Requirements for the Puerto Rico bar exam

It is the law that sets who may be admitted to practice law before Puerto Rico's courts. It does not regulate the exam's content or the character-and-fitness evaluation process — the Supreme Court sets those by regulation — only the entry requirements the statute itself imposes.

Anyone who wishes to practice law in Puerto Rico, regardless of where they reside at the time of applying. The requirement of having resided in Puerto Rico for the twelve months before applying no longer applies.

• Being an adult of irreproachable moral conduct and reputation, as the Puerto Rico Supreme Court investigates and determines by regulation.Verified against the official source
• Holding a law degree from an American Bar Association-accredited university. The University of Puerto Rico School of Law is deemed accredited by this law. If you graduated from a foreign university, the Supreme Court determines, at its discretion, whether it is equivalent.Verified against the official source
• Sitting, before the Supreme Court or the Examining Board it designates, for an exam on the date, in the form and to the extent the Supreme Court establishes.Verified against the official source

• This law publishes no document list: the application process, character evaluation and exam logistics are set by the Supreme Court through regulation, not by this law.

1. 1

   Step 1: Confirm you no longer need prior residency

   Before this law, you had to have lived in Puerto Rico for twelve months before you could apply for the bar exam. That requirement is gone entirely under Act 189-2026: Section 1 of Act 17 of 1939 no longer mentions it.

2. 2

   Step 2: Verify your degree meets the academic requirement

   You need a law degree from an American Bar Association-accredited university. UPR's School of Law counts as accredited under the statute's own terms. If your degree is from a foreign university, the Supreme Court decides whether it is equivalent.

3. 3

   Step 3: Follow the process the Supreme Court or its Examining Board sets

   The exam's date, form and extent are not set by this law: they are set by the Puerto Rico Supreme Court or the Examining Board it designates. This guide does not publish those details because Act 189-2026 does not establish them.

4. 4

   Step 4: If you are seeking reciprocal admission, there is not yet a route

   The law repealed the old admission-without-exam provision for lawyers from other jurisdictions and, in its place, created a Special Board attached to the Supreme Court to study reciprocity models and uniform exams like the Uniform Bar Examination. The Board has up to one year, extendable to two, to submit a report with its findings. In the meantime, there is no admission-without-exam route.

Before the Puerto Rico Supreme Court. This law does not publish an application portal or address: those administrative details are set by the Supreme Court itself through regulation.

• Thinking you still need a year of Puerto Rico residency before applying: the law eliminated that requirement.
• Assuming a reciprocal admission-without-exam route already exists: the law repealed the old one and created a Board that is only now studying the issue.
• Believing a foreign university degree is automatically disqualified: the Supreme Court can determine it is equivalent to one from an ABA-accredited university.
• Looking for the exam date or format in this law: those details are set by the Supreme Court through a separate regulation.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Poder Judicial de Puerto Rico

  Poder Judicial

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov