How to Become a Lawyer in Georgia: 5 Steps to the Georgia Bar
To become a lawyer in Georgia, most people need a bachelor’s degree, a J.D. from an ABA-approved law school, a passing score on the Georgia Bar Exam and an MPRE score of at least 75. You must be certified fit to practice before you can sit for the exam. Plan on about seven years after high school.
Becoming an attorney in Georgia follows the same five steps as most states, with three differences worth knowing early. Georgia writes its own bar exam and doesn’t accept a transferred Uniform Bar Exam score. You have to clear a separate character and fitness review before you can file for the exam. And the exam itself changes in July 2028, when Georgia switches to the NextGen bar exam.
- Earn a Bachelor’s Degree from an Accredited College
- Take the LSAT or Another Accepted Admissions Test
- Graduate from an ABA-Approved Law School
- Pass the Georgia Bar Exam and the MPRE
- Get Admitted and Keep Your Georgia License
Earn a Bachelor’s Degree from an Accredited College
Georgia’s Rules Governing Admission to the Practice of Law require a bachelor’s degree (a B.A., B.S., B.B.A., or the equivalent) from a college whose accreditor is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The degree has to be awarded before you take the bar exam.
How the Rule Works in Practice
The CHEA rule matters less than it sounds for most readers. If you graduate from an ABA-approved law school, Georgia’s rules treat the undergraduate requirement as met, even if your college’s accreditor isn’t CHEA-recognized. You’ll still finish a bachelor’s degree before law school, since ABA-approved law schools admit only applicants who have one.
The CHEA requirement applies in full to the few applicants who graduated before January 1, 1998, from a law school approved by the Georgia Board of Bar Examiners. If that’s you and your college wasn’t CHEA-recognized, you can meet the requirement by passing College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams instead. If you think you do, confirm the current CLEP subjects and scores with the Georgia Office of Bar Admissions.
Choosing a Major
Neither Georgia nor the ABA requires a particular major. Law schools admit students from history, political science, philosophy, English, business, engineering, and the sciences. What schools weigh most is your GPA and your LSAT score, so pick a major you’ll earn strong grades in, and that gives you a lot of reading, writing, and argument.
Take the LSAT or Another Accepted Admissions Test
This step is set by law schools, not by Georgia’s bar rules: the LSAT is an admissions test, not a licensing exam. The Law School Admission Test is the test almost every law school accepts. The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) runs it, and scores range from 120 to 180. Some law schools also accept the GRE General Test, so check the admissions page of each school you’re considering before you choose a test.
What’s on the LSAT
As of November 2026, the multiple-choice LSAT has four 35-minute sections: one Reading Comprehension section, two Logical Reasoning sections, and one unscored variable section. The Analytical Reasoning section, often called logic games, was dropped in August 2024, so older study guides that cover it are out of date. You also complete LSAT Argumentative Writing, an unscored essay taken separately online. LSAC won’t release your score until that writing sample is done.
Registering and Testing
- Fee: $253 for the August 2026 to June 2027 testing year, which includes Argumentative Writing (LSAC fees, as of November 2026).
- Test dates: LSAC offers the test several times a year. The 2026-2027 cycle runs in August, September, October, November, January, February, April, and June.
- Where you test: Since August 2026, almost everyone tests in person at a Prometric test center. LSAC allows remote testing only for some approved accommodations and for candidates who live far from a center.
- Scores: Released online in your LSAC account on the published release date for your test, not by mail.
How to Prepare
LSAC publishes free official practice tests through its LawHub platform, which is the best place to start because the questions come from real exams. Paid courses are optional. If you buy one, make sure it teaches the current format without logic games.
Graduate from an ABA-Approved Law School
The standard route to the Georgia bar is a J.D. from a law school approved by the American Bar Association. Georgia allows only two narrow exceptions, both covered later in this step: older graduates of Georgia Board-approved law schools and qualifying foreign-educated lawyers. The school doesn’t have to be in Georgia: a J.D. from an ABA-approved school in any state meets the requirement. That matters if you’re also weighing a neighboring state. The steps to become a lawyer in Alabama and the path to the South Carolina bar follow the same pattern, but both states give the Uniform Bar Exam rather than a state-written exam like Georgia’s.
Applying Through LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service
ABA-approved law schools take applications through LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service (CAS). You send your transcripts and letters of recommendation to CAS once, and it builds a report for each school you apply to with your LSAT score and academic record. As of November 2026, CAS costs $219, plus $45 for each law school report.
ABA-Approved Law Schools in Georgia
- Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, Atlanta
- Emory University School of Law, Atlanta
- Georgia State University College of Law, Atlanta
- Mercer University Walter F. George School of Law, Macon
- University of Georgia School of Law, Athens
Every ABA-approved school publishes a Standard 509 report with its entering class’s median LSAT score and GPA, tuition, and scholarships. You’ll find them on the ABA Required Disclosures site. Comparing those medians with your own numbers is the quickest way to see where you’re competitive.
Online Law Degrees
What Law School Requires
Under the ABA’s standards, a J.D. takes at least 83 credit hours, completed no sooner than 24 months and no later than 84 months after you start. Full-time programs usually take three years, and part-time or evening programs usually take four. Your first year covers contracts, torts, property, civil procedure, criminal law, constitutional law, and legal writing. Before you graduate, you must also complete a professional responsibility course and at least six credit hours of experiential work, such as a law clinic, a simulation course, or a field placement with a court, agency, or law firm.
Older and Foreign Law Degrees
Georgia still accepts a law degree from a school approved by the Georgia Board of Bar Examiners only if you graduated before January 1, 1998. Those schools, Atlanta Law School and Woodrow Wilson College of Law, have since closed.
If you earned your law degree outside the United States, you can qualify in Georgia if you’re authorized to practice in your home country and complete an LL.M. for the Practice of Law in the United States at an ABA-approved school that meets the Board’s course requirements. The petition fee is $1,000 (as of November 2026). Confirm the approved programs with the Office of Bar Admissions before you enroll.
Other Law Degrees
Georgia law schools also offer the Juris Master (J.M.) for professionals who want to understand the law without practicing it, the Master of Laws (LL.M.) for people who already hold a law degree, and the Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) for legal scholars. None of them replaces the J.D. for bar admission, apart from the foreign-educated LL.M. route described above.
Pass the Georgia Bar Exam and the MPRE
Four Georgia authorities handle admission, and each has its own job:
- Supreme Court of Georgia: sets the Rules Governing Admission to the Practice of Law and admits new lawyers.
- Georgia Office of Bar Admissions: runs the process day to day. It takes your applications, fees, and transcripts for both boards.
- Board to Determine Fitness of Bar Applicants: decides whether you meet Georgia’s character and fitness standard.
- Board of Bar Examiners: sets the exam requirements, writes and grades the Georgia essays, and decides who passes.
You must be certified fit before you can file the bar exam application, so start with the fitness application.
Character and Fitness Certification
Character and fitness is the review of your honesty, financial responsibility, and conduct that every state runs before licensing a lawyer. File the Fitness Application online and answer every question completely. Undisclosed problems do more damage than disclosed ones. After you file, you’ll upload supporting documents, including a certified driving record from every state where you held a license in the last 12 months. If your analyst asks for fingerprints, you’ll schedule them through IDEMIA’s IdentoGO service, which has handled Georgia’s applicant fingerprinting since February 2025 (see the fingerprint instructions).
The Office of Bar Admissions says investigations usually take 8 to 12 weeks, so file early. A fitness certification is valid for five years.
Georgia Bar Exam at a Glance
| Item | Georgia Rule (as of November 2026) |
|---|---|
| Exam dates | Twice a year. The next exams are February 23-24, 2027, and July 27-28, 2027. |
| Format | Day one: four Georgia essay questions and two Multistate Performance Test (MPT) tasks. Day two: the 200-question Multistate Bar Exam (MBE). |
| Scoring | The MBE counts for half the score and the written portion for the other half. Georgia’s passing score is a combined 270. Other states use their own scales and cut scores. |
| Fitness application fee | $450 if filed before your J.D. is awarded, $750 after |
| Bar exam fees | $400 for current law students or $550 for graduates, plus a $107 NCBE fee and a $105 laptop or handwriting fee |
| Fitness filing deadline | First Wednesday of July for the next February exam, first Wednesday of December for the next July exam. A late period follows, with a $500 late fee. |
| Transcript deadline | January 31 for the February exam, June 30 for the July exam, sent electronically by your law school |
| Results | In 2026, February results came out on the third Friday of April and July results on the third Friday of September. |
Fees and deadlines change with each exam cycle. Confirm them on the Office of Bar Admissions’ Deadlines and Fees page before you file.
What the Exam Tests
The Georgia essays are written and graded by the Board of Bar Examiners and test Georgia law as well as general principles. Secured transactions (Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code) have been removed from the essay subjects, so skip older outlines that still drill it. The MPT gives you a case file and a library of law and asks you to complete a task a new lawyer would handle, such as a memo or a brief. The MBE is the national multiple-choice exam covering contracts, torts, real property, evidence, constitutional law, criminal law and procedure, and civil procedure.
The Office of Bar Admissions posts past essay and MPT questions with selected answers, which show you how Georgia graders expect an answer to be organized.
Georgia Isn’t a UBE State, and NextGen Starts in July 2028
Georgia gives its own exam rather than the Uniform Bar Exam, and it doesn’t accept a UBE or MBE score transferred from another state. If you plan to practice in several states, that’s worth weighing when you choose where to sit first.
The Supreme Court of Georgia has adopted the NextGen bar exam starting with the July 2028 administration, and Georgia will keep a Georgia-specific component. If you’ll start law school in 2025 or later, you’ll likely take the new format. The passing score and score portability for NextGen haven’t been announced.
Georgia Bar Exam Pass Rates
Overall pass rates have swung widely in recent years. According to the Georgia Office of Bar Admissions, 48.5% of examinees passed in February 2025 and 73.3% passed in July 2025. National Conference of Bar Examiners figures show 53% passing in February 2026 and 64% in July 2026, when first-time takers passed at 75%. July results are the better guide, since February groups are small and mostly repeat takers.
| Law School | First-Time Takers, July 2025 | First-Time Pass Rate, July 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| University of Georgia | 132 | 88.6% |
| Mercer University | 121 | 88.4% |
| Georgia State University | 165 | 87.3% |
| Emory University | 109 | 85.3% |
| Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School | 89 | 67.4% |
Source: Georgia Bar Examination Statistics, Georgia Office of Bar Admissions. Check there for the school-by-school figures from the most recent exam.
The MPRE
You must also pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE), a multiple-choice exam on legal ethics. NCBE gives the MPRE nationally, but each state sets its own minimum score. Georgia requires a scaled score of 75 or higher, and other states may require a different score. To register, you create an account with the National Conference of Bar Examiners, which gives you an NCBE number that follows your MPRE and bar exam records. You can take the MPRE before or after the bar exam, and Georgia doesn’t set an expiration date on MPRE scores. You won’t be certified for admission until a passing score is on file, and you have three years from passing the bar exam to finish every remaining requirement.
If You’re Already a Lawyer in Another State
Admission on motion lets an experienced lawyer join a state’s bar without taking its full exam, and each state sets its own conditions. Georgia’s are specific: you must have been admitted by examination in another U.S. jurisdiction, that jurisdiction must offer Georgia lawyers reciprocal admission, and you must have practiced for at least five of the last seven years. The petition and fitness application cost $2,500 together (as of November 2026). See the Office of Bar Admissions’ admission on motion page for details.
If your state doesn’t qualify, you can take the Georgia Attorneys’ Examination instead. It’s one day long, with the four Georgia essays and two MPT tasks and no MBE. You need a written score of at least 135, which Georgia converts to the combined passing score of 270. You must be admitted by exam elsewhere, be in good standing, and never have failed a Georgia bar exam. The fitness application costs $1,200 and the exam $550, plus a $35 NCBE fee (as of November 2026). Rules differ from state to state, so compare what other states require for bar admission before you decide where to apply first.
Spouses of active-duty service members stationed in Georgia can apply for a provisional license under Supreme Court Rule 103, which waives the years-of-practice requirement. The fee is $500.
Foreign Law Consultants
A lawyer licensed in another country can apply to practice in Georgia as a foreign law consultant without passing the bar exam. You must be in good standing in a recognized foreign legal profession, have practiced for five of the last seven years, be certified fit, and intend to practice in Georgia. You’ll need a certificate from your home licensing authority, a recommendation from a judge or senior member of that profession, and letters from two members of the State Bar of Georgia. The fitness fee is $1,500 (as of November 2026).
A foreign law consultant can advise on international law and the law of the country where they’re licensed, but can’t appear in court for clients, prepare wills, trusts, or real estate documents, or advise on Georgia or federal law except on the advice of a licensed U.S. lawyer.
Get Admitted and Keep Your Georgia License
Once you’ve passed the exam and the MPRE and your fitness certification is current, the Office of Bar Admissions certifies you for admission. You’ll then take the oath and become a member of the State Bar of Georgia, which handles membership, continuing education, and law practice resources for new lawyers.
Transition into Law Practice Program
Most newly admitted Georgia lawyers must complete the State Bar’s Transition into Law Practice Program in the year they’re admitted or the following calendar year. It pairs you with an experienced lawyer as a mentor and includes required continuing legal education, and finishing it covers your CLE requirement for those years. Lawyers with at least two years of practice in another U.S. jurisdiction can file for an exemption.
What Georgia Lawyers Earn
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, lawyers in Georgia earned a median annual salary of $134,830 as of May 2025. About 23,930 lawyers worked in Georgia, most of them in metro Atlanta. Pay varies widely by employer: large Atlanta firms pay far more than public interest and government jobs, so the median is only a midpoint.
| Area | Employment | Median Annual Wage |
|---|---|---|
| Georgia (statewide) | 23,930 | $134,830 |
| Albany | 150 | $103,510 |
| Athens-Clarke County | 240 | $105,360 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell | 18,760 | $138,210 |
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 630 | $123,960 |
| Brunswick-St. Simons | 200 | $125,480 |
| Columbus, GA-AL | 290 | $104,120 |
| Dalton | 120 | $91,730 |
| Gainesville | 230 | Not reported |
| Hinesville | 50 | $107,320 |
| Macon-Bibb County | 410 | $108,200 |
| Rome | Not reported | $74,410 |
| Savannah | 640 | $123,050 |
| Valdosta | 130 | $101,000 |
| Warner Robins | 120 | $118,750 |
| Chattanooga, TN-GA | 740 | $147,640 |
BLS doesn’t report a figure where too few lawyers were surveyed, which is why two cells read “Not reported.” Projections Central estimates a 6.5% change in employment for lawyers in Georgia between 2024 and 2034, with an average of 970 openings per year. Projections Central publishes the projections each state’s labor agency produces, so you can also find Georgia’s figures through the Georgia Department of Labor’s labor market data.
Continuing Legal Education
Starting January 1, 2026, the Supreme Court of Georgia moved CLE to a two-year cycle. Active lawyers must complete 18 hours every two years, including 3 hours of ethics and 2 hours of professionalism, and the first two-year period ends December 31, 2027. The old rule of 12 hours a year, with separate trial practice hours for trial lawyers, no longer applies. Some lawyers qualify for exemptions, and you must certify your completed hours on your online CLE transcript. Check the State Bar’s CLE information page for your exact requirement.
Board Certification in a Specialty
Board certification is optional: you don’t need it to be licensed or to practice in any area of law in Georgia. Some experienced lawyers choose it to show depth in a specialty. National organizations such as the National Board of Trial Advocacy certify lawyers in areas including civil trial, criminal trial, family trial, and Social Security disability law. Each organization and specialty sets its own experience, reference, and exam requirements, so check the certifying body’s standards for the specialty you want.
Georgia’s Courts
Knowing which court hears what helps when you choose an externship or a first job. Georgia’s court system, as counted by the Judicial Council of Georgia in April 2025:
| Court | Number | Main Cases |
|---|---|---|
| Supreme Court | 1 court, 9 justices | Constitutional questions, death penalty appeals, and other appeals the court agrees to hear |
| Court of Appeals | 1 court, 15 judges in five divisions | Appeals from the trial courts |
| Statewide Business Court | 1 court, opened in 2020 | Large commercial disputes |
| Superior Courts | 51 circuits | Felonies, divorce, land title and equity cases, and other general trial matters |
| State Courts | 72 | Misdemeanors, traffic cases and civil cases |
| Probate, Magistrate and Juvenile Courts | 159 of each, one per county | Wills and estates, small civil claims and warrants, and cases involving children |
| Municipal Courts | About 370 | City ordinance and traffic violations |
The Judicial Council of Georgia publishes the current structure and links to each court.
Lawyer Associations in Georgia
Joining a specialty bar group is one of the easiest ways for a new lawyer to find mentors and job leads:
- Georgia Association for Women Lawyers
- Georgia Trial Lawyers Association
- Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
- Georgia Defense Lawyers Association
- National Employment Lawyers Association, Georgia
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to become a lawyer in Georgia?
Most people take about seven years after high school: four years for a bachelor’s degree and three for a full-time J.D. Part-time J.D. programs usually take four years. Add a few months after graduation for bar preparation and results, since Georgia releases results about two months after each exam.
Can I transfer a Uniform Bar Exam score to Georgia?
No. Georgia isn’t a UBE jurisdiction and doesn’t accept transferred UBE or MBE scores. Lawyers admitted elsewhere can apply for admission on motion if their state qualifies, or take the one-day Georgia Attorneys’ Examination.
Can I take the Georgia bar exam without going to law school?
No. Georgia has no law office study or apprenticeship path, so every applicant needs a law degree. For almost everyone, that means a J.D. from an ABA-approved law school. The two limited exceptions are graduates of Georgia Board-approved law schools who finished before 1998 and foreign-educated lawyers who complete an approved LL.M.
What score do I need to pass the Georgia bar exam?
Georgia’s passing score is a combined 270, with the MBE counting for half and the Georgia essays and MPT for the other half. That figure is specific to Georgia, since other states use their own scales. Georgia also requires a scaled score of at least 75 on the MPRE, and other states may set a different MPRE minimum.
How much do lawyers make in Georgia?
Lawyers in Georgia earned a median annual salary of $134,830 as of May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the Atlanta metro area, where most of the state’s lawyers work, the median was $138,210.
- Education: the standard route is a bachelor’s degree and a J.D. from an ABA-approved law school in any state, and that J.D. satisfies Georgia’s undergraduate rule. Narrow exceptions exist for pre-1998 Georgia Board-approved graduates and foreign-educated lawyers.
- Fitness first: the Board to Determine Fitness of Bar Applicants must certify you before you can file for the bar exam, and its review usually takes 8 to 12 weeks.
- Georgia’s own exam: Georgia writes its own two-day exam, doesn’t accept transferred UBE scores, and switches to the NextGen bar exam in July 2028.
- MPRE: Georgia requires a scaled score of 75, which may differ from other states’ minimums, and doesn’t set an expiration date on it.
- After admission: new lawyers complete the Transition into Law Practice Program, then 18 hours of CLE every two years.
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.
For almost every future Georgia lawyer, the route runs through a J.D. from an ABA-approved law school, and that school can be in any state. Compare the law programs listed on this page by format, since full-time, part-time, and online options take different amounts of time, and by how their graduates do on the bar exam.
