Background
The Florida Board of Bar Examiners petitioned the Supreme Court of Florida to amend multiple Rules of the Supreme Court Relating to Admissions to the Bar. The proposed changes addressed applicant noncompliance, examination postponements, document-copying charges, application fees, and costs associated with investigative and formal hearings.
The court published the proposed amendments for public comment and received none. It then considered the Board’s petition under its constitutional authority over admission to the practice of law in Florida.
The Court’s Holding
The court adopted the Board’s proposed amendments with minor revisions. Amended Rule 3-14.6 permits the Board to inactivate, rather than terminate, the application of an applicant who has not passed every portion of the Florida Bar Examination and fails for 90 days to comply with outstanding Board requests and inquiries. The applicant may reactivate the application after complying and paying a $200 fee. Applicants who have passed all portions of the examination remain subject to termination and reapplication requirements for such noncompliance.
The court also amended Rule 4-46 to move the threshold for early notice of an examination postponement from seven days to 14 days before the examination begins. In addition, it approved increases in numerous charges, including application, stale-file, defective-application, hearing, postponement, and document-copying fees, based on inflation and increased costs.
The amendments take effect December 21, 2026. The court specified that filing a motion for rehearing will not alter that effective date.
Key Takeaways
- An application from a person who has not passed every portion of the Florida Bar Examination may be inactivated for unresolved noncompliance and later reactivated for a $200 fee.
- To qualify for the earlier-notice postponement fee, an applicant must notify the Board at least 14 days before the examination, rather than seven days.
- Numerous bar-admission charges increase, including the timely and late examination-related filing fees, which rise from $325 to $450 and from $625 to $850, respectively.
Why It Matters
The amendments change both the procedural consequences and financial costs facing Florida bar applicants. Inactivation gives applicants who have not yet passed the full examination a route to restore an application without starting over, while applicants and their counsel must account for the new 14-day postponement threshold and higher fees.
Because the amendments become effective on December 21, 2026, applicants should use the revised deadlines and fee schedules for filings and examination decisions governed by the amended rules after that date.