Bar Exam Preparation

The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) is the organization that produces the five multistate bar examinations. The NCBE site contains a wealth of information and should be at the top of your bar prep resource list.

This map contains links to bar admission agencies and bar requirements for all jurisdictions.

This publication is produced annually by the NCBE in collaboration with the ABA. It contains current information on bar admission requirements in all U.S. jurisdictions, including a directory of state bar admission agencies. It is available in pdf for free at the link above.

This page contains a useful overview and information on the multistate exams.

The Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) is coordinated by NCBE and is composed 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 by user jurisdictions and results in a portable score that can be transferred to other UBE jurisdictions.

The MPRE is administered separately, in March, August, and November. It is a two-hour, 60-question multiple-choice examination designed to measure knowledge and understanding of established standards related to a lawyer’s professional conduct.

A six-hour, 200-question multiple-choice examination covering Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Real Property, and Torts.

An examination consisting of two 90-minute tasks requiring the application of fundamental lawyering skills in a realistic situation. Skills tested are factual analysis, legal analysis and reasoning, problem solving, identification and resolution of ethical dilemmas, written communication, and organization and management of a legal task.

The MEE consists of six 30-minute questions. Areas of law that may be covered on the MEE include the following: Business Associations (Agency and Partnership; Corporations and Limited Liability Companies), Civil Procedure, Conflict of Laws, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Family Law, Real Property, Torts, Trusts and Estates (Decedents' Estates; Trusts and Future Interests), and Uniform Commercial Code (Secured Transactions). Some questions may include issues in more than one area of law. The particular areas covered vary from exam to exam.

On behalf of participating jurisdictions, NCBE conducts character and fitness investigations on applicants seeking a license to practice law. Not all jurisdictions use NCBE's investigation services.

The Bar Examiner (Spring 2022)

The Bar Examiner (Spring 2021)