Charleston > Requirements

In addition to a bar examination, there are character, fitness, and other qualifications for admission to the bar in every U.S. jurisdiction. Applicants are encouraged to determine the requirements for any jurisdiction in which they intend to seek admission by contacting the jurisdiction. Addresses for all relevant agencies are available through the National Conference of Bar Examiners, www.ncbex.org.

When responding to the character and fitness questions below, you must:

include all disciplinary actions, charges, convictions, and traffic violations.
exclude warnings and parking tickets.
disclose all traffic violations to include those you consider to be minor.

In accordance with the application for admission to any Bar, you must provide a complete record of all instances in which you have been arrested or taken into custody or accused, formally or informally, of the violation of a law, including:

instances that have been expunged by Order of the Court.
juvenile offenses whether or not the records are sealed.
charges that have been dismissed or you were acquitted.
adjudication was withheld.
a conviction was reversed, set aside, or vacated.
the record was sealed or expunged.
you participated in a pretrial intervention program.
you were advised by a judge or attorney that you are not required to disclose.

If you answer "yes" to any of the following Character and Fitness questions, you must attach a detailed explanation for each of those questions providing dates, locations, charges, disposition, and any sanctions imposed. Including a copy of your driving record or criminal record without providing a detailed explanation is not sufficient. The explanation(s) must be submitted electronically as an attachment(s) under the "Attachments" section of your application.

Because of the high ethical standards to which lawyers are held, the failure to disclose an act or event such as the ones described below is often more significant and leads to more serious consequences than the act or event itself. If you have questions about whether an incident or charge should be disclosed, err on the side of full disclosure.

You have an ongoing duty to inform the Office of Admission of any changes in the information in this application and to the Character and Fitness questions to include any new information. That duty begins at the point of submission of the application and continues throughout the entirety of your law school career. Failure to provide truthful answers or failure to inform the Office of Admission of any changes or updates to your answers may result in revocation of admission, disciplinary action by the School of Law, recission of your law degree, and/or not being allowed to take the Bar Exam.

1. Have you ever been accused of a violation of an honor code or student conduct code by any educational institution since high school? You must answer ?yes? even if you were found not in violation.

Have you ever been placed on academic probation, academic warning, disciplinary probation, suspended, expelled, requested to withdraw, or otherwise subject to discipline by any educational institution since high school?

If you answer "yes", you must submit a statement providing the details, an explanation, and the outcome. The statement must be submitted electronically as an attachment under the "Attachments" section of this application.

Are there any disciplinary charges pending or expected to be brought against you at any educational institution since high school?

If you answer "yes", you must submit a statement providing the details, an explanation, and the outcome. The statement must be submitted electronically as an attachment under the "Attachments" section of this application.

Have you ever withdrawn from any educational institution since high school after being accused of an honor code or student conduct code violation?

If you answer "yes", you must submit a statement providing the details, an explanation, and the outcome. The statement must be submitted electronically as an attachment under the "Attachments" section of this application.

Have you ever been discharged from the Armed Forces other than honorably?

If you answer "yes", you must submit a statement providing details and an explanation. The detailed explanation must be submitted electronically as an attachment under the "Attachments" section of this application.

Have you ever been arrested or taken into custody?

If you answer "yes", you must submit a statement providing the details, an explanation, and the outcome. The detailed explanation must be submitted electronically as an attachment under the "Attachments" section of this application.

Have you ever received a ticket, summons, citation, etc. for any traffic violation? Do not include warnings or parking violations. This includes all traffic tickets (e.g., speeding). You must answer ?yes? even if you were found not guilty, you were a juvenile, the case was dismissed, a conviction was expunged, the matter was sealed, or you have been advised by a judge or attorney that you are not required to disclose the incident.

If you answer "yes", you must submit a statement providing details, an explanation, and the outcome. The detailed explanation must be submitted electronically as an attachment under the "Attachments" section of this application.

Have you ever been accused (formally or informally), charged, or convicted of a criminal offense? You must answer ?yes? even if you were found not guilty, you were a juvenile, the case was dismissed, a conviction was expunged, the matter was sealed, or you have been advised by a judge or attorney that you are not required to disclose the incident.

If you answer "yes", you must submit a statement providing the details, an explanation, and the outcome. The detailed explanation must be submitted electronically as an attachment under the "Attachments" section of this application.

Are there any criminal charges pending or expected to be brought against you?

If you answer "yes", you must submit a statement providing the details, an explanation, and the outcome. The detailed explanation must be submitted electronically as an attachment under the "Attachments" section of this application.

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