How to Apply for the Indiana Bar Exam

Applying for the Indiana Bar Exam is much like applying for the bar exam in any other state, right up to the required application packet. So the first thing you need to do is ensure that you are qualified to take the exam, and to do this you need to first visit Indiana Bar Exam website at: http://www.indybar.org/barexam.cfm.

When you have done this, go ahead and fill out the application by downloading and printing it out. Make sure you fill out every part of the application thoroughly, because if you do not complete it in its entirety, it will not be processed, and you will have to start all over again.

Make sure that you fill out the application in time, as the deadline for the February exam is November 15 and the deadline for the July exam is April 1. Alternately, instead of printing it out directly, you may complete the form on the Internet using Adobe Reader and then print it out, saving you the trouble of filling things in by hand.

When you send your application in, you will require a few things, and some of these will differ from the bar exams in other states:

1. Three Reference Letters
2. Driving records from every place in which you had a driver’s license
3. Your fingerprint card (obtain these from the Bar Association itself)
4. Passport Photograph
5. The actual application
6. The application fee

Not every state requires every one of those things, but the important thing to remember is that Indiana does. So if you don’t have them and the bar exam is coming up, you would be advised to get them quickly, because the fee for applying is $250, and there is a late fee of an additional $250 if you are fifteen days overdue. That alone is some great encouragement to turn your application in on time!

Thirty days before you take the bar exam, you will be required to undergo a character fitness exam, which will determine if you’re morally capable of practicing law in the state of Indiana. This exam consists of several questions, which you’ll have to answer honestly, and some of the things that they cover are substance abuse, felony background, and debt. There are several more, but essentially, there are some that may cause immediate rejection, and some that will not. Your goal in this is to demonstrate that you are a person of good moral standing, and that you are capable of representing the law in the state of Indiana. For example, in Indiana, if you have ever been convicted of a felony, it is considered a sign of low morality, and more than likely you will not make it past this screening to even sit for the bar. Another thing that will keep you from admission is if you have ever advocated the overthrow of the United States government, because it is the U.S. Government that you would be representing by becoming an attorney in the state of Indiana. One other thing that may hinder you, but is no immediate reason for concern, is if you are twenty-one years of age. If you have finished law school, unless you are a child prodigy, most likely you are the proper age, meaning this shouldn’t be a problem, so long as you are mentally stable.

There was a movie once, based on a true story, in which a boy managed to lie his way into a bar exam, and claimed that he just “studied for two weeks and passed.” As you can see, it’s not nearly that easy, though the movie was set in the sixties, and it’s possible that these procedures were put into place because of him. There is no way around the formalities and the exams required to join the Indiana State Bar Association, but chances are the difficulty you face will be well worth it.

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