Applicant Portal and Other Follow-Up

Any change or addition to your application must be made in writing and submitted via your Applicant Portal or by mail.   You may amend your application by completing and submitting the appropriate Supplemental Form. You must also provide any required documentation, as indicated on the supplemental form.

The Applicant Portal, sometimes referred to as the Portal, is a secure site that allows applicants for admission to the Minnesota bar to share information with the Board office after their application has been submitted and is pending. It is separate from the Online Bar Application. The Board posts requests to an applicant on the Portal and the applicant can respond and upload documents.

The process is automated when applying through the Online Bar Application.  After you submit your application and it is accepted by the Board (usually within two business days), you will receive an email notifying you that you have a new post in your Applicant Portal.  Visit https://portal.ble.mn.gov and log into your Applicant Portal using your same username and password from the Online Bar Application.

Your Applicant Portal will be opened once the Board of Law Examiners’ staff has accepted your application. You will receive an email notification once it is activated. Please check your Portal at least once per week to avoid delays in processing your application.

Go to https://portal.ble.mn.gov and sign in as a “Returning User.” You must have the user name and password that you used for the Online Bar Application or created when you registered while completing your paper application.

Your user name can be found on the first page of the PDF of your Online Bar Application, on the right side of the Section 1 header.

If you are unable to resolve the issue, you can call the Board office to obtain your user name.

Go to https://portal.ble.mn.gov. Under “Returning User” click on “Reset Password” located under the “Log In” button. An email will be sent to the email address that is on file with the Board office. If you do not see an email in your inbox, please check your spam or junk folder. If you have a new email address, please inform the Board office.

Please note that once you have submitted your application, resetting your Online Bar Application password will NOT reset your Applicant Portal password.  You must follow the instructions above.

The system will send an automated email on the day a new item is posted. Only one email is sent per day, no matter how many new items have been posted. For example, if you have five new items on your Applicant Portal in one day, you will only receive one notification email. You will also see a “New” beside any new items.

Some email servers send the automated emails to spam folders.  It is important that you check your Portal at least once per week, even if you don’t receive any email notifications from the Board office, to avoid any delays in processing your application.

Make sure the email address that you provided to the Board office is still correct. Also make sure to add the following email address to your contact list or spam filter whitelist: noreplyboardoflawexaminers@mbcle.state.mn.us. It is your responsibility to check the Applicant Portal on a regular basis and provide timely responses, even if you do not receive an email notification.

Most information will be found under the Applicant “To Do” List or the Board Office Correspondence section of your Applicant Portal. Click on the item to see the request. Letters and information will be found under the Board Office Correspondence section. Items that you have not seen will be marked “New.”

When you click on a “To Do” item, it will open up a window with the request at the top of the page. If you want to respond, type your response in the “Response” field at the bottom of the page and click “Post Response.” You must also check the box that states, “I swear or affirm that this supplement to my application is true and correct.” You can also attach a document at the same time you respond.

If the item was requested via your Applicant Portal, open that “To Do” item and follow the instructions to submit the document. You must also check the box that states, “I swear or affirm that this supplement to may application is true and correct.”

See the section on the bottom right of the Portal that states, “If you have a document to submit to the Board which is NOT RELATED to an item in your To Do list, use this upload feature.” Click “Upload” to get to a new screen where you can browse and upload your document.

Not at this time. You can type in a document or you can use one of the forms found on the Board’s website. Then, upload your document on the bottom right of the Portal by clicking the “Upload” button.

15 MB.

Yes. Document names can be no longer than 150 characters.

The files that can be uploaded to the Applicant Portal are: .doc, .docx, .jpg, .pdf, or .tif.

Historically, the vast majority of successful exam applicants are cleared in time to participate in the admission ceremony, and motion applications have taken an average of 3 to 6 months to process.

However, the process may take longer if you do not initially provide complete information in response to each application section and question, attach complete records as required by any supplemental forms, provide timely responses to the Board’s requests for additional information, or if there are issues in your past that require further investigation. To expedite the investigation, we recommend carefully reviewing your application before submission to ensure that you are providing all requested information and records, and checking your Portal frequently to address any additional requests from the Board after you have applied.

Submitting an incomplete application can cause delay in processing, so applicants should make every effort to submit everything required at the time of application.  The Online Bar Application is designed to request from you the general information and documents that are necessary to facilitate the processing and initial review of your application, and will not permit you to submit your application unless certain required information is provided. If you are missing something or additional information is required after you have submitted your application, a request will be posted to your Applicant Portal. Failure to provide requested information or documents with your application may delay the processing of your application.

Check your applicant portal frequently and respond in a timely matter.

Ensure that you carefully read and make diligent efforts to comply with any records requests. For example, a request for court and police records will typically require contacting two separate offices, and a docket printout or register of actions will not satisfy a request for copies of filed documents such as complaints or orders. Obtain verifying documentation from the records holder if records are unavailable as this is requested by the Board office.

Contact your references and recent employers listed in your application and let them know that they may receive a character questionnaire from our office in the mail. Non-responsive references often delay the application process.

Each application processor is helping many applicants. The quickest way to get a response is to post a question on your Applicant Portal. If you do not receive a response from your processor by the end of the next business day and the matter is time sensitive, you can contact the Board office at ble@mbcle.state.mn.us to check on the status. When appropriate, the processor may respond via the Applicant Portal instead of returning your call. Questions that are more complicated, such as those requiring review of documents, attorney approval, or which relate to unique or situational difficulties with following the Board’s standard processes, will generally require a longer response time.

It depends on the task.  If we have not received your conferral of degree and an acceptable photo and signed photo ID card by the applicable deadlines, you will not be able to sit for the exam.

If we have received the above items but you have incomplete tasks related to character and fitness or other administrative deficiencies, you may sit for the exam. However, if you pass the exam, outstanding or incomplete tasks may delay your admission to the bar.

No. You must reapply through the Online Bar Application and a new Applicant Portal will be created for that application. Your previous Applicant Portal will remain closed and you will need to access the Portal using the login credentials from your new application.

If you were unsuccessful on the bar exam, your Applicant Portal will be deactivated 10 days after you receive your results letter. If you wish to reapply, you will need to reapply through the Online Bar Application and a new Applicant Portal will be created from that application. If you were successful on the bar exam, your Applicant Portal will remain open until you are admitted or your application is closed.  You must be admitted within one year of the date of your recommendation.  You have a continuing obligation to update your application until you are admitted.