Information & Applications » Rule 8.106 - Temporary Admission for Attorney Spouses of Active Duty Military » Rule 8.106 – Temporary Admission for Attorney Spouses of Active Duty Military
Rule 8.106 – Temporary Admission for Attorney Spouses of Active Duty Military
About Temporary Admission for Military Spouses
Effective January 1, 2019, an attorney licensed in the United States who is the dependent spouse of a full-time, active duty service member of the U.S. Armed Forces (not including Active Guard and Reserve) may qualify for temporary admission, without examination, under Rule 8.106. The service member must be assigned pursuant to military orders to a permanent duty station in Missouri or a contiguous state (Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska), and the dependent spouse must either work or reside in Missouri within the time period provided in the rule. Applicants must demonstrate they are eligible for admission under Rule 8.106 and meet all applicable requirements of Rule 8.
Before submitting an application, read carefully the provisions of Rule 8.106. There is no refund of the application fee, even if you do not meet the requirements for admission or withdraw your application.
Spouses of Active Duty Service Members
Rule 8.106 provides admission requirements for eligible spouses of active duty service members. To qualify, you must be the dependent spouse of a full-time, active duty service member of the United States Armed Forces (not including Active Guard and Reserve). You will need to provide a legible copy of the military identification provided to registered spouses and your ID number as a dependent.
Rule 8.106 also requires the service member be assigned pursuant to military orders to a permanent duty station in Missouri or a contiguous state. You will need to provide a legible copy of the military orders reflecting the service member’s assignment and the effective date.
Residency and Work Domicile Requirements
Rule 8.106 requires that a person applying for temporary admission as a military spouse physically work or reside in Missouri, or will be physically working or residing in Missouri within six months of properly submitting an application. You must provide information regarding physical residence or work domicile in Missouri at the time of application or complete the applicable affidavit attesting to your intent to reside or work in Missouri and acknowledging your obligation to notify the Clerk of the Missouri Supreme Court if you do not meet the requirements of 8.106(a)(2) within the time period specified.
Bar Admission Requirements
Rule 8.106 requires that a person applying for temporary admission as a military spouse have an active, unlimited license to practice law in at least one state or territory of the United States or the District of Columbia and have passed a written bar examination. The lawyer cannot have failed the Missouri bar examination within five years prior to the date the application is properly filed.
Character and Fitness
All applicants must receive approval by the Board of the applicant's character and fitness for admission. Applicants who have previously submitted an Application for Character and Fitness Report must submit a Character & Fitness Update Application covering the time period since the date of their latest full C&F application or update thereto.
Information about the character and fitness process is available here. The Board will conduct a complete and thorough background investigation of every applicant before reaching a determination.
J.D. Requirements
Rule 8.106 requires that a person applying for temporary admission as a military spouse hold a first professional degree in law (J.D. or LL.B) from a law school approved by the American Bar Association or furnish to the Board satisfactory evidence that he or she meets the requirements of Rule 8.07(d) or (e) at the time the application for temporary admission is submitted.
To demonstrate that your J.D. degree has been conferred, the Board of Law Examiners requires an official transcript that reflects the date the degree was awarded. "Issued to student" transcripts will not be accepted. You should request an official transcript be mailed directly to our office by your school or submitted electronically by the school with email notification to MBLE's office at transcripts@courts.mo.gov. The transcript must include the date your J.D. degree was awarded.
Graduates of nonABA-approved law schools and foreign law schools cannot apply for temporary admission by Rule 8.106 unless they demonstrate that they meet the requirements set out in Rule 8.07(d) or (e). Review these instructions and checklist if you need to request permission under Rule 8.07(d) or (e) to apply for admission because your law degree is not from an ABA-approved law school.
Proof of Citizenship or Prescribed Alien Status
Rule 8.03(a)(4) requires that all applicants must be either a citizen or national of the United States, an immigrant lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or an alien otherwise authorized to work lawfully in the United States. If you are a U.S. citizen, provide a CERTIFIED birth certificate, a CERTIFIED Consular Report of Birth, or a copy of your Certificate of Citizenship. If you mail the required document to our office in lieu of uploading the document, our office will retain these documents and they will not be returned to you. You should obtain a certified copy of your birth certificate from the appropriate government office in the state where you were born. If you are a naturalized citizen, a lawful permanent resident, or an alien authorized to work in the U.S., provide a legible copy of both sides of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) document evidencing your current status - we will use it to verify your status through USCIS. We cannot accept a copy of your passport as proof of citizenship because USCIS will not verify status on the basis of a passport. You will need to provide a copy of your Certificate of Naturalization or Certificate of Citizenship. NOTE: An Optional Practical Training (OPT) authorization is considered part of the educational purpose of a non-resident student visa. It is not a work visa and is not considered by the Board of Law Examiners as satisfying the requirement of Rule 8.03(a)(4).
Missouri Educational Component Test
Because the UBE tests on uniform principles of law, the Supreme Court of Missouri and the Missouri Board of Law Examiners have prepared a mandatory open book test ("Missouri Educational Component Test" or "MECT"). The review materials ("Missouri Materials") include outlines on subjects such as Torts, Civil Procedure, and Real Property. The Missouri Materials and the MECT are located at http://www.courts.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=325.
All applicants applying for admission by Rule 8.106 must successfully complete the MECT as a condition of licensure. The signed Certificate of Completion must be received by the Board of Law Examiners no earlier than the date the application is properly submitted and no later than six months after the date of written notification that the Board has approved your character and fitness. All applicants taking the MECT must sign the Certificate of Completion. Make certain that your name, email address and telephone number are correct on the form. Once printed and signed by you, your Certificate of Completion may be uploaded from your MBLE user home page OR mailed to the Board of Law Examiners, P.O. Box 104236, Jefferson City, MO 65110-4236.
Missouri Professional Responsibility Exam
Rule 8.106 provides that an applicant must have earned a scaled score of not less than 80 on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE). The certified MPRE score must be received by MBLE no later than six months after the date of written notification that the Board has approved your character and fitness.
The MPRE is developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) and administered on NCBE's behalf by its test contractor, Pearson VUE. Applicants can access the online MPRE registration only through their NCBE Number accounts. For information on registration go to the MPRE registration page on the NCBE website.
Applicants must request that NCBE report their MPRE score directly to Missouri. Score reports submitted by applicants are not acceptable. Additional information can be found online on the MPRE Score Reporting page. You may also contact NCBE at: http://www.ncbex.org/ncbe-exam-score-services/mpre-score-services/ or by phone: (608) 280-8550.
Termination of Temporary License
Pursuant to Rule 8.106(c), the temporary license will automatically terminate 60 days after the earliest occurrence of any of the following events:
- The passage of five years from the date of issuance;
- The service member’s separation or retirement from the United States Armed Forces, except that if the separation from service is due to death or disability of the service member, the license under Rule 8.106 terminates one year following death or disability;
- The military spouse licensed under Rule 8.106 ceases to be a dependent spouse as defined by the applicable United States Department;
- The service member is permanently transferred pursuant to military orders to a jurisdiction not included in Rule 8.106(a)(1), unless the service member’s assignment does not authorize dependents to accompany;
- The military spouse licensed under Rule 8.106 establishes permanent physical residency outside Missouri for reasons other than the service member’s relocation;
- The military spouse licensed under Rule 8.106 ceases to be employed in Missouri;
- The military spouse licensed under Rule 8.106 is admitted to the practice of law pursuant to Rule 8.07, 8.09, 8.10, or 8.105;
- The military spouse is no longer licensed to practice law in another state or territory of the United States; or
- The military spouse requests termination of the license issued under Rule 8.106.
The military spouse shall provide written notice to the Clerk of the Missouri Supreme Court of any terminating event within 30 days of the event and shall immediately notify the Clerk of any change in the lawyer’s licensure status in any other jurisdictions.