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RULES, PROCEDURES, AND INSTRUCTIONS
FOR THE JULY 2022 GEORGIA BAR EXAMINATION
Instructions specific to laptop testing are indicated in purple throughout this document.
The Georgia Board of Bar Examiners and The Supreme Court of Georgia Office of Bar Admissions continue to plan for an in-person administration of the bar exam on July 26-27,
- We anticipate that face masks covering the nose and mouth will be optional for the exam. Applicants may also wear a mask clip/“ear protector,” provided that it may not cover the ears. In addition, applicants will be required to attest to not having any of the symptoms of COVID- 19 on both days of testing; except that applicants who have a cough, congestion, or runny nose (but not other symptoms) alternatively will be able to present either proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test or nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) taken at a laboratory or point-of-care setting (i.e., not a home test) conducted no earlier than July 21, 2022. Applicants will be permitted to bring into the Exam Room a personal-sized container of hand sanitizer with the label removed. Hand sanitation stations are also located throughout the Convention Center, including within the Exam Room.
While it is possible that a significant change in public health guidance could require a switch to a remotely-administered exam, we do not anticipate that such a change will be required. We appreciate the trust that our applicants have placed in us, and we will be guided in our decision-making by our commitment to host an exam that is fair and equitable and that also takes into account the health and safety of our applicants.
LOCATION OF THE EXAM/PARKING/HOTELS
The Georgia Bar Exam will be administered at the Georgia International Convention Center (“GICC”), which is located at 2000 Convention Center Concourse, College Park, Georgia
- Parking will be in Lots A-E (which are conjoined lots on the north side of the GICC), and the $10 parking fee may be paid by credit or debit card (no cash). The GICC is also accessible via the ATL SkyTrain. Plan your trip before exam day so that you will arrive on time to the exam. For more information about getting to the GICC, go to 31TU www.gicc.com/getting-hereU31T.
There are several hotels within walking distance of the GICC. You are responsible for making hotel reservations, and we recommend that you do this as soon as possible. For reservation links, go to 31Thttps://www.gicc.com/planners/accommodations/31T.
EXAM DATES
The two-day Georgia Bar Exam will be administered on Tuesday, July 26 and Wednesday, July 27, 2022. The one-day Georgia Attorneys’ Exam will be administered on Tuesday, July 26, 2022.
NO CELL PHONES, WATCHES, OR OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES
You are prohibited from having a cell phone, watch, or any other electronic device (other than your registered laptop) in the Exam Room. Digital clocks with the official time will be displayed in the Exam Room. You can view a picture of the Exam Room (with the three
digital clocks visible at the front of the room) by clicking 31 There31T. Oral notifications will be provided 45 minutes, 10 minutes, and 1 minute before time is called for each Exam Session.
REQUIRED ITEMS
- You are required to bring an official photo ID and place it on your table, directly below your name card, during each Exam Session. Acceptable forms of ID include a driver’s license, a passport, or other government-issued photo ID. The name on your photo ID must match the name under which you filed your application.
- Laptop computers on Tuesday: If you are taking the Exam on a laptop, you must bring your registered laptop computer, laptop power cord, and standard extension cord on Tuesday only. You will not have to rely upon your battery. Electrical connections will be supplied at each table. It is your responsibility to ensure your laptop is in working order prior to the Exam.
- Black ink pens on Tuesday: All applicants will need a black pen to sign documents during the pre-exam instructions. If you are handwriting your answers, you will also use black pens to write your MPT and Essay answers.
- Pencils on Wednesday: Non-mechanical #2 pencils are required for the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), and mechanical pencils are prohibited. The MBE is administered with paper answer sheets, and laptops are not allowed on Wednesday. Pencil sharpeners are not provided; however, you may bring a manual (not battery operated) pencil sharpener.
ALLOWED ITEMS
- Up to two KN-95 or N-95 face masks and a mask clip/“ear protector.”
- Personal-sized container of hand sanitizer with the label removed.
- Pencil sharpeners (Wednesday only).
- Water in clear, plastic, unlabeled bottles.
- Clear zip-top bag for laptop computer. (Alternatively, you may carry your laptop into the Exam Room in your hands.)
- Clear zip-top bag for personal items (wallet, vaccination card/proof of negative COVID test, cash, credit card, parking claim ticket, keys, key fob, personal hygiene items, and medications).
The NCBE prohibits applicants from bringing their own ear plugs into the Exam Room, but foam ear plugs will be provided.
NO FOOD, SNACKS, OR DRINKS
The Board of Bar Examiners and NCBE do not allow you to bring food, snacks, or drinks of any kind other than water, as described above, into the Exam Room unless an administrative accommodation has been pre-approved by the Office of Bar Admissions. Water must be in clear, plastic, unlabeled bottles. Prohibited items must be placed in the black bins outside the Exam Room, and the Board of Bar Examiners and Office of Bar Admissions assume no
NO SMOKING
The GICC is a non-smoking facility. Smoking, vaping, and the use of smokeless tobacco is not permitted.
DRESS CODE, CLOTHING, AND CLIMATE CONTROL
Casual, comfortable clothing is appropriate. You should consider layered clothing, as we have little control over fluctuating temperatures in the Exam Room, and some applicants find the Exam Room to be cool. Coats, jackets, and any other outerwear will be checked for prohibited items before you are permitted to enter the Exam Room.
Do not wear perfumes, colognes, scented powders, or any other fragrant substance, as there may be those taking the exam who have allergies aggravated by these scents. Wear quiet shoes with soft soles, as you may have to walk across the Exam Room to the restrooms during the Exam. Do not wear backless shoes, including flip-flops.
ADMISSION TO THE EXAM ROOM
- Registration Verification:^ Applicants who have registered for the Bar Exam will receive a registration confirmation message on their homepage the week of July 4, 2022. Admission tickets are not issued, but applicants who have not registered for the Exam will not be seated.
- Seating: All seats are preassigned alphabetically with a name card at each seat. You must sit in your assigned seat throughout the entire exam. Charts indicating the Row Number on which your seat is located will be posted in the lobby outside the Exam Room. Inside the Exam Room, row numbers are posted on the front table of each row and on paddles held by the row monitors.
- Laptop Applicants (Tuesday): On Tuesday, you will be admitted to the Exam Room at 8:00 a.m. All removable media must be removed from your laptop prior to entering the Exam Room. Upon admission, you should locate your seat and place your photo ID on the table directly below your name card. Follow the Examplify Instructions placed at your seat. Laptop Instructions will begin at 8:15 a.m. Any Laptop Applicant arriving after 8:15 a.m. will not be admitted to the Exam Room until 8:55 a.m. and will be required to handwrite the MPT and Essay portions of the exam.
- Handwriting Applicants (Tuesday): On Tuesday, you will be admitted to the Exam Room at 8:55 a.m. Upon admission, you should locate your assigned seat and place your photo ID on the table, directly below your name card. All applicants must be seated when instructions begin at 9:00 a.m.
- All Applicants (Tuesday and Wednesday): For the morning sessions, there will be no admission to the Exam Room after 10:00 a.m. For the afternoon sessions, there will be no admission to the Exam Room after 2:30 p.m.
- All Applicants (Wednesday): All Applicants will be admitted to the Exam Room at 9: a.m. and must be seated when Exam Instructions begin at 9:05 a.m.
ANONYMOUS GRADING PLAN
You must not write your name on any MPT or Essay testing materials. Until the completion of grading, exam answers will be identifiable only by Applicant Number. You will be provided with labels containing your Applicant Number, and oral instructions will be provided about how to place those labels on your exam materials.
COMPOSITION OF GEORGIA TWO-DAY EXAM
The Georgia Bar Exam consists of three parts: (1) two Multistate Performance Tests prepared by the NCBE and graded by the Board of Bar Examiners; (2) four essay questions prepared and graded by the Board of Bar Examiners; and (3) the Multistate Bar Examination prepared and graded by the NCBE.
COMPOSITION OF GEORGIA ATTORNEYS’ EXAM
The Georgia Attorneys’ Bar Exam is composed of two Multistate Performance Tests prepared by the NCBE and graded by the Board of Bar Examiners and four essay questions prepared and graded by the Board of Bar Examiners.
MPT ITEMS AND ESSAY QUESTIONS – HANDWRITING APPLICANTS
You are limited to the use of one Answer Book per MPT item and Essay question. The Board of Bar Examiners will furnish one 12-page letter-size Answer Book for each MPT item and one 9-page letter-size Answer Book for each Essay question. You must write on the front of the page only. You are prohibited from adding additional pages or writing in the margins.
MPT ITEMS AND ESSAY QUESTIONS – LAPTOP APPLICANTS
Your laptop must remain in the Exam Room the entire length of the MPT and Essay portions of the Bar Exam.
MBE – ALL APPLICANTS
Wednesday is devoted entirely to the MBE, which consists of a morning session of 100 questions and an afternoon session of 100 questions. The MBE is administered with paper answer sheets, and laptops are not allowed on Wednesday.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
It is your responsibility to ensure that your laptop is dependable and that it is in working order prior to the exam. ExamSoft site engineers will provide limited technical support during the Laptop Set-Up Instructions.
PROBLEMS WITH YOUR LAPTOP
Do NOT turn off your laptop unless you are required to do so based on the instructions included in the “Technical Issues” section of the Examplify Instructions, which will be placed at your seat on the day of the Bar Exam.
OATH OF APPLICANT
By taking the Georgia Bar Exam, you will be deemed to have sworn to or affirmed the following:
I solemnly swear or affirm that I have no previous information as to the contents of the questions upon which I have been examined and that I have not received directly or indirectly, from any source whatever, any assistance, but that I wrote the answer exclusively from my knowledge.
GRADING
Raw scores on the MPT items will be multiplied by 1.5 and added to raw scores on the essay questions. Total raw scores on the written portion of the Exam will be converted to the 200- point MBE scale and then combined with the scaled MBE score to obtain a final score. A score of 270 is required to pass the Exam.
NO CONTACTING THE BOARD MEMBERS
You are prohibited from contacting any member of the Board to Determine Fitness of Bar Applicants or any member of the Board of Bar Examiners about the Bar Exam.
NOTIFICATION OF RESULTS
All Applicants will receive written notification of their Bar Exam results. July Bar Exam results are usually released on the 3P^ rdP Friday of October. The pass list will be posted on our web site no later than 4:00 p.m. on the scheduled release date.
INCLEMENT WEATHER
In the event of inclement weather, the Georgia Bar Exam will proceed as scheduled as long as the GICC remains open, and we will notify you on our website (31Twww.gabaradmissions.org31T) if the GICC is closed. If severe weather is predicted for the days of the Bar Exam, please plan accordingly. Late applicants will not be allowed to make up any time lost.
In the event of a power outage during the exam that requires the use of the Convention Center’s generator, all applicants may be required to handwrite the remainder of the MPT/Essay portion of the Bar Exam in the Answer Books that will be distributed by the Office of Bar Admissions.
EXAM SCHEDULE
TUESDAY
MPT ITEMS AND ESSAYS
WEDNESDAY
MBE
Laptop Applicants Admitted
Laptop Applicants Must Be Seated
Laptop Set Up Instructions
Handwriting Applicants Admitted
Morning Instructions Begin
MORNING SESSION MPT Items 1 and 2 (no breaks between items)
8:00 am
8:10 am
8:15 am
8:55 am
9:00 am
9:30 am – 12:30 pm
No Admission after 10:00 am
Admission to Exam Room
Morning Instructions Begin
MORNING SESSION
9:00 am
9:05 am
9:30 am – 12:30 pm
No Admission after 10:00 am
LUNCH (Laptops must remain in Exam Room) LUNCH
Readmission to Exam Room
Afternoon Instructions Begin
AFTERNOON SESSION Essay Questions I, II, III, and IV (no breaks between questions)
1:40 pm
1:50 pm
2:00 – 5:00 pm
No Admission after 2:30 pm
Readmission to Exam Room
Afternoon Instructions Begin
AFTERNOON SESSION
1:40 pm
1:45 pm
2:00 – 5:00 pm
No Admission after 2:30 pm
Deadline to Upload MPT and Essay Answer Files from Laptop: Thursday at 12:00 Noon
All posted times are Eastern Time. Oral notifications will be provided 45 minutes, 10 minutes, and 1 minute before time is called for each Exam Session.
