Public Notice
The FEDERAL BAR EXAMINATION will be offered on Saturday, May 6, 2023 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, at the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico School of Law, Tres Monjitas Industrial Park, 170 Federico Costa St., Hato Rey, PR 00918-1303. Click on the following URL links for additional information:
Interested applicants can submit their application, along with a Good Standing Certificate and FBE fee payment via regular mail or in person.
Due to COVID19 capacity restrictions, a limited number of available spaces are available. Once registration reaches the maximum number of available spaces, the Clerk’s Office will not accept additional applications.
The examination consists of eight (8) separate subject areas to be tested :
| Subject Area | Percentage | Questions |
| Federal Civil Procedure (Sample Questions) | 16% | 8 |
| Federal Evidence (Sample Questions) | 16% | 8 |
| Federal Jurisdiction and Venue (Sample Questions) | 16% | 8 |
|
Federal Criminal Procedure (Sample Questions)
(Includes the subject of Sentencing Guidelines. Applicants must be familiar with the ruling in United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621(2005) and progeny from the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals). |
12% | 6 |
| Local Rules (Sample Questions) | 12% | 6 |
| Federal Appellate Procedure (Sample Questions) | 10% | 5 |
|
Bankruptcy (Sample Questions)
(Including the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 and the Bankruptcy Rules) |
10% | 5 |
| Ethics (Sample Questions) | 8% | 4 |
| TOTAL | 50 |
The essay question is mandatory as it is designed to assess the candidates' proficiency in English --ability to read, write and understand the English language-- to satisfy the requirement of effective assistance of counsel to their clients under the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. Regardless of the result in the multiple choice part of the examination, applicants who do not answer the essay question will receive a grade of "fail".
For Sample Essay Questions, please click here.
Attorneys who wish to take the examination must file an Application Form (please click here) (Acrobat Reader Required) or an online Application Form (please click here) with the Clerk of Court, 150 Carlos Chardón Street, Federal Building, Office 150, San Juan, P.R. 00918-1767.
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Submit, with the application, an original certificate of good standing (not more than six months) issued by the Puerto Rico Supreme Court, the highest court of any state of the Union, the District of Columbia, the Territory of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- Include a non-refundable $100.00 fee payable to the Clerk, U.S. District Court, in the form of check, money order, or, if in person, in cash or credit card. The fee will be credited towards the admission fee.
| Application | Deadline to Submit Application, Documents and Fee. |
| In Person |
Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at 4:45 p.m.
|
| By Mail |
Wednesday, April 5, 2023
|
- Applicants who require reasonable accommodation shall submit: a letter addressed to the Clerk of Court detailing the accommodation. The request letter must be included together with the Application Form and/or be filed at the Clerk’s Office within the deadlines set forth in this Notice.
Petitions for review must be filed within thirty (30) days from the date of notification of the results of the examination. See
Misc. No. 23-07: Petitions for Review of Results of Bar Examination for more details.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL (787) 772-3016, or send an e-mail to: prd-bar-exam@prd.uscourts.gov.
Ada I. García-Rivera, Esq.
Clerk of Court