Transfer UBE Score

Allows applicants to transfer their qualifying score from the Uniform Bar Exam taken in another jurisdiction.

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Transfer UBE Score

Announcements & Deadlines

SEPTEMBER 25, 2026

Tennessee Supreme Court Announces Passing Standard for NextGen UBE

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Qualifications & Requirements

Use the UBE Score Transfer Application if:

  • You earned a score of 270 or higher on the Legacy Uniform Bar Exam (“UBE”) or a score of 620 or higher on the NextGen UBE in another jurisdiction;
  • Your score has been released to you; and
  • Your score is still valid under Rule 7 §3.05.
rules

Rules Governing Admission

Admission by Transferred UBE score is governed by Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 7 §3.05 and Board Policy P‑3.05.

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Application Process

Create Your NCBE Account

Navigate to www.ncbex.org and create a secure NCBE account. The NCBE number is required on all forms completed for the NCBE and the TBLE application process.

CREATE ACCOUNT

Complete the NCBE Character & Fitness Application for UBE Score Transfer Applicants

Login to your NCBE account at  www.ncbex.org   and complete the online NCBE character and fitness application for UBE score transfer applicants. Save the completed application and all attachments as a PDF file.

NCBE LOGIN

Create Your Synergy Account

  1. Navigate to https://synergy.tnble.com/Login.aspx
  2. Select “Register Now” to create your account.
  3. Complete the new user registration
  4. You will receive an email to confirm your registration.  Check your spam if you do not receive the email and be sure to add “@tncourts.gov” to your trusted senders.
CREATE ACCOUNT

Submit the Tennessee Application and Pay Fee

  • Login to your Synergy account: https://synergy.tnble.com/Login.aspx
  • From the dashboard select “UBE Score Transfer Application.”
    • You will have a chance to review your answers before you submit and finalize the application.
    • Read and answer each question fully. Failure to provide complete information may result in denial of your application.
  • Select your interview location
    • Applicants who are not licensed and/or are not in good standing in another jurisdiction must appear for an interview. 
    • Applicants who are licensed and in good standing in another jurisdiction may be required to appear for an in-person interview.
  • Pay the application fee
    • If you are paying by credit card: Select the online payment option.  You will be routed to a third-party provider to pay the application fee. A credit card service fee is collected from the vendor in a separate credit card transaction at the same time as the filing fee is paid.
    • If you are paying by check or money order: Skip the online payment.  Send a check or money order for the filing fee payable to the TN Board of Law Examiners to 511 Union Street, Suite 525, Nashville, TN 37219.  Your full name and NCBE number must be included on the check or money order.  Please do not mail cash.
    • View Fee Schedule here.
Synergy Login

Upload Required Documents

  • PDF of your finalized NCBE application and attachments. 
  • Official NCBE score report sent directly from the NCBE that meets the following criteria:
  • Undergraduate transcripts for degrees earned (Bachelor’s Degree or higher)
    • Note- transcripts must be mailed or emailed directly from the school or transcript service to the TN BLE.  Electronic transcripts must be sent to BLE.Administrator@tncourts.gov.
    • Transcripts submitted by applicants will not be accepted.
    • Do not send a transcript from every school you attended; only send transcripts from those schools where a degree was conferred.
  • Law Degree Verification and Certificate of Dean of Law School form from every law school attended
    • Prepare a Law Degree Verification form for each law school attended, even if you did not graduate/earn a degree at the law school.
    • For each law school, complete the Authorization and Release, have it notarized, and send all pages, including instructions, to the law school dean for completion.
    • The Law Degree Verification form must either be uploaded by your law school using the link provided or mailed directly from your law school to the TN BLE 
  • Current resume (PDF format)

Upload Proof of U.S. Citizenship or Status as Qualified Alien

Applicants for a license and admission to practice law in Tennessee must be a United States citizen or a qualified alien as defined in Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-58-102(3). You are required to provide proof of U.S. citizenship or status as a qualified alien by uploading one or more of the following documents to “Applicant Additional Information” in your Synergy application:

Proof of U.S. citizenship- provide one of the following documents:

  • U.S. Passport;
  • A certified copy of birth certificate;
  • Copy of certificate of naturalization (Form N-550 or N-570); or
  • Certificate of citizenship (N-560 or N-561) or naturalization certificate number

Proof of status as a qualified alien- provide at least one but preferably two of the following unexpired documents (unless noted otherwise):

  • Alien Number (A-number)/USCIS Number, a receipt number on an I-797 Notice of
    Action form, or a SEVIS ID number;
  • Permanent Resident Card (Green Card) – Form I-551 which can include Form N-
    400 – Application for Naturalization; Form I-75 – Petition to Remove Conditions on
    Residence or Form I-829 – Petition by Investor to Remove Condition on Permanent Resident Status showing extension of otherwise expired Green Card;
  • Form I-797 Notice of Action, including Forms I-797 A-F;
  • Foreign Passport with Temporary I-551 – Machine Readable Immigrant Visa that has been endorsed and has not expired;
  • Foreign Passport with Temporary I-551 – Permanent Resident Stamp;
  • Form I-94 – Arrival/Departure Record in either electronic or paper format and including the CBP Global Entry From I-94 and the paper form in Form I-797A;
  • Form I-327 – Permit to Re-Enter Travel Document;
  • Form I-571 – Refugee Travel Document;
  • Form I-766 – Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and, if expired, documentation showing that the validity period was automatically extended by DHS; or the EAD and Form I797 receipt notice for an EAD renewal that includes language extending the validity period of the EAD;
  • An unexpired Foreign Passport with an immigration stamp that has not expired;
  • Form I-20 – Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status for Academic and Language Students or for Vocational Students that has not expired;
  • Form DS-2019 – Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor Status; and/or
  • Form I-385 – Alien Booking Record that includes a parole stamp endorsed by a Customs and Border Protection or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer or a parole notation.

Note that Forms I-220A, Form I-220B, and Form I-862 are not identity documents and are not evidence of having an immigration status.

 

Other Documents That May Be Required

Upload any additional required documents.  See “Additional Requirements” below.

The official NCBE score report must demonstrate that:

  • Score was reported in another jurisdiction prior to submitting an application for admission pursuant to Rule 7, section 3.05;
  • Score is at least 270 (Legacy UBE) or 620 (NextGen UBE);
  • Score was earned in a single administration of the UBE; and
  • Score will not reach final score expiration, as defined in Rule 7, §§ 3.05 and 4.07, in less than 6 months from the date the Tennessee Synergy Application is filed and the fee is paid, whichever is latest.

Additional Requirements

If you were unsuccessful on the UBE 5 or more times before achieving a score eligible for transfer to Tennessee, you must either:

  • Provide proof that you used a review course for the exam in which you earned the successful score, or 
  • Explain what you changed in your study approach for the successful attempt.  

See Policy P-4.05(a)(3).

If you are licensed to practice law in another U.S. jurisdiction, you must provide certificates of admission to the highest court, you must provide Certification of Admission to the highest court of each state in which you are or were admitted, and Certification from the Disciplinary Authority of each state in which you are or were licensed and admitted attesting to your current standing and your disciplinary history.  

  •  Note that certification may take the form of one certificate or two, but must show the date of admission to the highest court and certify the applicant’s current standing (disciplinary and administrative, with disciplinary history) with the bar of each state in which the applicant is licensed.
  • A certificate from the state bar association is not sufficient unless the State Bar is the agency charged with maintaining the official admission and disciplinary records.

If you are licensed to practice law in a foreign (non-U.S.) jurisdiction, you must provide certificates of admission to the highest court, you must provide:

  • Certified copy of the record or license of the court that admitted you to practice; and
  • Three letters from attorneys in each country in which you are licensed who can verify that you are licensed and attest to your practice in that country, provided: 
    •  The letter must relate to your work with the recommender in the practice of law and,
    • If the letter is from a relative, the relationship must be disclosed in the letter. (Note that letters from an Applicant’s parents, grandparents, siblings or spouse who are practicing attorneys are not permitted). 
  • Documents not in English must include a translation to English by a certified translator and be provided with the original document.

See Rule 7 § 7.02 

If you attended a law school outside of Tennessee that was not accredited by an Approved Accreditor at the time of your graduation, you must provide:

  • Proof of bar examination passage in state in which the law school is located- in the form of a score report or letter from the appropriate authority in the jurisdiction in which you were educated certifying that you were successful on the examination;
  • Information sufficient for the Board to determine that your law school was approved in the state in which it is located by an authority similar to the TN BLE; and
  • Documentation that the curriculum offered is equivalent to a three-year course of study that is substantially equivalent to the legal education provided by approved law schools located in Tennessee. Distance, on-line, or other instruction that is not in-person will be accepted as part of the curriculum at a law school approved by an Approved Accreditor or a Tennessee-approved law school only to the extent permitted under Definition 8 and Standards 306, 311, and 511 of the Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools promulgated by the Council of the ABA Sect9ion of Legal Admissions to the Bar, or up to 100% of the curriculum for law schools approved by the Approved Accreditor to offer distance-learning programs that are fully remote.

If you graduated from an unaccredited undergraduate school or have a foreign undergraduate degree, you must request a waiver of the accreditation requirement. See Rule 7 §2.01(c).

  • For foreign-educated applicants without a J.D. from a law school accredited by an Approved Accreditor or a Tennessee-approved law school, the documents listed in Policy P-3.01(c)(8).

If you received your legal education outside the United States and do not have a J.D. from a law school accredited by an Approved Accreditor or a Tennessee-approved law school,, you must submit the documents listed in Policy P-3.01(c)(8). See the Foreign Education page. 

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Supervised Practice

Recent law school graduates who have applied for admission in Tennessee may register to practice under supervision pursuant to Rule 7 §10.04.

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Practice Pending Admission

Applicants who are licensed and in good standing in another U.S. jurisdiction who apply for admission in Tennessee may register to practice pending admission under Rule 7 § 10.07

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Frequently Asked Questions

If you are licensed, active, and in good standing in another U.S. jurisdiction, an interview is generally not required, but may be directed at the discretion of the Board.

Your Character & Fitness interview is valid for 2 years. If your interview occurred more than 2 years ago, a new interview is required.