Court of Appeals Enacts Amendments to Rule Governing Bar Admissions

Court of Appeals Enacts Amendments to Rule Governing Bar Admissions

March 26, 2026

On March 26, 2026, the D.C. Court of Appeals announced that it will adopt proposed amendments to D.C. App. Rule 46 governing admissions to the D.C. Bar. First, to become a member of the D.C. Bar without examination in this jurisdiction or transfer a bar exam score, an attorney must now have actively practiced law as a member in good standing of another bar in the United States for at least three of the five years preceding their application. The previous requirement was limited to being a member of another bar for at least three years prior to applying. Second, the court has deleted now-outdated provisions relating to applications filed before March 31, 2022, because of the shift to the Uniform Bar Examination. Finally, the court deleted a section on credits from law schools approved by the ABA.

The court opened the amendments for public comment in February 2026 and did not receive any comments. View the announcement and redlined version here. The enacted revisions will take effect on April 24, 2026.