Deadlines are approaching for those applying to take the February 2014 bar examination as well as second-year law students needing to file the application to register as a candidate for admission.

Ohio Supreme Court Bar Admissions Director Lee Ann Ward said the deadline for applicants wanting to file an application to take the bar examination is Friday, November 1 for the February 2014 bar examination, which will be administered February 25, 26, and 27, 2014. She said anyone filing an application between November 2 and December 10 will have to pay a late fee.

Ward said there is a separate filing deadline on November 20 for applicants who did not receive a passing score on the July 2013 exam. For this group, Ward said late fees would apply if they file between November 21 and December 10. No applications for the February 2014 bar exam are accepted after December 10.

Additionally, students in their second year of law school have until November 15 to file the application to register as a candidate for admission to practice law.

Ward said applying for the bar examination in Ohio is a two-step process.

“The first step is filing the application to register as a candidate for admission,” she said. “The filing of this application sets in motion the applicant’s character and fitness investigation – an investigation that must be completed before an applicant can sit for the bar exam. The second-year filing deadline generally provides enough time for a thorough and thoughtful review without running up against bar exam deadlines.”

Ward said applications filed past the second-year deadline are subject to late fees in addition to the risk of not completing the character and fitness review before the bar exam the applicant wishes to take.

Detailed information on the bar admissions process is available on the Office of Bar Admissions website.