                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

PRELIMINARY PROOF OF EDUCATION REQUIRED OF APPLICANT (§ 54.1-3926)

Before an applicant will be permitted to take any examination under this
article, the applicant shall furnish to the Board satisfactory evidence that he
has:

1. Satisfactorily completed legal studies amounting to at least five semesters,
or the equivalent of at least five semesters on a system other than a semester
system, of full-time study at a law school approved by the American Bar
Association or the Board;

2. Received a bachelor&#8217;s, master&#8217;s, or doctoral degree from an
institution of higher education accredited by an accreditor recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education and studied law for three years, consisting of not
less than 18 hours per week for at least 40 weeks per year, in the office of an
attorney practicing in the Commonwealth, whose full time is devoted to the
practice of law;

3. Studied law for at least three years partly in a law school approved by the
American Bar Association or the Board and partly, for not less than 18 hours per
week for at least 40 weeks per year, in the office of an attorney practicing in
the Commonwealth whose full time is devoted to the practice of law;

4. Received a bachelor&#8217;s, master&#8217;s, or doctoral degree from an
institution of higher education accredited by an accreditor recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education and studied law for three years, consisting of not
less than 18 hours per week for at least 40 weeks per year, with a retired
circuit court judge who served the Commonwealth as a circuit court judge for a
minimum of 10 years and who at the time of commencement of the three-year study
period was retired for not more than five years; or

5. Completed all degree requirements from a law school not approved by the
American Bar Association, including a foreign law school, obtained an LL.M. from
a law school approved by the American Bar Association, and been admitted to
practice law before the court of last resort in any state or territory of the
United States or the District of Columbia.
			The attorney in whose office or the judge with whom the applicant intends to
study shall be approved by the Board, which shall prescribe reasonable
conditions as to the course of study.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 54-62; 1952, c. 553; 1960, c. 379; 1980, c. 533; 1988, c.
765; 1995, c. 336; 1998, cc. 119, 796; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 296; 2022, c. 148;
2025, c. 39.