Law School Application Materials: A Complete Checklist
What goes in the CAS report, what you upload separately, and what international applicants need — plus the 2026–2027 fee structure and a completion checklist.
A law school application is two systems that applicants constantly conflate. One is CAS — a central service that assembles your transcripts, letters, and test scores into a single report. The other is each school's own application, where your essays and disclosures live. Submitting to one does not satisfy the other, and the most common reason a file stalls is missing something in the first while waiting on the second.
The rule that defines 'complete'
Your application is not complete when you click submit. It is complete when your CAS Report has generated and every document — transcripts, letters, writing sample — has been received and marked complete by the admissions office. A submitted application with an in-progress CAS report waits in a queue, not a review.
Part one — What CAS assembles
Your CAS subscription stays active for five years and is what enables the electronic application for all ABA-member schools. It bundles three things into one report per school.
| CAS component | What it covers | Who sends it |
|---|---|---|
| Academic summary | Every transcript you submitted, summarized year by year, plus GPA by institution and cumulative | Your schools send official transcripts to LSAC |
| LSAT / GRE | All scores earned in the past five testing years, including cancellations and absences; writing sample | Reported automatically from your LSAC and ETS records |
| Letters of recommendation | Every letter uploaded by a recommender | Recommenders upload to LSAC |
You do not choose which scores appear. LSAC reports all of them from the current testing year plus the prior five, and schools decide how to weigh them.
The transcript rule people get wrong
Send an official transcript from every institution that has ever recorded a grade for you. That includes undergraduate and graduate schools, dual enrollment, community college, summer programs, study abroad, and exchange programs — including programs where you took one course, transferred credit, attended briefly, or did not finish.
The exception is narrow: if you studied abroad through a program sponsored by a US or Canadian institution and the credits are clearly identified as such on your home-campus transcript, the international transcript is usually not required separately. If the home transcript does not make that clear, it is required. When in doubt, send it — a redundant transcript costs nothing; a missing one can stop a file indefinitely.
Timing is the real constraint
LSAC states it takes approximately two weeks to process a transcript once received, and up to five business days for a paper letter. International credential evaluation takes longer. That two-week figure only starts when the document arrives — registrar mail, plus international shipping, plus your own delay in requesting it, is what actually consumes the month. Send transcripts before you think you need to.
For international applicants, CAS Authentication & Evaluation covers most ABA-approved schools, though some require a different service. International transcripts go to LSAC's Newtown, Pennsylvania address with the required documentation, and the school name on transcripts must match the characters on your application exactly. A mismatch here is a common cause of silent processing failure.
Part two — What you upload to each school directly
Everything in this section lives outside the CAS report. This is where two applicants with identical transcripts diverge completely.
- Personal statement — required everywhere, with per-school limits
Two to three pages, double-spaced, is the common range. Every school sets its own limit and admissions offices check. Writing to the maximum length when a school asks for two pages signals that you did not read the instructions.
- Résumé or CV — required, and written differently from a job résumé
One to two pages, focused on education, legal and substantive work experience, and distinctions. Avoid the job-search framing and the skills section; academic and professional accomplishments replace them.
- Optional essays — do not write all of them by default
A diversity statement is invited only by some schools and should only be written if you have something specific to say about the perspective your background brings. A why-X statement matters most when you are applying binding Early Decision, where demonstrating fit is part of the commitment.
- Addendum — write only when there is something to explain
A grade drop, a score gap, a disciplinary record, or a lapse in your transcript can warrant a short factual explanation. The register is objective and brief. A page of justification for a decision that does not need one draws attention to the decision.
- Character and fitness disclosure — answer accurately
Disciplinary history, academic violations, and criminal matters are asked directly. Disclosing accurately matters because schools run a background review after admission, and an omission discovered later is far more damaging than the original event. If you have a question about how to answer, ask the admissions office directly rather than guessing.
- Application fee — per school, with waivers widely available
Fees typically run $70 to $90 at selective schools. Many waive automatically for LSAC fee-waiver recipients; others require a separate request. Cornell, Texas A&M, and BYU charge nothing. Requests have their own windows, so a waiver can cost you the deadline if you make it late.
Part three — International applicant additions
Two things beyond the standard file, and one thing that is commonly mistaken for a requirement.
- English proficiency. Most ABA schools require TOEFL or IELTS, though some waive it when the undergraduate degree was taught in English. The list of waiving schools changes, so check each target rather than assuming.
- Passport copy. Some international applicants are asked to upload one as part of the application or the I-20 process.
- Statement of purpose for international applicants. A small number of schools want an explicit explanation of why you are studying law in the United States.
The I-20 packet is not part of the application
Financial certification, bank statements, and funding letters are submitted after admission, not for review. No admissions committee weighs them. Confusing the two causes applicants to delay applications for documents they did not need yet — or worse, to believe financial documentation is part of what admissions considers.
The 2026–2027 cost structure
These are LSAC's published figures and they change each testing year, so verify before you pay.
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| LSAT registration | $253 | Includes LSAT Argumentative Writing |
| CAS subscription | $219 | Five years; includes e-application access for ABA schools |
| CAS report, per school | $45 | One per school you apply to |
| Law school application fee | $70–$90 typical | Set by each school; many waive automatically |
| CAS Authentication & Evaluation | Included in subscription | For most international applicants |
| Score Preview (optional) | $46 before / $87 after | Cancel a score within six days |
| Score Audit (optional) | $150 | Corrects rare scoring errors |
CAS report fees are the only line that scales with your list length. LSAC fee waivers cover a Tier 1 waiver up to two LSATs, the CAS subscription, and six reports; Tier 2 covers one LSAT, the subscription, and three reports.
To make the scaling concrete: a twelve-school list costs $253 for the LSAT, $219 for CAS, $540 in reports, and roughly $915 in application fees — about $1,930. Just over half of that goes to LSAC rather than to any law school, and that half barely changes whether you apply to eight schools or twelve. The line that scales is the $45-per-report fee, which is exactly why narrowing a list to schools you would actually attend is a financial decision as much as a strategic one.
For what a JD costs once you are admitted, our scholarship-adjusted cost ranking and acceptance-versus-tuition analysis cover the price side in detail.
Letters of recommendation
Most schools want two letters; some want three, and LSAC allows up to four letters in a file. Because CAS distributes them, you write each letter once and assign it to whichever schools want it. If four schools want two letters and two schools want three, a third recommender covers the difference without anyone writing twice.
Academic letters are the default expectation. Letters from employers or supervisors are appropriate when they can speak to work that is genuinely legal — supervising your paralegal work or research, for instance — rather than general employment. The useful letter demonstrates analytical thinking and writing under pressure; the most valuable recommender is usually not the most famous person who knows you but the one who can be specific about how you work.
Completion checklist
| Item | Status | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LSAC account created; CAS subscription purchased | Before any application |
| 2 | LSAT taken and writing sample completed; score on file | Score is required before CAS can generate |
| 3 | Official transcript requested from every institution attended | Send early — two-week processing after arrival |
| 4 | 2–3 recommenders confirmed and briefed with a deadline | Give them a month; remind them |
| 5 | Letters uploaded through LSAC | Electronic letters appear fastest |
| 6 | CAS report purchased and generated for each school | Pay at application; report must be complete |
| 7 | Personal statement and résumé finalized per school limits | Check page limits, not just word limits |
| 8 | Optional essays written only where invited or useful | Why-X matters most for binding ED |
| 9 | Addendum drafted if there is something to explain | Objective, brief, factual |
| 10 | Character and fitness questions answered accurately | Assume post-admission review |
| 11 | Application fees paid or waived | Waiver requests have their own deadlines |
| 12 | International: English proficiency sent to LSAC via ETS | Send to LSAC, code 0058, unless waived |
Items 2 through 6 are the ones that determine whether a file can be reviewed at all. Items 7 through 12 are where two applicants with identical records separate.
Questions we get asked
Do I need CAS if I am only applying to Canadian schools?
No. LSAC states that CAS is not required if you are applying only to law schools in Canada. For US programs, essentially all ABA-approved schools require it, including applicants submitting only GRE scores.
How long is an LSAT score valid?
LSAC reports all scores earned in the current testing year plus the prior five testing years to the schools you apply to. A June 2021 score remains reportable through June 2027; anything before June 2021 is not reported. Expired scores simply do not appear on your CAS report — which means schools never see them, including older lower ones.
Can I choose which LSAT scores schools see?
No, and this surprises applicants. LSAC reports every result in the five-year window, including cancellations and absences. UC Irvine is explicit that applicants may not choose which results to share and that all valid GRE results from the last five years must also be sent. Most schools use the highest score for the decision while still seeing everything.
What happens if I am missing a transcript?
The file cannot be completed, and schools exclude applications that are incomplete past their deadline. Michigan states plainly that they cannot delay review to wait for a score. Send transcripts early — the processing clock only starts when the document reaches LSAC.
Do I need to send international transcripts if I studied abroad?
Usually not, if the study abroad or exchange program was sponsored by a US or Canadian institution and the credits are clearly identified as such on your home-campus transcript. If they are not clearly identified, the international transcript is required. Michigan and other schools publish this distinction explicitly.
How much does the LSAT cost, and can I take it more than once?
Registration is $253 for the 2026–2027 cycle and includes LSAT Argumentative Writing. LSAC permits five sittings within the current reportable score period and seven over a lifetime, with no per-year cap. Cancelled scores count toward both limits; absences and withdrawals do not. Need-based fee waivers cover registration for eligible applicants.
Fees, processing times, and score-reporting rules reflect LSAC publications available as of October 2026 and change between cycles; application fees and requirements are set by each school and change annually. Verify fees at lsac.org and requirements on each school's own admissions page before relying on them. LSAT® is a registered trademark of the Law School Admission Council, which does not review or endorse this site. This article is educational and is not legal or admissions advice.
Sources
- LSAC — Credential Assembly Service: subscription terms, fees, and processing times, lsac.org
- LSAC — LSAT scoring and five-year score reporting window, lsac.org/lsat/lsat-scoring
- Individual law school admissions pages for Fall 2027 entry (Michigan, UC Irvine, Stanford, and others)
Figures reflect the most recent published data available as of October 11, 2026. Always confirm current policy on lsat.lsac.org.