New York State Board of Law Examiners

What New York State Board of Law Examiners does

The New York State Board of Law Examiners (BOLE) is a New York State government agency created by the State Legislature in 1894, operating under the oversight of the New York Court of Appeals, which appoints a five-member Board of attorneys to govern its operations. Its mandate is to administer the bar examination and certify candidates for admission to practice law in New York State. The agency runs the full bar admission pipeline, including eligibility determination, application processing, examination administration, and admissions on motion.

The Board's core product is the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE), administered twice yearly (last consecutive Tuesday and Wednesday of February and July), which combines the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), Multistate Essay Examination (MEE), and Multistate Performance Test (MPT). Supporting offerings include the New York Law Course (NYLC), the New York Law Exam (NYLE, administered via Examsoft), the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE), and UBE score transfer processing from other jurisdictions. In 2024 the Board processed 16,574 applications and examined 14,354 candidates, and in January 2025 the Court of Appeals announced the UBE will be replaced by the NextGen Bar Exam effective July 2028.

BOLE operates as a fee-funded state entity with a 17-person full-time staff in Albany, NY (~Corporate Plaza Building 3, 254 Washington Avenue Extension). Candidates register and manage applications through the BOLE Applicant Services Portal; examination results are released publicly via the Board's website. Core delivery remains paper-based (question booklets and scantron) for the UBE, with digital delivery only for the NYLE. The agency is governed by statute, with no private ownership, funding rounds, or equity activity.

Name

New York State Board of Law Examiners

Legal name

New York State Board of Law Examiners

Website

https://nybarexam.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1894

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The New York State Board of Law Examiners is a state government agency that administers the New York bar examination (UBE) twice yearly, along with the NYLE, NYLC, and MPRE, overseeing eligibility, application processing, and admission for candidates seeking to practice law in New York.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bar Examination Administration

NAICS

Regulation, Licensing, and Inspection of Miscellaneous Commercial Sectors (926150)

akta.pro primary industry

Professional & Occupational Licensing Examination Authorities (EDADAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

National/State Examination Boards & Testing Agencies (EDADAFAA)

Keywords

• Bar examination administration
• Attorney bar admission
• Legal licensing services
• UBE score transfer
• Professional responsibility exam

Headquarters

HQ city

Albany

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The New York State Board of Law Examiners (BOLE) administers the New York State bar examination, which consists of the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) comprising the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), Multistate Essay Examination (MEE), and Multistate Performance Test (MPT), administered twice yearly in February and July. The Board also administers the New York Law Course (NYLC), the New York Law Exam (NYLE) via Examsoft, and facilitates the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE), while processing UBE score transfers from other jurisdictions. In 2024, it processed 16,574 applications and examined 14,354 applicants for admission to the New York bar.

Product overview

The New York State Board of Law Examiners (BOLE) administers a multi-component bar examination and admission system. The core offering is the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE), which combines the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), Multistate Essay Examination (MEE), and Multistate Performance Test (MPT). Supporting the UBE are the New York Law Course (NYLC), which provides state-specific legal education materials, and the New York Law Exam (NYLE), a state-specific assessment. Candidates access all services through the BOLE Applicant Services Portal. The Board also facilitates the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE). The Board will transition from the UBE to the NextGen Bar Exam beginning July 2028.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) The primary bar examination administered twice yearly (February and July), consisting of the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), Multistate Essay Examination (MEE), and Multistate Performance Test (MPT). Required for admission to practice law in New York State. In 2024, 16,574 applications were processed and 14,354 applicants examined.
• New York Law Course (NYLC) A mandatory online course covering New York-specific law that law school graduates must complete as part of New York bar admission requirements. Access to course materials is provided through the BOLE Applicant Services Portal.
• New York Law Exam (NYLE) A state-specific examination administered by BOLE testing knowledge of New York law and procedures. The NYLE is administered separately from the UBE using Examsoft software; applicants must purchase, download, and register the software to sit for the exam.
• BOLE Applicant Services Portal Online portal where bar examination candidates create accounts, register for exams, access examination results, withdraw from examinations, manage their applications, and access examination-related services and materials.
• Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) A standardized, separate examination testing knowledge of professional responsibility standards that candidates must pass as part of bar admission requirements in New York.

Quantifiable outcome

• Processed 16,574 bar exam applications and examined 14,354 applicants in 2024

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE): Develops and owns the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), MEE, and MPT components that BOLE administers, and is the central body coordinating the UBE and the upcoming NextGen Bar Exam — directly comparable as the upstream testing authority serving every U.S. jurisdiction.
• State Bar of California: Administers the California Bar Examination, the largest U.S. state bar admission program by volume; structurally identical to BOLE in mandate (state-level attorney licensing examination) and scope (twice-yearly in-person administration, multi-component exam).
• Illinois Board of Law Examiners: State agency that administers the Illinois bar examination and admits attorneys to practice in Illinois; a directly comparable peer in function, governance, and UBE administration model.
• Texas Board of Law Examiners: State agency responsible for administering the Texas bar examination and admitting attorneys in Texas; a directly comparable state-level bar examining board with the same statutory oversight and operational model as BOLE.
• Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners: Administers the Pennsylvania bar examination and oversees admission of attorneys in Pennsylvania; directly comparable state-level peer with parallel structure to BOLE.
• Florida Board of Bar Examiners: Administers the Florida Bar Examination and processes attorney admissions for Florida; directly comparable state-level peer with identical mandate and similar application/examination throughput scale.
• Massachusetts Board of Bar Examiners: Administers the Massachusetts bar examination; a directly comparable state-level bar examining board with the same statutory role of vetting candidates for attorney admission in its jurisdiction.
• New Jersey Board of Bar Examiners: Administers the New Jersey bar examination; a directly comparable Northeast regional state-level bar examining authority, structurally identical to BOLE.

Others

• ExamSoft: Software platform already integrated with BOLE for the NYLE component of the New York bar admission process; an enabling technology vendor whose secure exam delivery software underpins part of BOLE's assessment infrastructure.

Broad incumbents

• National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME): Develops and administers the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) and other high-stakes professional licensure assessments; comparable as a broader professional licensure examination authority operating at greater scale across healthcare.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/new-york-state-board-of-law-examiners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about New York State Board of Law Examiners