Guide to Filing a Petition for Admission by Examination (First-Time)

Generally about filing

• A Petition for Admission to the Bar in Massachusetts, unlike in other jurisdictions, is a civil action at law. The fees charged are not a fee to sit for the exam, and as with all civil cases filed in the Commonwealth, the case filing fee and surcharge fees are not refundable. Similarly, the $75 technology fee (GL c. 221, §37) is also statutorily mandated and not refundable.
• Petitions for Admission by Examination, once filed and accepted by the Court, may not be deferred to a future period. Any petitioners who files a motion to withdraw their petition or fails to appear for the examination will need to file a new petition and pay all applicable fees.
• For further information regarding the format, content and administration of the upcoming exam, please review the Board of Bar Examiner FAQ page.
• As mentioned above, the filing fees are statutory and non-refundable. All fees (filing, surcharge and technology) are payable at the time of filing your petition. Please do not send any payments directly to the Court. When making payment during submission, there will be an opportunity for those who intend to file an Affidavit of Indigency or other fee waiver. There is information about eligibility found below, under Fees.

About filing your petition

• Petitions for Admission by Examination or by Re-take must be e-filed. Please register on the Odyssey Guide and File website before beginning the petition. Registered users can save their work and return to complete their application. Users who are not logged in may lose their work if they exit the interview.
• The electronic application has been updated for a better user experience. It is important for all petitioners to read this Guide page and any FAQ pages to best prepare for e-filing. Additional FAQs can be found throughout the interview on Odyssey Guide and File in the right hand margin.
• Tyler Technologies suggests Google Chrome as the preferred browser for Odyssey Guide and File.
• For optimal performance, it is suggested that you clear your browser cache before using Odyssey Guide and File.
• When beginning the e-filing process, please be sure to select the correct Petition for Admission (First-time or Retake).

Creating and naming your documents

• Documents that are required for upload must be in PDF format. These documents must also follow the following instructions:
  • The PDF document must be simple, portrait, reduced size and not contain any active hyperlinks (emails, websites, etc.). Please see "Creating Smaller PDFs - Bar Petitions".
  • The PDF document must not contain any restrictions, password or security protections.
  • The PDF filename must conform to the naming convention specified by the attached document. Please see “File Name Conventions – Bar Petitions.” Failure to name your documents as directed may cause your petition to be rejected.
  • If you have more than one document (i.e. two letters of recommendation) for any individual upload category, please save them as a single PDF document.
  • Please know that if you do not properly name and format your PDF document, it may likely cause your submission to fail.

When reporting two or more instances in any category (residential history, education, employment, licenses, discipline, grievances or legal processes) you will have the option to prepare and upload a PDF list of the additional instances.

Electronic Filing:

• Register with the Court's e-filing vendor, Tyler Technologies. Please be sure to take this step before starting your petition. Click on the silhouette in the top right corner of the web page and select Register.
• Always be sure you are logged into Odyssey Guide and File prior to doing any work on your petition or your work may be lost.
• Complete the online interview found here: Petition for Admission by Examination.
• Once the interview is completed, review your answers and confirm that all requisite documents to your Petition for Admission were uploaded, including any records required as a result of certain affirmative responses within the interview.
• Once you begin the review summary at the end of the interview, it is recommended that you download and save to your local computer a copy of all documents created. (You will not be able to view the XML file.) You should especially review the Petition for Admission by First Time.PDF to be sure your responses are all represented correctly.
• Fees - Electronically pay the court filing fee, laptop program fee and Tyler Technologies service fee, or file your completed Affidavit of Indigency or fee waiver request, if eligible. Please remember that court fees are statutory and NOT refundable.
• Electronically File your Petition for Admission with the Court. You will receive an e-confirmation from Tyler that your Petition was submitted to the Court.  Your filing will be reviewed and you will receive an additional e-confirmation from the Court indicating that your filing has been accepted approximately 10-15 days later. Please watch your email, including your junk mail folder, for these notices. If you do not receive either of these notices in the expected timeframe, please contact this office at sjc.mass.bar.admission@jud.state.ma.us or (617) 557-1050. Please do not attempt to re-file or cancel payment on your own. Please contact the Court.

Non-refundable court filing fees for a petition for admission by examination

Please be advised that a Petition for Admission to the Bar in Massachusetts, unlike in other jurisdictions, is a civil action at law. The fees paid by a petitioner are statutory (G.L. c. 221, §37,  G.L. c. 262, §4C) and are required to be paid in all civil actions filed in the Commonwealth. These fees are not a fee to sit for the exam, and as with all civil cases filed in the Commonwealth, the case filing fee and surcharge fees are NOT refundable. 

If you suspect that there might have been a problem with the successful submission of your petition, please contact this office at sjc.mass.bar.admission@jud.state.ma.us or (617) 557-1050. Please do not attempt to either re-file your petition or cancel payment on your own. We urge you to contact the Court for assistance.

If you feel you are not able to pay your court fees, you may check to see if you meet the eligibility requirements for indigency (waiver of fees). If you believe you qualify for the fee waiver, you should:

1. Complete the Affidavit of Indigency. If applicable, complete the Supplement to the Affidavit of Indigency (if you claim eligibility under Category (C) of the Affidavit of Indigency). Please be advised that affidavits of indigency and their supplement are impounded (non-public) documents.
2. Scan or save this document in PDF format for upload during e-filing.

If, after review, your waiver request is not granted by the court, you will be contacted with instructions for submitting the payment of your required fees.

Notification

You will receive your first notification from Odyssey Guide & File confirming your Petition for Admission By Examination has been submitted to the Court for review. Save this confirmation to your computer.

After you submit your Petition and documents, the Supreme Judicial Court can access and will review your Petition and documents over the next 10 -15 business days. You will then receive a second notification from Odyssey Guide & File. Please watch your email, including your junk mail folder, for these notices. If you do not receive your notice after 15 business days, please contact the Court.

It your filing successfully includes all required documents, you will receive a notice indicating your Petition has been Accepted. If your documents do NOT adhere to the PDF formatting protocols detailed on this page, you will receive a Rejected notification with instructions to correct the errors and resubmit your Petition.

Rejections

Do not panic! Please do not attempt to refile or cancel payment on your own. The Court will assist you to correct any submission that has been rejected. In most cases, you will be able to fix the error yourself and re-submit your petition.

Please note: Your bank or credit card company might put a temporary “hold” placed on your funds when you make your submission, but your credit card will not actually be charged until your submission is accepted by the Court. If your submission is rejected, please DO NOT contact your financial institution about cancelling the charge. The hold on funds will be released soon after the rejection is made. You can be assured that you will not be charged twice if you follow these instructions.

In the meantime, the court will work with you to rectify the cause for your petition’s rejection. The cause will be detailed in your notice of rejection, and will likely be a data input or document naming error. Following the instruction on this page and using the document naming conventions contained in this document, File Name Conventions – Bar Petitions will minimize the chance of your petition’s rejection. When you receive a rejection notice for a user error, you will be able to return to your previous filing, correct the error, and resubmit. If you are not able to correct the error on your own, send an email to sjc.mass.bar.admission@jud.state.ma.us with a screenshot of your error message, your contact information, your envelope number, and the date and time of your submission. Please do not call. Email the information and staff will review and reach out to you in the order in which your message is received. Everyone following this protocol will be helped and given the opportunity to successfully file.

Personal Information Updates

If you have changed your name, address, email or other contact information after the filing of your Petition, you should immediately submit that new information to the Court. If you have legally changed your name, you must submit a completed Affidavit of Name Change Form. If you need to modify any other personal information, please use the Personal Information Change Form.

Employment, Education and Disclosure Updates

Changes to your employment history, educational record or other disclosures you made in your petition, must be reported to the Court. Your rider page must include your name, address and type of petition (Examination, Re-Examination), as well as your NCBE # and the disclosure category you intend to update (e.g. employment, legal, civil action, etc.).

It is imperative that you notify the Court of any changes to the information that you provided in your petition for admission as soon as possible. The updated information should be detailed in either one of the forms provided or on a written rider page. All pertinent documents should be emailed to sjc.mass.bar.admission@jud.state.ma.us.