LDC Bar

Overview

In Uganda, law graduates who want to practise as advocates take the Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice, known as the Bar Course, at the Law Development Centre (LDC). Admission is controlled by the Law Council, and every shortlisted applicant must first pass a pre-entry examination.

The Bar Course itself is a one-year, practical programme run over four terms, with weekly assessments, oral and written exams, moots and an 11-week clerkship placement. This page covers both the pre-entry exam and the assessment on the course.

Who can apply

For the 2027 intake, you must hold one of these:

• A Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from a Ugandan university whose LLB is accredited by the National Council for Higher Education in consultation with the Law Council. The accreditation must have existed before you enrolled on the LLB.

• An LLB from a university or institution outside Uganda that operates the common law system. You must get prior written clearance from the Law Council; online applications with foreign degrees but no clearance are not considered.

All applicants must also meet the minimum entry requirement for a bachelor's degree: 2 principal passes at A level in one sitting and 5 passes at O level in one sitting, or the equivalent. Former LDC students who want to repeat the Bar Course may also apply and sit the pre-entry exam.

Exam pattern

Pre-entry examination

Those who pass receive admission letters for the Bar Course.

Bar Course assessment

Every subject is assessed cumulatively, and you pass a subject with at least 50% across all its components.

The oral exam is held before a panel of at least three examiners, drawn from LDC lecturers and practising lawyers. It marks content and knowledge, advocacy, presentation, audibility, composure and etiquette. Weekly individual assessments in Term 1 are for practice only and do not count.

Syllabus

The pre-entry exam covers eight core LLB courses:

1. Legal Methods

2. Constitutional Law

3. Law of Contract

4. Criminal Law

5. Law of Torts

6. Law of Evidence

7. Civil Procedure

8. Criminal Procedure

On the Bar Course you study the nine practice subjects in the table above and take part in clinical legal education, including attending court and legal aid work. The clerkship placement runs for 11 weeks in Term 3, physically or remotely, under a legal practitioner with at least 3 years' experience.

Marking and results

• Attendance: you must attend at least 90% of academic activities each week, and pass attendance in at least 90% of the weeks in a term. Otherwise you cannot sit that term's exams or move to the next term.

• Supplementary exams: if you fail no more than two of the five core practice subjects, the Board of Examiners may let you sit a supplementary exam, once. A supplementary pass lets you pass the subject but does not change your CGPA or diploma class.

• Failing the course: failing three or more of the five core practice subjects means failing the Bar Course, with no supplementary exams; you may repeat the whole course.

• Repeating: a failed supplementary means repeating the subject in a later year, once, with a repeat fee.

• Time limit: you must finish within three years, counting the year of admission. With good cause, the Board can extend this, to no more than five years from the start.

The diploma is classed as Distinction (First Class), Merit (Second Class Upper), Second Class Lower, or Pass, based on CGPA.

Important dates

For the 2027 Bar Course (one intake only, January to December 2027):

Fees

For the 2027 intake, applicants pay UGX 250,000: an application processing fee of UGX 200,000 and a pre-entry exam fee of UGX 50,000, paid to the Uganda Revenue Authority account. Supplementary, special and repeat exams carry separate fees.

How to apply

1. Apply online at the LDC admissions portal (admissions.ldc.ac.ug).

2. Fill in the form and upload your academic documents and a valid ID (National ID, passport or driving licence).

3. Use the "pay for form" tab to generate a Payment Reference Number (PRN) and pay the fee as instructed.

4. Watch your email: shortlisted applicants receive the exam date, time and seat number.

Only complete, paid applications with supporting documents are considered.

Preparation tips

• Revise all eight core LLB courses; the pre-entry exam is closed book.

• Practise applying the law to facts, since the exam also tests aptitude, and be ready for questions on legal ethics and professional values.

• Once admitted, plan for attendance: missing more than 10% of activities in a week counts as failing that week.

FAQs