Law has the lowest Tawjihi threshold of the regulated professions, and that makes it easy to underestimate. A law degree from abroad has to satisfy the Ministry of Higher Education first. Then it has to get its holder onto the Jordan Bar Association’s trainee register and through two years of training and exams. Both stages have conditions that families rarely ask about before enrolling.
What the Ministry requires
A 65% Tawjihi average, before enrolment
The minimum secondary average for law is 65%, or 910 out of 1,400 for certificates without a percentage. The student must have met it before joining the foreign university. A foreign admission letter does not change that.
Eight months a year, in person
For students who enrolled from 1 October 2023, a bachelor’s degree needs at least eight months of in-person study for each year of the programme. The time may be split into stays of at least two months or a full semester. Law is often sold in distance, weekend or “flexible” formats, and these are the programmes to measure against the rule before signing.
Recognition, and the language of study
Every university attended must be on the Ministry’s recognised list. In countries where English is not the national language, the Ministry accepts the local language as the language of study. An English-taught programme there is accepted only if local and foreign students take it together, and the graduate must bring proof of the local language. Programmes for foreign students only are not accepted.
| Ministry condition | What it means for law |
|---|---|
| Tawjihi minimum | 65% (910/1,400), met before enrolment |
| Recognised institution | Every university attended, at every stage |
| In-person study (enrolled from 1 Oct 2023) | 8 months per year of study; stays of at least two months or a semester |
| Language (non-English-speaking countries) | Local language, or a programme shared with local students plus proof of the local language |
What the Bar Association requires
Getting onto the trainee register
The Jordan Bar Association (نقابة المحامين الأردنيين) registers trainee lawyers who are Jordanian, at least 21, resident in Jordan, free of relevant convictions, and who hold at least a first law degree from a university recognised by the Ministry of Higher Education. The Bar Association Law adds a condition that matters for foreign degrees. The degree must be acceptable for practising law in the country that granted it, and the Bar keeps its own list of recognised universities and law institutes, approved by the Ministry.
Applications are accepted twice a year, in February (decided in March) and August (decided in September), and must be made in person. Graduates of non-Jordanian universities bring the degree certificate and transcript certified by the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs, an official translation, and the Ministry’s equivalency. They also need a letter from the principal lawyer who has agreed to train them. The published registration fee is 572 JD for Jordanians.
Two years of training, a research paper and two exams
- Duration: two years for a holder of a first law degree.
- Principal: a lawyer with at least five years’ practice, who may take only one trainee.
- Court work: at least 15 magistrates’ court cases or 8 first-instance cases. Trainees may plead in magistrates’ courts after six months and in first-instance courts after a year, under supervision and with the Bar’s permission.
- Research paper: submitted six months before training ends and defended orally, marked out of 50, with 30 needed to pass.
- Professional exam: written and oral, held in April and October, open once three-quarters of the training is complete. Each part is marked out of 25, with 15 needed in each.
The Bar now runs a Lawyers’ Training Institute (معهد تدريب المحامين), which began training its third cohort in August 2026. Ask the Bar how the Institute’s programme fits with the office-based training described above in the year you expect to register.
Arabic, and Jordanian law
The Bar’s published pages set no rule requiring a foreign law degree to be taught in Arabic, or requiring extra Jordanian law courses. That does not mean the question is settled. The Bar’s lectures and exams are built around Jordanian procedure and practice, so a graduate of an English-, Turkish- or Russian-taught programme should expect a gap to close. Anyone considering such a programme should ask the Bar in writing how its certificate will be treated.
Before you pay a law deposit
- Confirm the Tawjihi average is at or above 65%.
- Find the university on the Ministry’s recognised list, and take a dated screenshot.
- Get the on-campus months per year, and the language of instruction, in writing.
- Confirm the degree qualifies its holder to practise law in the country that awards it.
- Ask the Bar Association whether it will accept the degree for the trainee register.
The fourth check catches degrees that are academically sound but do not lead to practice even in their own country. GESCO checks this before recommending a law programme.
Conditions and figures on this page come from the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and from the Jordan Bar Association’s published training and membership pages and its English text of the Bar Association Law, all checked on 23 September 2026. Verify both before making a decision.
The full set of Ministry conditions, including the equivalency application itself, is set out in will your degree be recognised in Jordan.