About the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE)
About the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE)
Benefits of the UBE
- Portability: If you pass the UBE in one jurisdiction, you can transfer your passing score to be admitted in any other UBE state, though passing scores, fees, and other requirements are set by each jurisdiction.
- There is NO state-specific law tested on this exam – just general, federal, majority-minority common law, unlike state-specific exams like VA, CA, FL, GA, et al.
- Fewer testable subjects: The number of testable subjects is less than in most non-UBE bar exams.
Structure and Format
DAY ONE of the Uniform Bar Exam consists of its two written components worth a total of 200 points/400:
- The Multistate Performance Test (MPT) 20% of the total score, 80 points
- The Multistate Essay Exam (MEE) 30% of the total score, 120 points
1. Multistate Performance Test (MPT)
Below are the lawyering skills tested on the MPT:
- Problem-solving. The examinee should demonstrate the ability to develop and evaluate strategies for solving a problem or accomplishing an objective.
- Legal analysis and reasoning. The examinee should demonstrate the ability to analyze and apply legal rules and principles.
- Factual analysis. The examinee should demonstrate the ability to analyze and use facts and to plan and direct factual investigation.
- Communication. The examinee should demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively in writing. Communication includes the ability to 1) assess the perspective of the recipient of the communication; and B) organize and express ideas with precision, clarity, logic, and economy.
- Organization and management of a legal task. The examinee should demonstrate the ability to organize and manage a legal task. Organization and management include the ability to (A) allocate time, effort, and resources efficiently; and (B) perform and complete tasks within time constraints.
- Recognizing and resolving ethical dilemmas. The examinee should demonstrate the ability to represent a client consistently with applicable ethical standards.
2. Multistate Essay Exam (MEE)
- Business Associations (Agency and Partnership; Corporations);
- Federal Civil Procedure;
- Conflict of Laws;
- Constitutional Law;
- Contracts (including UCC Article 2 [Sales]);
- Criminal Law and Procedure;
- Evidence;
- Family Law;
- Real Property;
- Torts;
- Trusts and Estates (Decedents' Estates; Trusts and Future Interests); and
- UCC Article 9 (Secured Transactions).
Essays are intended to assess not only an applicant's understanding of fundamental legal principles and rules but also an applicant's ability to:
- Identify legal issues raised by hypothetical facts;
- Separate relevant material from irrelevant material;
- Set out the legal rules applicable to the issues and facts;
- Present a reasoned analysis of the relevant issues in a clear, concise, and well-organized composition;
- Reach a conclusion that follows from your analysis.
3. Multistate Bar Exam (MBE)
MBE Test Format
Scoring the MBE
The total point value of the MBE is 200, as each of the 175 questions is weighted at 1.143. Your raw score is based on how many correct answers you achieved. However, the MBE bar examiners adjust applicants’ raw scores by a process called “scaling” so that the overall performance of all test takers on any given MBE is equated (not compared) to past MBE tests.
On each MBE administration, the raw scores will be adjusted or scaled to ensure exam-to-exam parity. Some points will be added to applicants’ raw scores depending on how difficult that exam was deemed compared to past MBE exams.
This scaled score is the score that counts, not the raw score. The Multistate Bar Exam is NOT graded on a curve.
The 175 scored questions on the MBE are distributed evenly, with 25 questions from each of these seven subject areas:
- Federal Civil Procedure;
- Constitutional Law;
- Contracts (and Sales);
- Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure;
- Evidence;
- Real Property; and
- Torts.
Passing the Uniform Bar Exam
- Each of the three UBE sections is scored, scaled, and then added together to determine one’s total score.
- There is no minimum cut score for any of the three UBE sections. After the examinee’s scaled MBE, MPT, and MEE scores are added, the total combined scores determine passing.
- Each UBE jurisdiction sets its minimum passing score, ranging from 260/400 to 280/400 (see map below—the grey states are NOT UBE jurisdictions).
| Minimum UBE Score | Jurisdiction(s) |
| 260 | Alabama, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota |
| 264 | Indiana, Oklahoma |
| 266 | Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Virgin Islands |
| 270 | Arkansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming |
| 272 | Idaho |
| 273 | Arizona |
| 276 | Colorado |
| 280 | Alaska |
Be aware of these state-s Because the UBE is a common bar exam between the 40 jurisdictions, passing examinees may transfer their scores to be admitted to the other UBE jurisdictions. Candidates should be mindful of these three things: To transfer your UBE score earned in one jurisdiction to become licensed in another UBE jurisdiction, you must have achieved the latter’s minimum passing score. The score must also not be older than the maximum age of the target jurisdiction. Finally, you must also meet the target jurisdiction’s licensure requirements.
Each UBE jurisdiction sets the maximum age that transferred UBE scores may be accepted (see map below).
For states with two numbers (eg, Texas: 2 yrs/5 yrs), the first number is the age of the UBE score transfer without any additional stipulations. The second is the age of the UBE score transfer, provided that the applicant has been “primarily engaged in the active practice of law” for a jurisdiction-dependent amount of time.
Jurisdictions that adopt the UBE also have a “look-back” rule that allows applicants to transfer a qualifying UBE score even though the applicant achieved the score before the target jurisdiction adopted the UBE. The look-back rule is jurisdiction-dependent but usually three years.
For instance, while Pennsylvania has not announced its UBE requirements (they are planning to adopt the UBE for the July 2022 administration), it is believed that they will accept a UBE score transfer from as far back as July 2019.
Much like how each UBE jurisdiction sets its own UBE score or age of transferred score, each UBE jurisdiction has its unique process for licensure by UBE score transfer.
Often, applicants will have to complete some type of jurisdictional law component in addition to being determined to have good Character and Fitness to be a licensed attorney in that jurisdiction.
A. Jurisdictional Law Component The jurisdictional law component can take the form of a course that you have to complete that teaches you specific laws of that jurisdiction. Alternatively, it could consist of passing an open-book multiple-choice test that tests your ability to recall that jurisdiction’s laws and apply them to different fact patterns (like a shorter MBE). Other jurisdictions may have a combination of both of these methods.
B. Character and Fitness Component To become licensed in a jurisdiction, each applicant has to pass the Character & Fitness (C&F) component of the bar exam – this even applies to attorneys already licensed in another jurisdiction.
The C&F component is essentially a background check; an applicant will fill out information ranging from previous addresses to potentially moving violations. Then, that jurisdiction’s bar examiners will use that information to investigate the applicant.
Many jurisdictions require students to submit this information before sitting for the Bar Exam (DC is one such jurisdiction). On the other hand, some jurisdictions, like New York, don’t allow applicants to submit this information until after passing the Bar Exam. Be sure to look into these and other application requirements ahead of time.
Whichever the jurisdiction, it is widespread for the C&F component of the bar exam to take a lot of time to complete, so make sure that you allow yourself enough time to complete it correctly.
The following is a list of information a jurisdiction might ask for you to provide that is typically time-consuming to complete:
Ultimately, the transfer and licensure processes are up to the jurisdiction(s) to which you are transferring your UBE score. For more specific information about their respective procedures, check out this Directory of State Bar Admission Agencies for links to the bar exam websites to find out more about your target jurisdiction(s).
pecific requirements:
Portability of the UBE
Maximum Age of Transferred UBE Score
Jurisdiction(s)
2 years
North Dakota, Rhode Island
2 years/5 years*
Iowa, Texas
25 months
Alabama
3 years
Arkansas, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Virgin Islands, West Virginia, Wyoming
3 years/5 years*
Colorado, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont
37 months
Idaho
40 months
Washington
4 years
Illinois
5 years
Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio
Licensure by Transferred UBE Score
Typical Character & Fitness Requirements
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