TESTING ACCOMMODATIONS

Applicants applying to take the Colorado Bar Examination may request accommodations. Please review the below sections on types of accommodations and eligibility.

Type 1 - Non-Standard Testing Accommodations (NST)

It is the policy of The Colorado Supreme Court Office of Attorney Admissions (OAA) to provide non-standard testing accommodations (NST) to applicants with disabilities for the bar examination to the extent such accommodations are timely requested, reasonable, not unduly burdensome, consistent with the nature and purpose of the examination and necessitated by the applicant's disability.

A disability is a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities. In the bar examination setting, the impairment must limit an applicant’s ability to demonstrate, under standard testing conditions, that the applicant possesses the knowledge, skills, and abilities tested on the bar examination. Types of disabilities include:

• Physical Impairment
• Mental Impairment

AND

For a NST request to be granted, the applicant and their medical personnel must establish that the disability impacts a major life activity. Major life activities include, but are not limited to, caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working.

Please carefully review OAA’s General Instructions for Requesting Non-Standard Test Accommodations for all definitions, requirements, and procedures for requesting and submitting NST accommodations on the bar exam.

Applicants submitting a Non-Standard Testing Accommodation Request will need to complete Form 1, the Form associated with their type of disability and Form 7 if applicable. Substantiating documentation evidencing the need for a non-standard test accommodation is required. This process may take an applicant a long time to obtain. Applicants are encouraged to start completing and gathering the required documents as soon as possible.

Please see notice below concerning the submission of documents in digital format.

If you have a general question about the NST application process, contact our Office by using the Messaging Center in your online admission application account. Please do not email specific questions or concerns about the merits of your application or re-application, or the merits of the OAA’s determination letter. Other than your name and NCBE number, do not include any confidential or personal identifying information in any email sent and do not attach ANY documents, including application documents, to any email.

Request for Non-Standard Testing Accommodations – General Instructions

Form 1 – Request for Non-Standard Testing Accommodations - Required for every Testing Accommodation Request

Form 2 – Learning Disability Verification

Form 3 – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Verification

Form 4 – Psychological Disability Verification

Form 5 – Visual Disability Verification

Form 6 – Physical Disability Verification

Form 7 – Accommodation History Certification

Non-Standard Test Accommodation Appeals

An applicant whose request for non-standard testing accommodations was denied or only partially granted, may file an appeal with the Office of Attorney Admissions (OAA) within seven (7) days after receiving their determination letter. Applicants cannot appeal a re-application for non-standard testing accommodations or courtesy request determination. Applicants whose request for non-standard testing accommodations was rejected as incomplete or untimely do not have the ability to submit an appeal.

Please click here for additional information on the appeals process and instructions.

Type 2 – Re-Application for NST Accommodations

For applicants who have been previously granted accommodations by the Office of Attorney Admissions (OAA) within the last three years of the bar exam date in which an applicant is submitting their request may be eligible to submit a Re-Application for Non-Standard Accommodations Form ONLY IF the following standards are met:

• No deviation or change in diagnosis

AND

• No deviation or change in requested accommodations

If you meet the aforementioned guidelines, please reference OAA’s Re-Application for NST Accommodations – General Instructions to submit a re-application request.

Re-Application for NST Accommodations – General Instructions

Re-Application for NST Accommodations Form

Type 3 - Courtesy Request for a Health-Related Condition

Upon completion and submission of the Courtesy Request form, OAA will provide courtesies for health-related conditions. Courtesy requests must be such that they do not alter or deviate from the standard exam testing schedule at the main site location.

Courtesy requests may be requested when:

• The health-related condition is supported by up-to-date objective medical documentation (typically a letter from the treating physician will suffice).
• The request specifically relates to the health-related condition.
• The request directly assists in managing symptoms of a health-related condition, or, minimizes or mitigates the potential for further aggravation of a health-related condition absent the request.
• The request is such that it can be provided without deviating from the standard testing schedule.
• The request is submitted in accordance with the established filing deadlines in force at the time of your request.
• The request is submitted on the Courtesy Request Form.

Requests submitted after the filing deadline for a health-related condition or injury that was unknown at the time of the filing deadline will also be considered but could be denied.

Please reference OAA’s Courtesy Request – General Instructions to submit a courtesy request.

Courtesy Request – General Instructions

Courtesy Request Form

NOTICE CONCERNING THE SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTS IN DIGITAL FORMAT

OAA will only accept documentation in digital format using Citrix ShareFile®. Upon submitting documents to OAA in digital format, an applicant is representing that each digitized document is a complete and accurate representation of the original document. OAA reserves the right to request production of the original of any uploaded document. Do not upload accommodation or courtesy request paperwork to your online admissions application.

To obtain access to ShareFile, once your bar exam application has been submitted, please timely contact our Office using the Messaging center in your online admissions application account and request a ShareFile link to upload your accommodations request. Supplemental information must be submitted digitally.