Test Dates

Test Administration
July 31, 2024
Test Administration
February 26, 2025

Jurisdictions Administering the MBE

Select a jurisdiction for a summary of bar admission information specific to that jurisdiction and contact information for its bar admission agency.

Test Day Policies

Each jurisdiction will provide specific information regarding materials, including appropriate identification, that examinees are allowed to bring with them to the test center.

About the MBE

The Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) is a six-hour, 200-question multiple-choice examination developed by NCBE and administered by user jurisdictions as part of the bar examination on the last Wednesday in February and the last Wednesday in July of each year.

The MBE is only one of a number of measures that a board of bar examiners may use in determining competence to practice. Each jurisdiction determines its own policy with regard to the relative weight given to the MBE and other scores. The MBE is a component of the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE). Jurisdictions that administer the UBE weight the MBE component 50%.

Registration Information

The MBE is developed by NCBE and administered by user jurisdictions as part of the bar examination. Applicants register for the MBE by applying to a jurisdiction for the bar exam.

Preparing for the MBE

The MBE consists of 200 multiple-choice questions: 175 scored questions and 25 unscored pretest questions. The pretest questions are indistinguishable from those that are scored, so examinees should answer all questions. The exam is divided into morning and afternoon testing sessions of three hours each, with 100 questions in each session. There are no scheduled breaks during either the morning or afternoon session.

Scores

NCBE scores the MBE and reports examinees' scores to the jurisdiction in which the examinee tested. NCBE does not report scores to examinees unless authorized by the jurisdiction, and then only after the jurisdiction has announcedĀ itsĀ bar examination results.

Copyright Notice

The MBE is owned by NCBE and is a secure exam protected by US copyright laws. NCBE strictly prohibits copying, reproducing, or disclosing any MBE questions or answers, whether via electronic, telephonic, written, oral, or other means, to any party or to any public forum during or after the exam. NCBE will use every legal means available to protect its copyrighted materials. Any unauthorized disclosure of MBE content could result in civil liability, criminal penalties, cancellation of test scores, denial of applications to sit for future exams, denial of bar applications on character and fitness grounds, and/or disciplinary action by bar authorities.