(D) Every applicant for admission must achieve a passing score, as determined by 

the board, on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination.

(E) The Board may permit an applicant entering the armed forces before the 

examination immediately following graduation to take an earlier examination. The 

applicant must have completed, before the examination, 2 1/2 years full-time or 3 

1/2 years part-time study. The Board will release the applicant's grade when the 

school certifies the applicant's graduation. 

(F) The applicant is responsible for meeting all requirements before the 

examination. The Board may act on information about an applicant's character 

whenever the information is received.

Rule 3 Examination Subjects and Grading 

(A) The examination consists of two sections:

(1) The Multistate Bar Examination prepared by the National Conference of Bar 

Examiners and administered on dates and under regulations set by the 

Conference.

(2) An essay examination prepared by or under the supervision of the Board or 

by law professors selected by the Board, on these subjects:

(a) Real and Personal Property

(b) Wills and Trusts

(c) Contracts

(d) Constitutional Law

(e) Criminal Law and Procedure

(f) Corporations, Partnerships, and Agency

(g) Evidence

(h) Creditor's Rights, including mortgages, garnishments and attachments

(i) Practice and Procedure, trial and appellate, state and federal

(j) Equity

(k) Torts (including no-fault)

(l) The sales, negotiable instruments, and secured transactions articles of 

the Uniform Commercial Code

(m) Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct

(n) Domestic Relations

(o) Conflicts of Laws

(p) Worker's Compensation

(B) The National Conference of Bar Examiners will grade the Multistate section. The 

Board or its agents will grade the essay section, with the Board having final 

responsibility. The Board will determine a method for combining the grades and 

select a passing score. 

(A) The Assistant Secretary will release examination results at the Board's direction. 

Blue books will be kept for 3 months after results are released.

(B) Within 30 days after the day the results are released, the applicant may ask the 

Board to reconsider the applicant's essay grades. The applicant shall file with the 

Assistant Secretary two (2) copies of

(1) the request; 

(2) the answer given in the applicant's blue books; and

(3) an explanation why the applicant deserves a higher grade.

(C) An applicant for re-examination may obtain an application from the Assistant 

Secretary. The application must be filed at least sixty (60) days before the 

examination. If the applicant's clearance is more than three (3) years old, the 

applicant must be approved by the State Bar Committee on Character and Fitness.

Rule 5 Admission Without Examination 

(A) An applicant for admission without examination must

(1) qualify under Rules 1 and 2(B);

(2) be licensed to practice law in the United States, its territories, or the District 

of Columbia;

(3) be a member in good standing of the Bar where admitted;

(4) intend in good faith to maintain an office in this state for the practice of law;

(5) intend to practice law in Michigan, or to be a full-time instructor in a 

reputable and qualified Michigan law school; and

(6) have, after being licensed and for 3 of the 5 years preceding the application,

(a) actively practiced law as a principal business or occupation in a 

jurisdiction where admitted (the practice of law under a special certificate 

pursuant to Rule 5[D] or as a special legal consultant pursuant to Rule 5[E] 

does not qualify as the practice of law required by this rule);

(b) been employed as a full-time instructor in a reputable and qualified law 

school in the United States, its districts, or its territories; or

(c) been on active duty (other than for training or reserve duty) in the 

United States armed forces as a judge advocate, legal specialist, or legal 

officer. The judge advocate general (or a comparable officer) or delegate 

must certify the assignment and the inclusive dates.

The Supreme Court may, for good cause, increase the 5-year period. Active 

duty in the United States armed forces not satisfying Rule 5(A)(6)(c) may 

be excluded when computing the 5-year period.

(B) An applicant must submit the National Conference of Bar Examiners' Request 

for Preparation of a Character Report along with other material required by the 

Board and payment of the fees.

(C) An applicant not satisfying Rule 5(A) will be notified and given an opportunity to 

appear before the Board. The applicant may use the Board's subpoena power.

(D) An attorney

(1) ineligible for admission without examination because of the inability to 

satisfy Rule 5(A)(6); and

(2) practicing law in an institutional setting, e.g., counsel to a corporation or 

instructor in a law school, may apply to the Board for a special certificate of 

qualification to practice law. The applicant must satisfy Rule 5(A)(1)-(4), and 

comply with Rule 5(B). The Board may then issue the special certificate, which 

will entitle the attorney to continue current employment if the attorney 

becomes an active member of the State Bar. If the attorney leaves the current 

employment, the special certificate automatically expires; if the attorney's new 

employment is also institutional, the attorney may reapply for another special 

certificate.

(E) Special Legal Consultants.

(a) To qualify for admission without examination to practice as a special legal 

consultant one must:

(1) be admitted to practice in a foreign country and have actually practiced, 

and be in good standing, as an attorney or counselor at law or the 

equivalent in such foreign country for at least 3 of the 5 years immediately 

preceding the application; and

(2) possess the good moral character and general fitness requisite for a 

member of the bar of this state; and

(3) fulfill the requirements of MCL 600.934 and 600.937; and

(4) be a resident of this or another state of the United States, its territories 

or the District of Columbia and maintain an office in this state for the 

practice of law; and

(5) be over 18 years of age.

(b) In considering whether to license an applicant to practice pursuant to Rule 

5(E), the Board may in its discretion take into account whether a member of 

the bar of this state would have a reasonable and practical opportunity to 

establish an office for the giving of legal advice to clients in the applicant's 

country of admission (as referred to in Rule 5[E][a][1]), if there is pending with 

the Board a request to take this factor into account from a member of the bar 

of this state actively seeking to establish such an office in that country which 

raises a serious question as to the adequacy of the opportunity for such a 

member to establish such an office.

(c) An applicant for a license as a special legal consultant shall submit to the 

Board:

(1) a certificate from the authority in such foreign country having final 

jurisdiction over professional discipline, certifying as to the applicant's 

admission to practice and the date thereof and as to the good standing of 

such attorney or counselor at law or the equivalent, together with a duly 

authenticated English translation of such certificate if it is not in English; 

and

(2) a letter of recommendation from one of the judges of the highest law 

court or intermediate appellate court of such foreign country, together with 

a duly authenticated English translation of such letter if it is not in English; 

and

(3) the National Conference of Bar Examiners questionnaire and affidavit 

along with the payment of the requisite fee and such other evidence of the 

applicant's educational and professional qualifications, good moral character 

and general fitness, and compliance with the requirements of Rule 

5(E)(a)(1)-(5) as the Board may require; and

(4) shall execute and file with the Assistant Secretary of the State Board of 

Law Examiners, in such form and manner as the Board may prescribe,

(i) a duly acknowledged instrument in writing setting forth the special 

legal consultant's address in the state of Michigan and designating the 

Assistant Secretary of the State Board of Law Examiners an agent upon 

whom process may be served, with like effect as if served personally 

upon the special legal consultant, in any action or proceeding thereafter 

brought against the special legal consultant and arising out of or based 

upon any legal services rendered or offered to be rendered by the 

special legal consultant within or to residents of the state of Michigan 

whenever after due diligence service cannot be made upon the special 

legal consultant at such address or at such new address in the state of 

Michigan as the special legal consultant shall have filed in the office of 

the Assistant Secretary of the State Board of Law Examiners by means 

of a duly acknowledged supplemental instrument in writing; and 

(ii) the special legal consultant's commitment to notify the Assistant 

Secretary of the State Board of Law Examiners of any resignation or 

revocation of the special legal consultant's admission to practice in the 

foreign country of admission, or of any censure, suspension or expulsion 

in respect of such admission. 

Service of process on the Assistant Secretary of the State Board of Law 

Examiners shall be made by personally delivering to and leaving with 

the Assistant Secretary, or with a deputy or assistant authorized by the 

Assistant Secretary to receive such service, at the Assistant Secretary's 

office, duplicate copies of such process together with a fee of $10.00. 

Service of process shall be complete when the Assistant Secretary has 

been so served. The Assistant Secretary shall promptly send one of 

such copies to the special legal consultant to whom the process is 

directed, by certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to such 

special legal consultant at the address specified by the special legal 

consultant as aforesaid.

(d) A person licensed to practice as a special legal consultant must maintain 

active membership in the State Bar of Michigan and must discharge the 

responsibilities of state bar membership and is authorized to render 

professional legal advice:

(1) on the law of the foreign country where the legal consultant is admitted 

to practice;

(2) may use the title "special legal consultant" either singly or in connection 

with the authorized title or firm name in the foreign country of the legal 

consultant's admission to practice, provided that in each case the name of 

such foreign country be identified.

The fees are: an application for examination, $340 and an additional fee for the late 

filing of an application or transfer of an application for examination, $100; an 

application for re-examination, $240; an application for recertification, $200; an 

application for admission without examination, $600 plus the requisite fee for the 

National Conference of Bar Examiners' report. Checks must be payable to the State 

of Michigan.

Please Note:

The most recent fee amounts reflect 2000 PA 86, which was signed by the Governor 

on May 1, 2000. The fees required to be paid by each applicant are set by the 

Legislature. 

Rule 7 Exceptions 

An applicant may ask the board to waive any requirement except the payment of 

fees. The applicant must demonstrate why the request should be granted.

Rule 8 Recertification 

An applicant for recertification shall file an application and other material required 

by the Board. After a hearing the Board shall either recertify the applicant or 

require that the applicant pass the examination described in Rule 3. An applicant 

may use the Board's subpoena power for the hearing. An applicant who is an 

inactive State Bar member or who had previously voluntarily resigned from the 

State Bar or who previously elected emeritus status, and who has been employed in 

another jurisdiction in one of the ways listed in Rule 5(A)(6) is entitled to 

recertification by the Board.