The Board of Bar Examiners offers all timely filed bar exam applicants the ability to use their laptop computers for the essay portion of the Virginia Bar Exam.  We have contracted with an exam software company, Extegrity, to provide this service. All applicants who timely and properly register for the laptop program will be allowed to participate.

There will be computer testing room(s) for all applicants who have registered for the laptop program. The computer testing room(s) will be equipped with tables and electrical outlets.

If you fail to register in the time period allotted, you will be handwriting the exam.

All payments must be made to Extegrity.

You will be required to download, install and verify the operation of Extegrity Exam4 software on your laptop prior to the exam. The software limits access to anything other than the word processing functions provided by the software, and facilitates essential administrative functions.

A special version of Exam4 will be issued specifically for the current administration of the Virginia Bar Exam — no other version or copy of Exam4 software may be used. The software will be available for download from the date registration begins until the Friday prior to the bar exam. Downloading the software does not constitute registering for the laptop program. You must timely complete ALL the registration steps in order to be considered properly registered.

Your laptop must meet all requirements of the Technical Requirements section below, and you must follow all Exam4 user instructions.

If your computer has any type of hardware or software problem, Extegrity technical staff are authorized to make a reasonable effort to resolve it. However, if the problem cannot be resolved easily, or if there is a site power failure, you must be willing to continue taking the examination by handwriting your answers using a pen with dark blue or black ink. You will be permitted to continue handwriting your answers, beginning at the point where you were when your computer malfunctioned. After the session, every attempt will be made to retrieve your answer(s) from your hard drive. Exam4 software is designed to protect your work, and it is very likely the data can be recovered, but it is not guaranteed. No extra exam time will be granted in the event your computer malfunctions. You assume all risks of using a computer to take your exam.

You must have received notification from the Board that your bar exam application has been timely filed for the current exam.

There will be a fee of $125 for participation in the Laptop Program. The fee covers software licensing plus additional administrative costs associated with administration of the Laptop Program. The entire fee is payable to Extegrity, which only accepts payment via the registration form. The fee is non-refundable nor deferrable to a subsequent administration of the exam (with an exception for cases of unexpected military deployment).

All communications with you from the Board about the Laptop Program will be by email or posted on our website. It is your responsibility to inform the Board of any email change and to regularly check our website and your email. **If you have Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail or any other email provider which detects unfamiliar emails as spam, you will need to set your preferences to accept mail from no-reply@barexam.virginia.gov and usersupport@extegrity.com.**

Your laptop must meet the following specifications:

• Click here for the Extegrity Exam4 computer hardware and operating system requirements.
• Must have a working USB or USB-C port on your computer.
• Must have the ability to submit your exam via wifi network.
• Must have 10 MB free hard disk space (a very small amount) and minimum 800x600 screen resolution.
• Must be able to download the software from the Internet and install it on your laptop.
• Must have a fully charged battery on the day of the exam. You are also required to bring the laptop's power supply cord and a 8-foot long (minimum) extension cord to the exam.
• Macintosh (Apple) Laptop Users – make sure you know your Administrator Account Name and Password. Your Administrator Account Name and Password are required before the security check can begin.

Further technical specifications:

You will be responsible for the operation of your own computer, including but not limited to the following good practices: operating system has been updated with the latest patches and updates from Microsoft or Apple; computer is free of viruses on the basis of a recent scan with up-to-date anti-virus software. Spyware, adware and peer-to-peer file sharing software can interfere with normal operation of the computer and should be removed.

The exam software will be made available for download and installation from the date registration begins until the Friday prior to the exam. It is your responsibility to make sure you have installed the software and can run it on your laptop. The best way to test the software is to follow the software vendor's instructions for taking a practice exam. (There are no questions for a practice exam. A practice exam is to test the software's compatibility with your computer and to familiarize yourself with the keyboard functions only). For information about using Exam4, go to the FAQ + Support section of their website at www.exam4.com/support/.

Technical support via email is available from Exam4 for several weeks prior to the exam at the FAQ + Support section on their website at www.exam4.com/support/. Only limited technical support will be provided at the bar exam test site immediately prior to the start of the exam.

For further assistance, contact Exam4 User Support by completing and submitting the form found at the bottom of the page at www.exam4.com/support/

In the event of electrical problems or substantial computer problems, as determined by the Board in consultation with Extegrity representatives during the exam, applicants should be prepared to handwrite their answers.