Northern Mariana Islands

Unverified — confirm with authority

Imported 2026-10-08 — not yet reviewed; confirm with the admitting authority.

How to apply

Admitting agencyCommonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Supreme Court

Application portalApply online

Character & fitnessNCBE conducts investigations for some application types. MPRE/character timing: character & fitness application should be filed with the bar exam application by the jurisdiction's filing deadline; most jurisdictions require the NCBE Character and Fitness Application to be submitted online via ncbex.org regardless of whether NCBE conducts the investigation.

Exam & score rules

Exam typeJurisdiction-drafted (non-UBE) exam; NextGen UBE first administration July 2026; Jurisdiction-drafted exam per NCBE flag, alongside NextGen UBE participation (first CNMI NextGen administration July 2026) - likely a hybrid; verify with nmijudiciary.gov.

UBE min scoreNextGen UBE: 615

MPRE requiredRequired, minimum score 80

Education requirementABA-approved JD required: Yes; Foreign-educated graduates eligible: No

Other required components

Local law componentNo separate jurisdiction-specific law component required per NCBE data

Other pathsGuam Attorney Reciprocity Application: CNMI offers a specific $100 reciprocity path for attorneys already admitted in Guam (distinct from, and simpler than, standard admission on motion). Standard admission on motion NOT indicated as available per NCBE (aom_provided=No) beyond limited government-attorney provisions.

Transfer options

Accepts transferred UBEYes (accepts legacy UBE: Yes; NextGen UBE: Yes); max score age: not specified

Admission on motion

Confirm with the admitting authority.

Essays & sample answers

Publishes past essaysno dedicated public archive of past LCE/UBE essay questions found

Years availableConfirm with the admitting authority.

Sample answersno

Exam typeNextGen UBE (first-wave adopter, beginning July 2026) + Local Content Essay (LCE)

Essay archive / sample answers

CNMI is one of the first NextGen UBE jurisdictions (July 2026 per NCBE announcement, www1.ncbex.org/news-resources/northern-mariana-islands-administer-nextgen-bar-exam). No public archive of past LCE essay questions or sample answers was located.

Fees & deadlines

Feesfirst_time_applicant: $500; attorney_applicant: $1,000; repeater: $500 (non-attorney repeaters) / $1,000 (attorney repeaters); late_fee_note: Late fees reflected in the higher figure(s) shown for the filing-deadline fields above where jurisdiction publishes a two-tier fee; laptop_fee: —

Application deadlinesjuly_2026_regular: May 22; july_2026_late: June 5; february_2027_regular: Dec. 22; february_2027_late: Jan. 5

Next exam datesUBE jurisdictions administer the exam on the NCBE-set dates, generally the last Tue/Wed of Feb and July; New York has confirmed July 28-29, 2026 for the July 2026 administration. Confirm exact per-jurisdiction dates on the agency site; NCBE filing-deadline data above is confirmed for July 2026 / February 2027.

Official sources

Source 1 Source 2

NCBE data for CNMI is sparse on standard UBE fields (min_legacy_ube not listed) - flagged verified=false pending direct confirmation with nmijudiciary.gov given CNMI's small, hybrid system.

VerdictUp is a study aid and does not provide legal advice or guarantee admission. Confirm with the admitting authority.