Announcements

Accommodation Request Instructions

Accommodation Request Instructions

The information that follows is intended to help applicants complete a request for accommodations for the July 2024 bar examination. In order to submit a request, applicants must first register as an applicant who will seek accommodations. Upon selecting this option in the registration process, Document 1 of the ADA Accommodation Packet will be prepopulated on the User Homepage for the applicant. There is no other location in which an applicant may receive document 1.  However, you will need to use the the Browse Forms link (4th link under Bar Examination heading in the Applications & Information Page of the Admissions Web Portal) and print the relevant remaining Accommodation Forms related to your particular condition. These instructions include hyperlinks to all possible forms, and will help you identify which forms are needed for a complete submission. The deadline to submit a timely accommodations request that will be part of the Oregon Bar Exam plan is April 15, 2024.

IMPORTANT PRELIMINARY NOTES: Some of the required forms must be completed by third parties and returned to you for submission to the Board of Bar Examiners. Make certain to request completion of these forms by the third parties in a timely manner so that you are able to submit your request by the deadline. Accommodations are tested at a different site than standard testing examinees. The site is near Portland, Oregon; thus, if you are awarded accommodations, know that you will have to make arrangements for travel to Portland, and secure lodging for the days of your examination. The following structure applies to requests for additional testing time: (1) Applicants receiving 100% - 133% of standard time (an additional 0% - 33% time) will take a two-day exam that has the exam day start at approximately 7:00 AM with each exam day ending at approximately 5:30 PM; (2) Applicants receiving approximately 150% of standard time (an additional 50% of testing time) will take a three-day exam, with the first two exam days beginning at approximately 6:45 AM and ending at approximately 5:00 PM. The third day will start at the same time as the first two days, but the day will end at approximately 1:15 PM; and (3) Examinees receiving more than 150% time will have a four-day exam, where the exam days start at approximately 8:00 AM and end at approximately 4:30 PM.  Finally, examinees with three and four day exams will have their MBE sessions split into four sessions of 50 questions each.  At the end of sessions two and four, applicants will take approximately 15-minutes to transfer their bubbled answers from the current session to the answer sheets from the earlier applicable session so that the NBCE need only score on scantron sheet for the 100-questions applicable to their split sessions. Applicant's whose condition or disability makes such score transfers extremely difficult should request assistance with this process as part of their accommodation packet.   

Step 1: Disability Verification Form. Locate the correct Disability Verification Form based on your applicable condition or disability. Complete the top portion yourself, and have a qualified medical professional complete the remainder of the form and return it to you for submission to the Board of Bar Examiners. Your qualified medical professional should attach to the completed verification form a comprehensive evaluation report and/or relevant records, as specified in the form. Here are the links to the 5 different types of verification forms:

Doc 4 - Learning Disability Verification Form

Doc 5 - Attention Deficit - Hyperactivity Disorder - Verification Form

Doc 6 - Psychological Disability Verification Form

Doc 7 - Visual Disability Verification Form

Doc 8 - Physical Disability Verification Form

Step 2: Accommodations History. Gather documentation of your history of accommodations requests, if any. This should include Doc 2 - Law School Verification Form, as well as documentation from each educational institution or testing agency from which you requested accommodations, and whether the requests were granted or denied. Complete the top portion of the form and request that the entity complete the rest of the form and return it to you for inclusion in your packet. Alternatively, you may provide other proof of your accommodations history, such as a copy of the letter(s) you received from the entity notifying you of the specific accommodations granted or denied or some record from the institution that establishes the accommodations you received. The proof should identify the time frame (e.g., third year of law school) and the nature of the disability (e.g., AD/HD) for which any accommodations were granted or denied. If you received accommodations as a result of an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or a 504 Plan, please provide copies of all IEPs or 504 Plans. If one of the institutions you requested accommodations from was another State Bar, complete the top portion of Doc 3 - Statement of Jurisdiction Form, and send it to the relevant Jurisdiction for them to complete and send back to you.

Step 3: Education Transcripts/Testing Performance. If your disability affected your education, ability to learn or performance on tests, then provide transcripts and scores on all significant standardized tests. Attach copies of your undergraduate and law school transcripts and your LSAC Academic Summary Report. Photocopies of transcripts are acceptable for this purpose. You can obtain your LSAC Academic Summary Report by logging in to your LSAC account at www.lsac.org. Click on “Transcripts,” then click on “Academic Summary Report,” and print the report. If you have trouble obtaining the report, contact an LSAC representative at 215-968-1001. While not required, transcripts or report cards from elementary, middle school, and high school may be useful in providing evidence of symptoms and impairment present during childhood for developmental disorders, learning disorders and AD/HD.

Step 4: Documents Packet. In addition to the documents listed above, all applicants seeking accommodations must complete Doc 1 - Accommodation Request Form, which they can find at their User Homepage.  This will identify their condition, how it affects their daily life and states the specific accommodations that the applicant is requesting for the bar exam.

Complete and sign all relevant documents, and save as separate PDFs on your computer. Use the following naming nomenclature when saving the PDFs:

Doc 1: Request for Accommodations

Doc 2 (if applicable) School Verification.

Doc 3 (if applicable) “Jurisdiction Verification.

Docs 4 – 8 (whichever one is applicable) “Medical Professional Verification.

Step 5: Upload to Homepage. Upload the full accommodation request packet through the “Upload Document” button on your user homepage and identify documents using the naming scheme above. . You must upload your accommodation request packet before you submit your Exam Application; otherwise, you will not be permitted to submit your exam application, because it will be considered incomplete.  For our exam planning to be able accommodate all applicants with accommodations, we need to know at the early planning stages what accommodations will be sought and how many proctors we will need for the accommodated exams. If you are close to the filing deadline (April 15), you will need to submit at least Doc 1 as an initial submission, together with a written explanation of the actions you have taken in furtherance of Steps 1 – 3 above, and that you will provide the required documentation as soon as it is received from a third party.

We look forward to processing your accommodation requests in a fair and efficient manner.

OSB Admissions Staff