Maryland

Admission on motion available Court page

Common questions

Can a lawyer be admitted in Maryland without taking the bar exam (admission on motion)?

Admission on motion available. Admission Without Examination (OSA): practiced 3 of most recent 5 years or more than 10 years overall (authorized practice, law teaching, or judging); currently admitted in good standing in a state and passed a bar exam (or ABA diploma privilege); MPRE 85 at any time; character and fitness; petition fee $700 + NCBE character investigation $550 (total $1,250). Residency: none found.

Does Maryland accept a transferred Uniform Bar Exam score?

Yes. UBE transfer: legacy 266 / NextGen 616, earned within 3 years preceding filing; Maryland Law Component (written outlines + online quiz) required; MPRE 85 (any time if admitted elsewhere); Notice of Intent fee $400, Character Questionnaire $350.

What are the pro hac vice requirements and fee in Maryland state courts?

Local counsel: Yes. Out-of-state attorney may act only as co-counsel with Maryland-admitted attorney of record; must be accompanied by Maryland attorney unless court waives presence.

Admission on motion

Requirements: Admission Without Examination (OSA): practiced 3 of most recent 5 years or more than 10 years overall (authorized practice, law teaching, or judging); currently admitted in good standing in a state and passed a bar exam (or ABA diploma privilege); MPRE 85 at any time; character and fitness; petition fee $700 + NCBE character investigation $550 (total $1,250). Residency: none found.
Years of practice: 3 of the most recent 5 years or for more than 10 years overall
Reciprocity: No reciprocity condition; any state bar.
Reciprocity states: Not applicable: no reciprocity
Fee: $700
Rule: Md. Rules 19-215, 19-216 (with 19-212, 19-213), eff. Mar. 1, 2019
UBE score transfer: Yes. UBE transfer: legacy 266 / NextGen 616, earned within 3 years preceding filing; Maryland Law Component (written outlines + online quiz) required; MPRE 85 (any time if admitted elsewhere); Notice of Intent fee $400, Character Questionnaire $350.
UBE minimum: scaled score of 266 on Legacy UBE or score of 616 on NextGen UBE
UBE score window: within the 3 years preceding the filing of a Notice of Intent to Transfer a Qualifying UBE Score
MPRE: scaled score of 85 or greater earned at any time, so long as score can be officially reported
Other routes: Military spouse attorney authorization (2-year, supervised) and low-income legal services authorization (Rules 19-215/19-216 per old rules PDF, numbering may differ); no corporate counsel provision found in the old PDF (secondary/outdated). Current rule numbers NOT verified.
Foreign attorneys: Waiver available for applicants who completed first legal degree in non-U.S. jurisdiction and completed LLM at ABA-approved U.S. law school
Military spouse: Special authorization for military spouse attorneys available under Rule 19-216

State-court pro hac vice

Rule: Md. Rule 19-217 (special admission of out-of-state attorneys)
Local counsel: Yes. Out-of-state attorney may act only as co-counsel with Maryland-admitted attorney of record; must be accompanied by Maryland attorney unless court waives presence.
Limits: Limited to the action as co-counsel; no numeric cap found.
Procedure: Maryland bar member files written motion with court (form in Appendix 19-A), certifies service on parties/agency; clerk forwards order to State Court Administrator.

1 not found in the pulled documents

Fee: Not in the pulled documents

Language from the source documents

13 quoted passages

On motion

Having accumulated the professional experience required by Rule 19-215(b) by working for 3 of the most recent 5 years or for more than 10 years overall in

mdcourts.gov

On-motion rule

Admission without examination will be governed by Maryland Rules 19-215 and 19-216 (effective March 1, 2019).

mdcourts.gov

UBE transfer

A qualifying UBE score is a scaled score of 266 earned by an applicant on an administration of the Legacy UBE or a score of 616 on the NextGen UBE given in another UBE State within the 3 years preceding the filing of a Notice of Intent to Transfer a Qualifying UBE Score pursuant to Rule 19-207.

mdcourts.gov

Other routes

Rule 19-215. SPECIAL AUTHORIZATION FOR OUT-OF-STATE ATTORNEYS AFFILIATED WITH PROGRAMS PROVIDING LEGAL SERVICES TO LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUALS Rule 19-216. SPECIAL AUTHORIZATION FOR MILITARY SPOUSE ATTORNEYS Rule 19-217. LEGAL ASSISTANCE BY LAW STUDENTS

mdcourts.gov

Pro hac vice rule

Rule 19-217. Special Admission of Out-of-State Attorneys Pro Hac Vice.

baradmit.com

Local counsel

An attorney specially admitted pursuant to this Rule may act only as co-counsel for a party represented by an attorney of record in the action who is admitted to practice in this State.

baradmit.com

phv_limits

the Committee has not recommended a numerical limitation on the number of special admissions to be allowed any out-of-state attorney.

baradmit.com

On-motion fee

A petition filed pursuant to Rule 19-215 shall be accompanied by a fee of $700

mdcourts.gov

UBE minimum score

A qualifying UBE score is a scaled score of 266 earned by an applicant on an administration of the Legacy UBE or a score of 616 on the NextGen UBE given in another UBE State

mdcourts.gov

UBE score window

given in another UBE State within the 3 years preceding the filing of a Notice of Intent to Transfer a Qualifying UBE Score pursuant to Rule 19-207.

mdcourts.gov

MPRE

Board Rule 6 establishes the qualifying MPRE score as a scaled score of 85 or greater earned at any time, so long as the score can be officially reported to SBLE by NCBE

mdcourts.gov

Foreign attorneys

Waivers of this requirement may be available to applicants who are admitted to the Bar of another U.S. jurisdiction OR who completed their first legal degree in a non-U.S. jurisdiction and completed an additional legal degree (LLM) at an ABA-approved U.S. law school.

mdcourts.gov

Military spouse