How to Become a Lawyer in Kansas: 5 Steps to the Bar
To become a lawyer in Kansas, you need a bachelor’s degree, a J.D. from an ABA-approved law school, an MPRE score of at least 80 and a Uniform Bar Exam score of 266 or higher. The Kansas Supreme Court admits you once its Board of Law Examiners clears your character and fitness. Plan on about seven years after high school.
Kansas has two ABA-approved law schools, the University of Kansas in Lawrence and Washburn University in Topeka. The state has given the Uniform Bar Exam since February 2016, so a passing Kansas score can move with you to other UBE states, and it switches to the NextGen bar exam in July 2028. Here’s what each step looks like in Kansas, with fees and deadlines as of November 2026.
- Earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Any Major
- Take the LSAT
- Graduate from an ABA-Approved Law School
- Pass the Kansas Bar Exam and the MPRE
- Get Sworn In and Keep Your Kansas License
Earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Any Major
In Kansas, Supreme Court Rule 711 requires a bachelor’s degree “based on a full course of study” from a college or university before you can sit for the bar exam. That’s a Kansas rule, and other states set their own education requirements, as you can see in this comparison of state bar admission rules. The Kansas admission rules don’t name a major, and ABA-approved law schools admit students from history, engineering, nursing, business, and every other field.
Pick the major you’ll earn strong grades in. Law schools weigh your undergraduate GPA and LSAT score most heavily. Courses that make you read closely and write arguments, such as philosophy, political science, history, economics, and English, give you practice in the skills the LSAT and law school test.
Keep your transcripts in order. When you apply for the bar exam, the Attorney Admissions Office needs official transcripts for your bachelor’s degree and your J.D. by January 15 for the February exam or June 15 for the July exam.
Take the LSAT
The LSAT is a law school admission test run by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC). It isn’t part of Kansas bar licensing: you take it to get into law school, not to get your license. Both Kansas law schools accept the LSAT, and some ABA-approved schools also accept another admission test, so check the admissions page of each school you’re considering. Most applicants take it in the summer or fall before they apply, so their scores reach schools before admission deadlines.
What’s on the LSAT
The LSAT changed in August 2024, when LSAC dropped the analytical reasoning (“logic games”) section. Older guides still describe it. As of the 2026-2027 testing year, the test has:
- Two scored Logical Reasoning sections, where you analyze and complete short arguments
- One scored Reading Comprehension section
- One unscored variable section that LSAC uses to test new questions (you won’t know which section it is)
- LSAT Argumentative Writing, an unscored essay you take separately online, which LSAC sends to the schools you apply to
Each multiple-choice section lasts 35 minutes, with a 10-minute break after the second section. Scores run from 120 to 180.
Registration, Fees and Test Dates
You register through your LSAC account. The fee is $253 for the August 2026 to June 2027 testing year, and it covers LSAT Argumentative Writing (see LSAC’s fee schedule). LSAC offers eight administrations in that testing year, from August 2026 through June 2027. Starting in August 2026, nearly all test takers sit for the LSAT in person at a Prometric test center, and remote testing is limited to approved exceptions. Scores come out on a set date about three weeks after each test.
LSAC’s own prep tools are free with an LSAC account and include official practice tests. Paid prep courses are optional.
LSAT Scores at Kansas Law Schools
For the class that entered in fall 2025, the median LSAT score was 162 at the University of Kansas School of Law and 155 at Washburn University School of Law, according to each school’s ABA Standard 509 report. A score near a school’s median gives you a realistic shot at admission and at scholarship money.
Graduate from an ABA-Approved Law School
For admission by exam in Kansas, Kansas Supreme Court Rule 711 requires a J.D. (or LL.B.) from a law school that was approved by the American Bar Association when you graduated. Other states set their own legal education rules. A full-time J.D. usually takes three years. Kansas has no route to the bar exam through a non-ABA school, law office study or a foreign law degree.
Applying to Law School
ABA-approved schools ask you to apply through the Credential Assembly Service (CAS), an LSAC service that collects your transcripts and letters of recommendation and sends a report to each school you apply to. As of the 2026-2027 cycle, CAS costs $219, plus $45 for each law school report.
ABA-Approved Law Schools in Kansas
Kansas has two ABA-approved law schools:
- University of Kansas School of Law, Green Hall, 1535 W. 15th Street, Lawrence, KS 66045-7608
- Washburn University School of Law, 1700 SW College Avenue, Topeka, KS 66621
You don’t have to attend law school in Kansas. A J.D. from any ABA-approved school qualifies you for the Kansas bar exam, and the ABA publishes the full list of approved schools.
What You’ll Study
The first year of a J.D. usually covers civil procedure, constitutional law, contracts, criminal law, property, torts, and legal research and writing. Every ABA-approved school also requires a course in professional responsibility, the ethics rules the MPRE tests. After the first year, you choose electives and may add a concentration, such as business, criminal, or environmental law.
Most schools build in practical work through clinics, where you represent real clients under faculty supervision, or externships with courts, agencies, and firms. Many also offer joint degrees that pair the J.D. with a master’s degree, such as a J.D./MBA.
Online and Part-Time J.D. Programs
An online, hybrid, or part-time J.D. meets the Kansas requirement only if the school is ABA-approved. Part-time programs usually take four years and suit students who are already working.
Pass the Kansas Bar Exam and the MPRE
The Kansas Supreme Court admits and regulates lawyers in Kansas. Its Board of Law Examiners decides whether you meet the requirements, and the Attorney Admissions office handles applications. Kansas gives the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) on the last Tuesday and Wednesday of February and July, and it has no separate Kansas-law test. Here are the key numbers as of November 2026:
| Item | February Exam | July Exam |
|---|---|---|
| Application window | March 2 to October 1 | November 2 to March 1 |
| Late filing | Up to 30 days late, $200 late fee | Up to 30 days late, $200 late fee |
| Exam fee | $700 | $700 |
| Kansas MPRE score (80+) and transcripts due | January 15 | June 15 |
| Kansas passing UBE score | 266 | 266 |
Fees and deadlines come from Kansas Supreme Court Rules 707 and 716, and the court can change them. Confirm them on the Kansas Judicial Branch bar exam page before you apply.
How to Apply
You apply online through the Kansas Attorney Admissions portal. Paper applications ended with the rules that took effect July 1, 2022. You can apply before you graduate if you’ll finish your J.D. no later than 30 days after the exam. Kansas lets you use your own laptop for the written portions at no extra fee.
Character and Fitness Review
Character and fitness is the board’s review of your honesty, finances, and conduct, including any criminal record. You submit fingerprints with your application for a background check, and you must show you qualify by clear and convincing evidence. You can sit for the exam while the review is still open, but the board holds your score until it approves you. A pending criminal case, or a felony conviction or diversion within the past five years, can delay when you’re allowed to apply.
What’s on the Exam
- Day one: six Multistate Essay Examination (MEE) questions and two Multistate Performance Test (MPT) tasks
- Day two: the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), a 200-question multiple-choice test
The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) writes all three parts and publishes free study materials, but it doesn’t license lawyers or set passing scores. Kansas requires a UBE score of 266. Other jurisdictions set their own passing scores, so a score that passes in one state may not pass in another. If you may also want a license next door, compare the steps to become a lawyer in Colorado, Nebraska, and Oklahoma before you decide where to sit. Many graduates also take a commercial bar review course.
Kansas also has a separate MBE score transfer under Rule 716, which is different from transferring a UBE score. If you’re a first-time Kansas applicant and earned a scaled MBE score of 125 or higher in another jurisdiction within the 13 months before the Kansas exam, while passing that jurisdiction’s full exam in one sitting, you can carry that MBE score over and take only the written portions in Kansas. You must say so when you apply and have the official MBE score sent to Attorney Admissions. If you don’t pass in Kansas, you can’t reuse that transferred MBE score on a later Kansas attempt. This route doesn’t produce a UBE score, so you can’t transfer the result to other UBE states.
The MPRE
The Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) is a separate two-hour ethics test from NCBE. Kansas requires a scaled score of 80 or higher, and your official score must reach the Attorney Admissions Office by January 15 or June 15 before the exam you plan to take. Most students take it during their second or third year of law school. NCBE charges $185 for the 2026 and 2027 MPRE administrations.
The Switch to the NextGen Bar Exam
Kansas will give the NextGen bar exam for the first time in July 2028, and February 2028 is its last administration of the current UBE. As of November 2026, Kansas hasn’t set a NextGen passing score. If you’ll start law school in 2026 or later, plan on taking the NextGen exam.
Results and Pass Rates
Kansas releases results about five to six weeks after each exam. July 2026 results came out September 3, 2026: 74% of the 177 test takers passed, including 80% of first-time takers, according to NCBE. February exams usually draw more repeat takers and lower pass rates. In February 2026, 48% passed.
Among each school’s graduates who took a bar exam for the first time in 2025, 94.2% passed at the University of Kansas, according to KU Law, and 74% passed at Washburn, according to Washburn Law. Both figures come from the schools’ ABA bar passage reports.
Other Ways to Get Admitted in Kansas
Lawyers licensed elsewhere may not need to sit for the Kansas exam. These are the main paths under the Kansas Supreme Court rules, as of November 2026:
| Path | Who It’s For | Key Requirement | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bar exam (Rule 716) | New graduates and anyone without another option | UBE score of 266 and MPRE score of 80 | $700 |
| UBE score transfer (Rule 717) | Anyone who passed the UBE in another state | UBE score of 266 or higher from an exam within the past 60 months, plus an MPRE score of 80 | $1,250 |
| Admission on motion (Rule 719) | Experienced lawyers licensed by exam in another state | Active practice for five of the past seven years and a license from a state that admits Kansas lawyers without exam | $1,250 |
| Military spouse license (Rule 720) | Spouses of service members stationed in Kansas | License in another state and supervision by a Kansas lawyer | $1,250 |
| Single-employer license (Rule 721) | In-house lawyers working for one Kansas employer | License in another state, limited to work for that employer | $1,250 |
Admission on motion, the path for lawyers who skip the exam based on practice experience, also requires that you’ve never been suspended or disbarred and that you meet the same character and fitness standard as exam applicants. Graduates of foreign law schools aren’t eligible for the Kansas bar exam. Confirm your path with the full text of Rules 700 to 726 before you apply.
Get Sworn In and Keep Your Kansas License
Once you pass the exam and the board approves your character and fitness, you take the attorney’s oath. You can take it at one of the swearing-in ceremonies the Kansas Supreme Court holds twice a year in Topeka or before a judge of record anywhere in the United States, and you must take it within one year of your qualification letter. You’re admitted on the date your name goes on the roll of attorneys.
Where Kansas Lawyers Work
The ABA counted 7,857 resident, active lawyers in Kansas in its 2025 National Lawyer Population Survey. New lawyers work in private firms, solo practice, county and district attorney offices, state agencies, federal offices, corporate legal departments, and nonprofits. The Wichita, Topeka, and Kansas City areas hold most of the state’s salaried lawyer jobs.
What Kansas Lawyers Earn
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, lawyers in Kansas earned a median annual salary of $106,650 as of May 2025, compared with $159,670 nationally. Pay runs higher in the Kansas City metro area, which crosses into Missouri, than in the rest of the state. The BLS figures count salaried lawyers, so they leave out partners and solo practitioners who own their firms.
| Area | Employment | Median Annual Wage |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas | 4,190 | $106,650 |
| United States | 754,500 | $159,670 |
| Metro Area | Employment | Median Annual Wage |
|---|---|---|
| Lawrence, KS | 140 | $103,070 |
| Manhattan, KS | 120 | $124,230 |
| Topeka, KS | 680 | $102,500 |
| Wichita, KS | 690 | $121,510 |
| Joplin, MO-KS | 180 | $96,190 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | 5,310 | $134,640 |
| St. Joseph, MO-KS | 100 | $97,370 |
Projections Central estimates a 2.5% change in employment for lawyers in Kansas between 2024 and 2034, from 4,860 to 4,980 jobs, with an average of 170 openings per year, based on Kansas Department of Labor projections. Nationally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment of lawyers to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the average for all occupations, with about 28,700 openings each year.
Continuing Legal Education
The Kansas Continuing Legal Education Commission requires active lawyers to complete 12 hours of CLE each compliance year, which runs July 1 to June 30. At least two of those hours must cover ethics and professionalism. Newly admitted lawyers are exempt during their first compliance period, and inactive lawyers and some other categories are exempt too. You can take every hour online. Course providers report most hours for you, and everything must be on file by July 31. Missing the deadline brings a $75 noncompliance fee and can lead to suspension. You can carry up to 10 extra hours into the next year. Extra ethics hours carry over only as general credit, not toward the next year’s ethics requirement.
Kansas Courts
The Kansas Judicial Branch has four levels:
- Kansas Supreme Court: the court of last resort, which also regulates admission and discipline of lawyers
- Kansas Court of Appeals: the intermediate appeals court for most civil and criminal cases from the district courts
- District courts: the trial courts, with a district court in every county, grouped into 31 judicial districts
- Municipal courts: city courts that hear ordinance violations and minor traffic cases
Professional Associations
The Kansas Bar Association runs a Young Lawyers Section for newer members. Practice-area groups include the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association, the Kansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Kansas County and District Attorneys Association, and the Kansas Women Attorneys Association.
Specialty Certification
Specialty certification is voluntary and separate from your Kansas law license. Kansas doesn’t certify specialists itself, and the certifying organization, not the Kansas Board of Law Examiners, sets the requirements. The National Board of Trial Advocacy, an ABA-accredited certifying body, offers board certification in areas such as civil trial, criminal trial, and family trial law. NBTA certification requires trial experience and a written exam.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to become a lawyer in Kansas?
About seven years after high school. That’s four years for a bachelor’s degree and three for a full-time J.D. Most graduates then sit for the July bar exam a couple of months after graduation and get results in early September.
Does Kansas use the Uniform Bar Exam?
Yes. Kansas has given the UBE since February 2016, and you need a score of 266 to pass. Kansas will switch to the NextGen bar exam in July 2028.
Can I transfer my UBE score to Kansas?
Yes. Under Rule 717, Kansas accepts a UBE score of 266 or higher earned within the past 60 months, along with an MPRE score of at least 80. The fee is $1,250 as of November 2026.
Can a lawyer licensed in another state practice in Kansas without taking the bar exam?
Sometimes. Admission on motion under Rule 719 requires active practice for five of the past seven years and a license from a state that offers the same path to Kansas lawyers. Lawyers without that experience can transfer a UBE score instead.
Can I take the Kansas bar exam without a J.D. from an ABA-approved school?
No. Kansas requires a J.D. from a law school that was ABA-approved when you graduated. It has no law office study path, and foreign law graduates aren’t eligible.
- Education: Kansas requires a bachelor’s degree in any major and a J.D. from an ABA-approved law school (Rule 711).
- The exam: Kansas gives the Uniform Bar Exam each February and July, with a passing score of 266 and a $700 fee as of November 2026.
- MPRE first: your MPRE score of 80 or higher must be on file by January 15 or June 15, before you sit for the bar.
- NextGen in 2028: July 2028 is the first Kansas administration of the NextGen bar exam.
- Staying licensed: active Kansas lawyers complete 12 CLE hours a year, including two in ethics and professionalism, starting after their first compliance period.
2025 US Bureau of Labor Statistics salary figures for Lawyers. Job growth projections (2024-2034) are from the US Department of Labor-sponsored resource, Projections Central. Figures reflect state and national data, not school-specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed November 2026. National job outlook figures (2025-2035) are from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Kansas admits only graduates of ABA-approved law schools to its bar exam, so start any comparison of J.D. programs with that question. After that, look at format and cost, since some ABA-approved schools offer part-time or hybrid study for students who are already working.
