Vt. Bar Admission Rule 14

An Attorney-Applicant may seek admission to the Bar without examination by submitting an

Application on forms required by the Board and paying the required fee. An Application may be

filed at any time. An Attorney-Applicant is not eligible to seek admission under this rule if he or she

has failed the Vermont Bar Examination within the preceding 5 years or failed to earn a passing

score on the Uniform Bar Examination, as defined in Rule 9(b), taken in Vermont or another UBE

jurisdiction within the preceding 5 years.

Board’s Notes—2026 Amendment

In further preparation for the adoption of the NextGen bar

exam, Rule 14 is amended to ensure that NextGen UBE scores

earned prior to Vermont’s first administration of the NextGen UBE

in July 2027 are considered as part of the limitation on admission

without examination.

Rule 14 is derived from the prior rule § 7(a), (e)(4).

Rule 14 introduces the process for applying for admission

without examination. For purposes of these rules, admission

without examination does not include admission by transferred UBE

score. Admission without examination is available to certain

attorneys who are admitted and have practiced the requisite period

of time in another U.S. jurisdiction. Applicants seeking admission

under this rule are called “Attorney-Applicants.” Consistent with the

prior rule § 7(e)(4), admission without examination is not available

to Applicants who have failed the Vermont bar examination in the

past five years. The new rule extends the same prohibition to

Applicants who have taken the UBE and failed to achieve Vermont’s

required score within the past five years.