Colorado Supreme Court
Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel
Promoting Professionalism. Protecting the Public.
Submission Deadlines:
Non-Standard Testing Accommodation: Applicants requesting accommodations are subject to the same application deadlines as all other applicants. Plan to submit your accommodation request when you submit your application for the bar exam and no later than the deadlines below.
February Bar Exam:
November 1 for timely application submissions, including re-applications from unsuccessful applicants from most recent July exam
December 1 for late application submissions
July Bar Exam:
April 1 for timely application submissions
May 1 for late application submissions
May 31 ONLY for re-applications from unsuccessful applicants from the most recent February exam
IMPORTANT: OAA encourages applicants to prepare their request for accommodation far in advance of their desired exam administration, and no later than the Submission Dates, in order to facilitate a timely notification of the decision. Applicants will be notified by OAA if additional documentation is required to complete the request for accommodation.
Courtesy Accommodation for a Health-Related Condition: Submissions deadlines are the same dates listed above. Requests submitted after the filing deadline for a health-related condition or injury that was unknown at the time of the filing deadline will also be considered but could be denied.
TESTING ACCOMMODATIONS
Applicants applying to take the Colorado Bar Examination may request accommodations. Please review the below sections on types of accommodations and eligibility.
Type 1 - Non-Standard Testing Accommodations (NST)
It is the policy of The Colorado Supreme Court Office of Attorney Admissions (OAA) to provide non-standard testing accommodations (NST) to applicants with disabilities for the bar examination to the extent such accommodations are timely requested, reasonable, not unduly burdensome, consistent with the nature and purpose of the examination and necessitated by the applicant's disability.
A disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities. In the bar examination setting, the impairment must limit an applicant’s ability to demonstrate, under standard testing conditions, that the applicant possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities tested on the bar examination. Types of disabilities include:
AND
For a NST request to be granted, the applicant and their medical personnel must establish that the disability impacts a major life activity. Major life activities include, but are not limited to, caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working.
Please carefully review OAA’s General Instructions for Requesting Non-Standard Test Accommodations for all definitions, requirements, and procedures for requesting and submitting NST accommodations on the bar exam.
Applicants submitting a Non-Standard Testing Accommodation Request will need to complete Form 1, the Form associated with their type of disability and Form 7 if applicable. Substantiating documentation evidencing the need for a non-standard test accommodation is required. This process may take an applicant a long time to obtain. Applicants are encouraged to start completing and gathering the required documents as soon as possible.
Please see notice below concerning the submission of documents in digital format.
If you have a general question about the NST application process, contact our Office by using the Messaging Center in your online admission application account. Please do not email specific questions or concerns about the merits of your application or re-application, or the merits of the OAA’s determination letter. Other than your name and NCBE number, do not include any confidential or personal identifying information in any email sent and do not attach ANY documents, including application documents, to any email.
Request for Non-Standard Testing Accommodations – General Instructions
Form 1 – Request for Non-Standard Testing Accommodations - Required for every Testing Accommodation Request
Form 2 – Learning Disability Verification
Form 3 – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Verification
Form 4 – Psychological Disability Verification
Form 5 – Visual Disability Verification
Form 6 – Physical Disability Verification
Form 7 – Accommodation History Certification
Non-Standard Test Accommodation Appeals
An applicant whose request for non-standard testing accommodations was denied or only partially granted, may file an appeal with the Office of Attorney Admissions (OAA) within seven (7) days after receiving their determination letter. Applicants cannot appeal a re-application for non-standard testing accommodations or courtesy request determination. Applicants whose request for non-standard testing accommodations was rejected as incomplete or untimely do not have the ability to submit an appeal.
Please click here for additional information on the appeals process and instructions.
Type 2 – Re-Application for NST Accommodations
For applicants who have been previously granted accommodations by the Office of Attorney Admissions (OAA) within the last three years of the bar exam date in which an applicant is submitting their request may be eligible to submit a Re-Application for Non-Standard Accommodations Form ONLY IF the following standards are met:
AND
If you meet the aforementioned guidelines, please reference OAA’s Re-Application for NST Accommodations – General Instructions to submit a re-application request.
Re-Application for NST Accommodations – General Instructions
Re-Application for NST Accommodations Form
Type 3 - Courtesy Request for a Health-Related Condition
Upon completion and submission of the Courtesy Request form, OAA will provide courtesies for health-related conditions. Courtesy requests must be such that they do not alter or deviate from the standard exam testing schedule at the main site location.
Courtesy requests may be requested when:
Requests submitted after the filing deadline for a health-related condition or injury that was unknown at the time of the filing deadline will also be considered but could be denied.
Please reference OAA’s Courtesy Request – General Instructions to submit a courtesy request.
Courtesy Request – General Instructions
NOTICE CONCERNING THE SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTS IN DIGITAL FORMAT
OAA will only accept documentation in digital format using Citrix ShareFile®. Upon submitting documents to OAA in digital format, an applicant is representing that each digitized document is a complete and accurate representation of the original document. OAA reserves the right to request production of the original of any uploaded document. Do not upload accommodation or courtesy request paperwork to your online admissions application.
To obtain access to ShareFile, once your bar exam application has been submitted, please timely contact our Office using the Messaging center in your online admissions application account and request a ShareFile link to upload your accommodations request. Supplemental information must be submitted digitally.