The Journey to a Revised NCBE Character and Fitness Application

By Lisa Perlen, Penelope J. Gessler, and Suzanne K. Richards

This is an exciting time to be part of the bar admissions community. In 2026, NCBE will launch a revised character and fitness application.1 Three years in the making, the new application will reflect the considered input of bar admissions administrators and boards, legal educators, and NCBE Policy Committee members. Applicants for admission can expect to encounter the new application questions in online format starting in late 2026.

The character and fitness process is an integral step in admission to the legal profession. Lawyers play a singular role in our society. They are afforded the privilege of representing members of the public regarding some of their most sensitive and private matters and when they are at their most vulnerable. Protection of the public demands that, before they are admitted, applicants demonstrate that they possess honesty, integrity, and candor—qualities that are essential to ensure the trust of members of the public, courts, and their fellow professionals. A character and fitness application is the first step jurisdictions use to assess whether an applicant currently possesses those requisite qualities.

First produced in 1997, NCBE’s character and fitness application was developed to bring uniformity to the application process. Although many jurisdictions use the NCBE application as a guide, each jurisdiction decides what questions they wish to include on their respective forms. Over the years, individual questions have been added, deleted, or revised. In 2022, NCBE decided to undertake a comprehensive review of the entire application. This process entailed reviewing each question with two overarching principles in mind:

Is the question drafted so as to elicit information relevant to a determination by a jurisdiction of an applicant’s current character and fitness?
Is the question drafted so as to foster a legal profession that is representative of the many different persons who are part of our society?

The review process was devised to ensure input from various members of the admissions community. Drafting by committee can be complex and slow, but having a process that solicits ideas and comments from a wide group of knowledgeable persons allows consideration of different perspectives and fosters a fulsome vetting of relevant issues.

To inform the process, the NCBE Character and Fitness Investigations Committee (CFI Committee) sent a series of six surveys to jurisdiction administrators between January 2024 and January 2025 for completion by those familiar with the character and fitness process. Each survey was specific to a set of questions on the current application. Respondents were asked whether the question was relevant or needed to be revised and whether any look-back period should be changed. Response options included suggested alternative time periods.

CFI Committee members met and communicated regularly to analyze survey responses, incorporate findings into the application process, and review updated draft questions. Committee members also personally followed up with jurisdiction administrators and encouraged their input. The goal was to develop questions for the new revised application that would reflect the consensus of, and serve as a resource for, all jurisdictions. Such outreach led to an impressive response rate. Forty jurisdictions provided direct feedback.

The CFI Committee then reviewed the changes, verified that the collected jurisdiction data was reflected in the new application, drafted explanatory preambles and instructions, and reviewed the resulting draft application. To this end, three subcommittees were formed: Definitions and Instructions, Demographic Questions, and Balance Review. After all survey responses were reviewed, and all comments and other information analyzed, the committee undertook another round of review focused on ensuring the overall application was relevant, clear, and streamlined. Some questions were deleted; others were reworded or otherwise modified. Some questions were combined to avoid duplication or to allow the applicant to provide all relevant information in one response. Other questions that previously addressed multiple issues were split into separate inquiries to make it easier for an applicant to respond. Time periods or look-back durations were adjusted to better align with the goal of assessing current character and fitness. For example, questions that may have asked whether an applicant had ever engaged in specific conduct were rephrased to include a specific timeframe. Explanatory preambles were added to select questions to aid applicant understanding of the purpose of the inquiry. Additionally, key terms were defined in the application to ensure readily understandable content for applicants.

We hope that, by helping applicants better comprehend the character and fitness requirements for admission, they will gain a greater understanding of what is ethically required of a lawyer.

Some may believe that we deleted questions or limited questions that they think would be useful for jurisdictions in making a character and fitness determination. Others may believe that we did not delete or limit questions that they think are unnecessary for making a determination regarding an applicant. Crafting such an application is a balancing act. Making judgments about the need for information versus the effort required to provide that information is never easy, and—understandably—opinions may vary. The polestar must be protection of the public. But there also must be recognition that the process should be fair, reasonable, and transparent to applicants. The bar examining authority’s goal is to frame each question in a manner that renders the scope of inquiry clear and unambiguous. Although these considerations are not completely congruent, they are also not necessarily at odds with one another. Completion of a character and fitness application can be a learning process for the applicant: an opportunity to experience what it means to become a lawyer and get a glimpse of the high standard of honesty and candor expected of members of the legal profession.

When considering the final decisions on questions, we sought the input of individuals from the bar admissions community, many of whom have experience and expertise obtained from years of working with the character and fitness process in their jurisdictions. Questions on the newly revised standard application thus reflect the collaborative thinking of NCBE staff, NCBE committee members, and the jurisdictions. This collaborative process will continue in the coming years as NCBE ensures that the application remains current and relevant. In keeping with its mission to serve admission authorities, the application will be available in PDF form to jurisdictions by early 2026; implementation and rollout of an online version will continue in phases throughout that year, providing

a practical resource for jurisdictions currently using the NCBE character and fitness application;
a valuable tool for jurisdictions that plan to adopt the NCBE application in the future;
a useful model for jurisdictions seeking to update their own applications;
a guide for law schools that may wish to harmonize their own applications with those of the jurisdictions; and
a more accessible and user-friendly process for applicants.

NCBE is ever mindful that, guided by their respective supreme courts, jurisdictions remain the final arbiters of the questions they include on their applications. We look forward to continuing to support them.

Note

For a previous article on this process, see Suzanne K. Richards et al., “Focus on Diversity: The NCBE Character and Fitness Application: First Steps in a Thorough Review of Application Questions,” 92(1) The Bar Examiner 46–48 (Spring 2023). (Go back)

Lisa Perlen is Executive Director of the Tennessee Board of Law Examiners. She serves on the NCBE Board of Trustees and chairs NCBE’s Constructed Response / Item Set (CRIS) Committee, along with other committee service.

Penelope J. Gessler is the Director of Investigations for the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

Suzanne K. Richards is a retired partner at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP. She served for 30 years as a member of the Board of Commissioners on Character and Fitness of the Supreme Court of Ohio, including several terms as its chair. Richards is chair of NCBE’s Bar Examiner Editorial Advisory Committee and served as chair of the NCBE Board of Trustees from 2021 to 2022.