this rule may, without examination, be admitted to the practice of law in Alabama.admissions.alabar.org
Other routes
this rule authorizes attorneys licensed to practice in jurisdictions other than Alabama to be permitted to undertake activities in Alabama while employed exclusively by a business organization without the requirement of taking and passing the Alabama Bar examination.admissions.alabar.org
Local counsel
No foreign attorney may appear pro hac vice before any court or administrative agency of this State unless the attorney has associated in that cause an attorney who is a member in good standing of the Alabama State Bar (hereinafter called "local counsel").admissions.alabar.org
phv_limits
where the foreign attorney has entered an appearance pro hac vice in 5 cases within the preceding 12 months, the court or administrative agency shall examine the foreign attorney to establish good cause for according such privilegeadmissions.alabar.org
Pro hac vice fee
The copy of the application and the notice of hearing served upon the Alabama State Bar shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable $300 filing fee.admissions.alabar.org
On-motion fee
(4) $875.00, see Rule III (out-of-state attorneys qualifying for reciprocity).admissions.alabar.org
Years of practice
have been primarily engaged in the active practice of law in one or more states, territories, or the District of Columbia for five of the six years immediately preceding the date upon which the application is filedadmissions.alabar.org
UBE minimum score
An applicant who has taken the entire UBE in a single administration in another jurisdiction and earned a total UBE scaled score of 260 or above may transfer his or her UBE score and be excused from taking theadmissions.alabar.org
UBE score window
The transferred UBE score will be valid for a period of no longer than twenty-five (25) months after the date of administration of the UBE that resulted in the transferred score.admissions.alabar.org
MPRE
the applicant must achieve a scaled score of least 75, as that score is determined by the testing authority. Successful completion of the MPRE by an applicant for admission by examination at any time within the twenty-five (25) months preceding the Academic Bar Examination will be accepted.admissions.alabar.org
Foreign attorneys
That the applicant has pursued and satisfactorily completed a law-degree program of a university or college that, at the time of the applicant's graduation, was located outside the United States and its territories and was approved in that foreign jurisdictionadmissions.alabar.org