Which States Use the MBE on the Bar Exam?

Which States Use the MBE on the Bar Exam?

Recently, there is a trend toward uniformity when it comes to the bar exam. Except for Louisiana and Puerto Rico, all other U.S. states use the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE). However, there is still variation among states that use the MBE. To learn how your jurisdiction will treat the MBE, read on!

Which States Use the MBE on the Bar Exam?

Why Don’t Louisiana and Puerto Rico Use the MBE?

The National Conference of Bar examiners (NCBE) administers the MBE to test majority law and federal rules. It does not test any state-specific law. Louisiana and Puerto Rico do not use the MBE because those jurisdictions follow civil law systems that are very different from legal systems in other states.

Do All States Give the MBE the Same Weight?

While U.S. jurisdictions other than Louisiana and Puerto Rico all use the MBE, not all states administering the MBE treat it in the same way. If a state is one of the 38 states in a Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) jurisdiction, the MBE score weight is 50% of the test taker’s total score. In Nevada, the MBE is only worth 33% of the total score. The MBE is worth 40% in Delaware, Mississippi, and Virginia. In Pennsylvania, the MBE is 45% of your score.

Is a Passing MBE Score the Same in Each State?

Not only do different states weigh the MBE in different ways, individual states and territories also set their own passing scores. For example, the minimum passing score in Palau is 120. Delaware has the highest passing score at 145, followed closely by California at 144. Most states are more generous than Delaware and California and set their MBE passing score between 133-135.

In most jurisdictions, you pass based on your overall score — not your MBE score. However, Kentucky (132), South Dakota (135), and Palau (120) all require minimum passing scores on the MBE in order to pass the bar exam. Learn more about the MBE raw passing scores here.

Which Subjects Are Tested on the MBE?

The MBE tests seven subjects: civil procedure, constitutional law, contracts and sales, criminal law and procedure, evidence, real property, and torts. There are 25 scored questions on each subject, though some topics within those subjects are more highly tested than others. You can learn more about the benefits of focusing on highly tested MBE topics here.

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