Testing Accommodations

Please read and follow these Guidelines. An applicant must follow these Guidelines carefully or risk receiving a notice of incomplete, and the applicant may not have enough time to rectify the deficiencies before the deadline expires.

The Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, an independent office of the Colorado Supreme Court, works to protect and promote the public’s interest. The Colorado Office of Attorney Admissions (“OAA”) within the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel has a mission to protect the public, which includes the following primary functions: licensing of attorneys and licensed legal paraprofessionals (“LLPs”); the advancement of the ethical and competent practice of law; and supporting efforts for greater access to, and inclusion in, the legal system.

In pursuing these functions and the regulatory objectives set forth by the Colorado Supreme Court, the OAA administers the Uniform Bar Examination (“UBE”) created by the National Conference of Bar Examiners twice a year. The UBE provides a score that a jurisdiction such as Colorado can use to determine competency to practice law. A UBE score achieved in Colorado also can be used for admission in other jurisdictions, subject to the rules and policies of those jurisdictions. The OAA additionally administers the LLP Exam, which is used to determine competency to practice a limited scope of family law. Both exams are administered on a schedule announced on the OAA website.

The OAA is committed to providing access to its programs and services to individuals with documented disabilities. A disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities compared to most people in the general population. At the same time, the OAA is committed to ensuring that the security, integrity, and validity of its examinations are not compromised, and that decisions about the administration of each exam are fair to the applicant pool. Likewise, the OAA is committed to ensuring that all individuals licensed to be attorneys or LLPs meet the essential eligibility requirements set forth at C.R.C.P. 208.1(5).

The following information is provided for exam (also referred to as test) applicants, evaluators, educators, and others involved in the process for test accommodations. We strongly recommend applicants seeking a test accommodation share this information with anyone who is providing supporting documentation so the appropriate documentation can be assembled.

Approved accommodations are provided at no additional cost to the applicant.

Accommodations process: Two tracks

Regardless of process, complete accommodations documentation must be received by the OAA by the following deadlines. Instructions on how to submit your accommodation documents are included at the bottom of this webpage. OAA reviews documentation on a case-by-case basis, in the order in which they are received.

Many applicants with disabilities need only modest accommodations in order to meet their access needs, and these can be reviewed and approved more quickly and easily. The emphasis in the STREAMLINED PROCESS is to gather documentation from organizations and/or professionals who know an applicant well that demonstrates the applicant’s ongoing, continued need for accommodations in order to reduce common barriers to access.

Other applicants with disabilities may have more extensive accommodations needs; these individuals may have a larger volume of documentation to review, and there may be complex accommodations implementation considerations. These applicants will need to follow the STANDARD PROCESS and provide sufficient documentation to allow the OAA to fully understand their access needs.

For purposes of these Guidelines, relevant documentation is broken down into the following categories:

• Category A (documentation from a professional who knows the applicant well),
• Category B (documentation of certain types of prior accommodations),
• Category C (documentation of prior accommodations from institutions of higher education), and
• Category D (medical evaluation(s)).

The OAA’s licensure exams are administered in group settings with human proctors, with restrictions on what items applicants can take into the exam room. The exams have set schedules and standardized procedures to take the exam, and all exam materials must be visible to proctors and are subject to inspection at any time.

The Legacy UBE consists of three parts administered over four sessions, for a total standard test time of 12 hours over two days (the last Tuesday and Wednesday in the months of February and July; an exam will never start on a Monday):

• The Multistate Essay Exam (3-hour session), for which standard test-takers may use a laptop or handwrite using a supplied pen and paper. It is administered on Tuesday morning, the first day of the exam.
• The Multistate Performance Test (3-hour session), for which standard test-takers may use a laptop or handwrite using a supplied pen and paper. It is administered on Tuesday afternoon, the first day of the exam.
• The Multistate Bar Exam (two 3-hour sessions), for which standard test-takers must use supplied pencils and paper scantron (bubble) sheets. It is administered during both the morning and afternoon sessions on Wednesday, the second day of the exam.

The LLP Exam consists of three parts administered over three sessions, for a total standard test time of 6 hours in a single day:

• The LLP family law essay portion of the exam (1.5-hour session), for which standard test-takers may use a laptop or handwrite using a supplied pen and paper. It is administered as the first test of the day.
• The LLP ethics exam (1.5-hour session), for which standard test-takers must use supplied pencil and paper scantron (bubble) sheet. It is administered as the second test of the day.
• The LLP family law exam, multiple choice portion (3-hour session), for which standard test-takers must use supplied pencil and paper scantron (bubble) sheet. It is administered as the third test of the day.

Other things to note

1. Communication with the OAA regarding the applicant’s accommodations documentation.

• General inquiries regarding accommodations: All accommodations inquiries must be made in writing via email to bleinfo@csc.state.co.us, Attn: Testing Accommodations. The OAA does not discuss accommodations inquiries over the phone.

2. Confidentiality. As to the need for the accommodation, the OAA staff will ONLY communicate with the applicant, any consultants employed by OAA, and any third party that the applicant has identified in supporting documentation or the applicant otherwise allows the OAA to speak with, as necessary. The OAA does not discuss accommodations issues with anyone else, including parents. The OAA reserves the right to contact the third parties identified by the applicant or any professional consultant retained by the OAA to assist in reviewing the applicant’s documentation.

3. Documentation.

• All information provided by the applicant in their accommodations submission, including evidence of prior accommodations and medical treatment provider documents, will be subject to verification.
• Falsified documentation, fraudulently created or procured documentation, or documentation obtained through means prohibited by law will be grounds for denial of accommodations and for a Character and Fitness investigation.

4. Professionalism. Communications should be courteous and professional. Any applicant (or an advocate of an applicant) who engages in verbal abuse, uses profanity or threatening language, or is otherwise unprofessional, may forfeit their right to participate in any OAA service or program, regardless of disability status.