You aren’t fudging. You just aren’t putting your age in front of them in the first 60 seconds.
I think for jobs that require proof such as admission to the bar, applications that don’t provide it are likely to be tossed. It’s not much different than needing a PhD to teach. You can apply to colleges without it, but you’ll likely get farther along in the hiring process if you do.
Why on earth is not including the year you got degrees “fudging?” Two companies I worked for required a transcript on file within 90 days of hire date. But by then I guarantee you HR knows how old you are from the I-9 and all your benefit paperwork. They just don’t need to know until the offer is made in my opinion.
I have a first name that was popular in the 1940s and '50s. I was born in the '60s, so I worry that some employers won’t even get past my name at the top of the application page. Sigh. I’m pretty much resigned to staying in the job I’ve had for the last 18 years until I retire, assuming I’m not laid off (unlikely, or so I hope) or my small company doesn’t go out of business.