In the United States, the diploma privilege is a method for lawyers to be admitted to the bar (i.e. authorized to practice law) without taking a bar examination. Wisconsin is the only jurisdiction that currently allows diploma privilege as an alternative to the bar examination. In 25 states, attorneys who were initially admitted to practice by another state's diploma privilege are eligible for admission to the state bar on motion of the admission committee. History Diploma privilege arose as a method for admission to the bar along with the rise of law schools in the United States. Prior to the 1870s, most aspiring lawyers trained through apprenticeships under a lawyer or a judge, a practice called "reading law". In the 1870s, law schools began to emerge across the country as an alternative form of legal education. To incentivize aspiring lawyers to attend law schools, many states offered "diploma privilege" to graduates of law schools, wherein they would receive automatic admission to the bar. This practice reached its peak between 1879 and 1917. The practice of diploma privilege declined in favor of formal, written bar examinations from the late 1910s onward. The privilege was abolished in California in 1917. In 1921, the American Bar Association formally expressed opposition to diploma privilege. By 1948, only 9 states maintained diploma privilege. The most recent states to abolish diploma privilege and require law school graduates to sit for a bar examination were Mississippi in 1981, Montana and South Dakota in 1983, and West Virginia in 1988. As of 2020, Wisconsin is the only state that allows graduates of in-state law schools to gain admission to the bar through diploma privilege rather than a bar examination. New Hampshire does not have diploma privilege, but its only law school has an alternative licensing program called the Daniel Webster Honors Program that allows a limited number of students who have completed certain curricula and a separate exam to bypass the regular bar exam. Iowa considered reinstating diploma privilege in 2014. Diploma privilege in Wisconsin In Wisconsin, J.D. graduates of the two American Bar Association-accredited law schools in the state, Marquette University Law School and the University of Wisconsin Law School, may seek admission to the State Bar of Wisconsin without having to sit for a bar examination. LLM and SJD graduates of these law schools are not eligible for diploma privilege. The diploma privilege in Wisconsin dates