MBE - Multistate Bar Examination

The Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) is a multiple-choice examination. This exam consists of 200 questions that must be answered within a 6 hour period. The exam consists of a morning and an afternoon session, each with 100 questions that must be answered within 3 hours.

MBE Basics

The MBE contains 200 multiple-choice questions. However, only 190 of the questions are graded. The remaining 10 are used as beta questions and may or may not be used in upcoming exams. The beta questions are not marked so there is no way to no which questions are graded and which are not.

The multiple-choice questions contain four answers. Test takers must select the best answer out of the four. Since scores are generated from the number of questions that are answered correctly, it is advised that test takers should attempt each and every question. There is no penalty for guessing incorrectly ... you just do not receive credit for that question.

The MBE covers topics such as constitutional law, evidence, real property, criminal law, contracts and torts.

The MBE is administered 2 times a year (once in February and once in July) in participating jurisdictions.

The scores are scaled so that a particular score on one version of the test will equal the same score on another. That way individuals who take a more difficult test are not penalized. They receive the same scaled score they would have received on an easier verison of the MBE.

MBE Jurisdictions

The MBE is accepted in most U.S. jurisdictions to prove competency to practice for the bar. Currently, Washington state, Louisiana, and Puerto Rico do not accept the MBE.

Please refer to the jurisdiction you are seeking admission in for further details on the particular requirements you must meet to prove competence to practice. The MBE is only one of a number of requirements for admission to the bar.