Bar Examination Overview

National Conference of Bar Examiners

The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) is a not-for-profit organization that works with other institutions to develop, maintain, and apply reasonable and uniform standards of education and character for eligibility for admission to the practice of law. NCBE assists bar admission authorities by providing standardized examinations of uniform high quality to nearly every jurisdiction in the United States.

Format of the Bar Exam

Multistate Bar Exam (MBE)

The MBE is a six-hour, 200 question multiple-choice exam administered over one entire day of your bar exam (except Louisiana and Washington).  The six subject areas covered are: Contracts, Real Property, Torts, Evidence, Constitutional Law, and Criminal Law/Procedure.

Essay Exam

The written essay portion of the exam is part of virtually every state bar exam. The number of questions and format varies from state to state.

The Multistate Performance Test (MPT)

The MPT is composed of two 90-minute questions. The questions cover legal analysis, fact analysis, problem-solving, resolution of ethical dilemmas, organization and management, and communications. For each question, you receive a case file and library (of statutes, cases, etc.). You are responsible for deciphering and applying appropriate authorities and completing the written assignment.

The Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE)

The MPRE is a sixty question, two-hour-and-five-minute, multiple-choice examination administered three times each year, in March, August, and November.

The Multistate Essay Examination (MEE)

The MEE is a collection of 30-minute essay questions administered by participating jurisdictions on the Tuesday before the last Wednesday in February and July of each year. The MEE offers nine questions per examination, with most jurisdictions selecting six questions from the nine.

The Uniform Bar Examination (UBE)

The UBE is prepared by the National Conference of Bar Examiners to test knowledge and skills that every lawyer should be able to demonstrate prior to becoming licensed to practice law. It is comprised of the Multistate Essay Examination (MEE), two Multistate Performance Test (MPT) tasks, and the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE). It is uniformly administered, graded, and scored in accordance with best practices by jurisdictions that adopt it.