Visiting (Non-Matriculating) J.D. Students

Apply Now >

Eligibility

Students seeking admissions as a Visiting (Non-Matriculating) student must:

• Possess your bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution of higher education. The accredited institution must be listed on the U.S. Department of Education’s database.
• Have completed (or be in the process of completing) at least one year of law study at an ABA-accredited law school.
• Applicants for visiting status must obtain permission from their current law school to be a visiting student prior to committing to UC Irvine School of Law. We must have this permission in hand prior to submission of the SIR Deposit.

Dates & Deadlines

Application Checklist

An application will be considered complete and eligible for review by the Admissions Committee when the following items are received by the deadline dates specified in the Application Instructions:

• Electronic Application

• Personal Statement 

• Current résumé or Curriculum Vitae

• Letter(s) of Recommendation

• LSAT/LSAT-flex or GRE results

• Credential Assembly Service (CAS) Report 

• Transcripts 

• Letter(s) of Standing

• Letter of Permission to Visit 

• Character and Fitness/Conduct Statement disclosures (if applicable)

• Optional Essays

Application Information

Electronic Application: The application is available through the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC) website beginning May 1. After you submit your application, you will receive an email confirmation of our receipt of your Fall 2026 Visting Application. When submitting your application for admission, please strictly adhere to all application instructions. Please ensure the correct documents are submitted with your application; updates or revisions of documents will not accepted. Please follow formatting instructions and be sure to indicate your name, LSAC Account number, and the type of document (Personal Statement, Inclusive Excellence Statement, etc.) in the header of each document.

Fee Waiver: To promote access to a legal education at UC Irvine School of Law, there is no application fee. A fee waiver is not necessary. Due to our limited resources, we are unable to grant CAS Report fee waivers.

Personal Statement: The Personal Statement is your opportunity to introduce yourself to the UC Irvine School of Law Admissions Committee. Applicants should respond using Microsoft Word and format your document to 8-1/2 x 11 inches, double spaced, with 12-point font and one-inch margins. Most importantly, please include your name and LSAC number at the top of each page. We will not accept revisions to the Personal Statement after you have submitted your application. Additional instructions and information are included in the application instructions. Word limit is 750. 

Current Resume or Curriculum Vitae: Applicants must submit a resume illustrating their work history, volunteer experience, extracurricular activities, and any awards and/or honors. There is no page limit, however the Admissions Committee encourages that an applicant’s resume be professionally formatted with all sections listed in chronological order with the most recent first. Most resumes received are between 1-2 pages. Summer employment plans after your 1L year should be indicated on the resume you submit with your application. If your summer plans have fallen through or have changed, please email an addendum in PDF format to admissions@law.uci.edu. The addendum should be a short explanation of the situation and explain how you will be spending your summer.

Letters of Recommendation: UC Irvine School of Law requires a minimum of one (1) but no more than three (3) Letters of Recommendation. One (1) letter must be from faculty at your current law school. The optional two (2) Letters of Recommendation may come from either academic or professional sources. We do not suggest solely personal references. Letters of Recommendation must be on file with LSAC and assigned to UC Irvine School of Law. We will not receive your CAS Report until at least one (1) letter is assigned to UC Irvine School of Law and on file with LSAC. 

Standardized Test: UC Irvine School of Law requires a standardized test as a part of the JD transfer application. Applicants must have been admitted to their current JD program with either the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) or the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). The standardized test included must be the same as the one utilized when you applied to your current JD program. UC Irvine Law utilizes the term LSAT to refer to both the traditional LSAT and the LSAT-flex. LSAT results are sent directly to the Law School from LSAC as part of your CAS Report. 

Credential Assembly Service (CAS) Report: All applicants must register for and utilize the LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service (CAS) Report. The CAS Report houses your transcript(s), Letters of Recommendation, Letter(s) of Standing, as well as your LSAT score(s) and LSAT writing sample, as applicable.

Transcripts: UC Irvine School of Law requires transcripts from every college or university attended (except study abroad transcripts from foreign universities) and must be submitted for inclusion in your CAS Report. Law school transcripts must included no less than two complete semesters of coursework and grades. Failing to include a transcript will result in your file being marked as Incomplete, which may delay both the processing of your CAS Report and the review of your file by the Admissions Committee. Law school transcripts may be included in the CAS Report or sent separately. Regardless of method, you remain responsible for your law school transcripts reaching UC Irvine School of Law. We strongly encourage you to use the CAS Report for your law school transcripts, but we will also accept electronic copies directly from the Registrar’s office to admissions@law.uci.edu.

Letters of Standing: All visiting applicants are required to submit Letter(s) of Standing,with rank if available, from all law school programs as part of the application and must come from every law school you previously attended (even if no grades were issued). We strongly encourage you to utilize either the CAS Report or to have the letter emailed directly from the Registrar’s office to admissions@law.uci.edu. It is your responsibility to ensure the Letter of Standing is received by the deadline.

Letter of Permission to Visit: Applicants seeking visiting status must obtain a permission from their current law school to be a visiting student prior to committing to UC Irvine School of Law. The letter should grant permission to visit with the specific semester identified, indicate the number of credits the student is authorized to take, identify any course or grade restrictions, and that credit for specific courses will be transferable. UC Irvine Law Admissions must have this permission letter in hand prior to the SIR deposit. We strongly encourage you to utilize either the CAS Report or to have the letter emailed directly from the Registrar’s office to admissions@law.uci.edu.

Character & Fitness/Conduct Statement: An affirmative response to any of the character and fitness questions on the application requires a detailed written explanation, along with any relevant supporting documentation, to be submitted with the application. If an applicant answers in the affirmative to these questions and does not provide the required statement(s), the application will be considered Incomplete and will not be reviewed. There is no word count limitation on conduct disclosures, please utilize the space you need to fully explain any incident(s) and rehabilitation. All applicants have an ongoing duty to disclose changes to their application especially as they relate to conduct matters (criminal or disciplinary) to our office by sending an email to admissions@law.uci.edu.

Optional Essays: Applicants are welcome to submit one or both of the following optional essays below. We will not accept revisions to the addendum(s) after you have submitted your application.

Inclusive Excellence Essay: UC Irvine Law is deeply committed to fostering inclusive excellence. Please describe how you will contribute to that commitment within our law school community. Maximum word count allowed is 500.

Addendum: Applicants may submit an optional addendum to provide additional context about their candidacy. This may include an explanation of standardized test performance and/or (2) academic history (e.g., undergraduate GPA). You may address one or both topics, however, maximum word count allowed is 500.

Financial Aid

The UC Irvine School of Law does not offer merit scholarships to visiting students. If you are expecting Federal Financial Aid to pay for tuition and fees at UC Irvine School of Law, you must contact your home institution's financial aid office and request that a visiting agreement (Consortium Agreement) be sent to our Student Financial Services Office at finaid@law.uci.edu. Once the agreement is received, the Student Financial Services Office will certify the amount of funding needed for cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses. Your home institution will determine exactly what type of aid and how much aid is available to you. If financial aid is available, it is your responsibility to ensure that the home institution submits the appropriate tuition billing payment by the tuition and fees deadline. 

Admission Decisions

Visiting applications are reviewed on a rolling basis as they are marked as Complete. All visiting applications for the Fall must be complete by the deadline of July 31. Incomplete applications after July 1 will not be considered. All decisions for visiting students starting Fall 2026 will be made no later than mid-August.

Updated 3/20/2026