Rhode Island Codifies a Non-Waivable Five-Bar-Exam Failure Cap and Tightens Exam/UBE-Transfer Pathways for Admission

1. Introduction

In In re Amendments to Board of Bar Examiners Rules of Practice Governing Admission on Examination and Transferred Uniform Bar Examination Score (Order entered January 6, 2026), the Supreme Court of Rhode Island amended the Board of Bar Examiners’ Rules of Practice governing admission: (i) by Rhode Island examination (Article II, Rule 1), (ii) attorney admission on examination (Article II, Rule 1A / Rule 2(a) as referenced in the Order), and (iii) admission on a transferred Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) score (Article II, Rule 1B).

The key issues addressed are administrative but consequential: defining prerequisites for filing petitions, setting or reiterating score thresholds, imposing (and expressly making non-waivable) a lifetime-style cap on bar-exam failures, and clarifying that the Board will not provide advisory rulings outside the petition process.

2. Summary of the Opinion (Order)

The Court’s Order amends multiple provisions of the Board Rules to:

Apply a categorical, non-waivable bar to admission (by exam or UBE transfer) for any person who has failed five (5) or more bar examinations in any U.S. jurisdictional combination, specifying that no special order will excuse the limit.
Define “failure” to include not achieving the minimum passing score applicable in the jurisdiction administering the UBE.
For attorney admission on examination (Rule 1A / Article II, Rule 2(a) as referenced), require only the MPT and MEE, set a minimum passing total score of 135, and prohibit waivers of that minimum score.
For UBE score transfer (Rule 1B), reaffirm that a 270 UBE score qualifies if earned within two (2) years of filing, and state the Board will not entertain waivers of the minimum score or the transfer deadline.
Clarify timing, documentation, and character-and-fitness processes, including use of the Rhode Island Supreme Court Attorney Portal (RISCAP) and National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) investigations and supplemental reports where applicable.
State explicitly that the Board does not issue advisory decisions; qualifications are reviewed only upon a timely petition.

3. Analysis

3.1. Precedents Cited

The Order cites In re Stanton, 828 A.2d 529 (R.I. 2003) in connection with the “Legal Experience” requirement for attorney applicants: the applicant must have been engaged in the full-time active practice of law or full-time teaching of law for at least five (5) of the last ten (10) years.

Although the Order is primarily a rule amendment rather than an adjudication of disputed facts, the citation to In re Stanton signals continuity: Rhode Island treats the “practice/teaching of law” requirement as a substantive gatekeeping criterion, and the amended rules embed that concept as a defined prerequisite (including enumerating qualifying positions such as certain judicial clerkships while licensed elsewhere and service as a judicial officer).

3.2. Legal Reasoning

The Court acts in its supervisory and regulatory capacity over bar admissions, using a formal Order to standardize and harden eligibility criteria. The structure of the amendments reflects three consistent regulatory moves:

Front-end screening through “prerequisites”: petitions “received from persons who have not first met” stated requirements “shall be rejected,” shifting disputes away from discretionary consideration and into bright-line eligibility.
Non-waivability as policy choice: the Court repeatedly states that the Board “will not entertain waivers” (e.g., minimum scores, transfer deadlines), and—most notably—declares that no special order will excuse the five-exam failure cap. This converts what might have been case-by-case mercy into a rule of uniform application.
Uniform treatment of failure history across pathways: the same five-failure cap applies to both exam admission and UBE-transfer admission, and the Order defines a “failed bar examination” to include any UBE administration where the applicant did not meet that jurisdiction’s minimum passing score at the time.

3.3. Impact

High-stakes finality after repeated failures: applicants with five or more failures (in any combination of jurisdictions) are categorically ineligible for Rhode Island admission by exam or UBE transfer, and the Court forecloses individualized relief (“no special order”).
Reduced ambiguity for attorney applicants: the rules more concretely specify what counts as “practice of law” or “teaching of law,” and impose a defined scoring regime (MPT/MEE only; total score 135; no waivers), allowing attorneys to plan with clearer expectations.
UBE transfer predictability with stricter limits: the 270 score threshold and two-year currency requirement are reinforced as firm conditions, and waiver requests are expressly discouraged.
Procedural discipline: the “no advisory decisions” provision channels applicants into filing formal petitions rather than seeking informal pre-clearance, which may reduce administrative load but increases the burden on borderline applicants to commit to a filing (and its timelines and costs) to obtain an eligibility determination.

4. Complex Concepts Simplified

UBE (Uniform Bar Examination): a standardized bar exam used by multiple jurisdictions; a “transferred UBE score” means Rhode Island may admit an applicant based on a qualifying UBE score earned elsewhere, if other conditions are met.
MPT and MEE: components of the UBE.
- MPT (Multistate Performance Test): practical lawyering tasks using a provided file and library.
- MEE (Multistate Essay Examination): essay questions testing legal analysis.
Under the amended attorney-admission-on-exam route, the applicant takes only these written components (not the multiple-choice MBE).
Scaling: converting raw written scores to a standardized scale so results are comparable across administrations; the Order specifies attorney-applicants’ written scores are scaled “in the same manner” as other Rhode Island examinees.
Character and fitness / NCBE: the NCBE conducts background investigations; some applicants must obtain supplemental reports for subsequent exams if they defer or retake.
RISCAP: the Rhode Island Supreme Court Attorney Portal used for electronic filing of petitions.
Five (5) examination limit: if an applicant has failed five or more bar exams (including UBE administrations where the jurisdictional minimum was not met), Rhode Island will not allow admission by exam or UBE transfer, and the Court will not grant an exception.

5. Conclusion

This Order is significant less for doctrinal adjudication than for regulatory hardening: it crystallizes bright-line eligibility rules—most importantly a non-waivable five-bar-exam failure cap—and reinforces non-waivable minimum-score and timing requirements for both attorney admission on examination and UBE-score transfer. By coupling firm substantive thresholds with a “no advisory decisions” administrative posture, the Court signals a priority for uniformity, predictability, and constrained discretion in Rhode Island’s admissions system.