Fee to take Illinois bar exam increases to $500

The Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar announced on Tuesday a fee increase to take the Illinois bar examination.

The fee to take the bar exam will increase from $400 to $500. A late filing fee will increase from $600 to $700. The fee for those applying late at the last possible deadline will remain at $1,000.

The fee increases are effective January 1, 2014, and will begin for those applying to take the bar examination in July 2014.

The bar examination fee is in addition to a $450 fee-which remains the same-to register for and conduct a character and fitness review into the bar candidate's background.

The fee increases constitute the second and final step of a phased-in fee increase that was approved by the Illinois Supreme Court in 2011. The first step went into effect in January 2012. Before that, bar examination fees in Illinois had not increased in more than 10 years.

The increases were made necessary by the rising costs of administering the bar exam and to ensure the fiscal health of the agency.

"No one wanted to raise fees given the recent economic climate," said Board President Lawrence N. Hill. "Our decision was made out of necessity for the purpose of maintaining the financial health of our bar admissions agency, and we did so with a very sharp pencil."

The new fee structure also raises the fee for those seeking to be re-examined. Those fees increase $200 to $500 and $850, if filing late.

The new fee structure is embodied in amendments to Supreme Court Rule 706.