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MISSOURI BOARD of LAW EXAMINERS

Exam Day Information


Testing Room Information

  • A testing room assignment notice will be posted to your user account approximately ten days before the examination.

  • No ticket, seat assignment, or other paper can be taken into the examination room. You should not bring your printed room assignment. You do not need any paper to be admitted.

  • On examination day, simply bring your government photo ID.

  • You are not allowed to have any paper, notes, index cards, books, outlines, scratch paper, or other such items in the testing room. This includes any documents MBLE sent you.

  • Review the examination schedule on the Bar Examination Dates & Locations link.

  • Review the Examination Security Procedures & Code of Conduct link. Page 2 of this document includes a list of prohibited and allowed items.

  • If you need to bring any medication to the exam room, you must submit a Health-Related Condition Notice Form prior to the first day of the examination month (December 1st or May 1st).

Essay Answer Guidelines

Missouri administers the Uniform Bar Examination. The bar examination questions should be answered according to the law of general application and not the law of any specific state.

Good essay answers should demonstrate:

  • Responsiveness to the specific inquiry or inquiries in the question.

  • Legal and factual analytical ability.

  • Knowledge of the principles of law involved and the application of those principles to the facts.

  • Ability to effectively communicate your answer.

The examination does not seek a recitation of legal rules by rote, but rather a demonstration of knowledge of legal principles and the ability to think and reason by applying those principles to the facts so as to come to a logical and coherent conclusion. Answers that are not responsive to the question asked will receive little or no points.

  • Read the question carefully.

  • Get the facts straight and understand what you are being asked before you begin to write.

  • Briefly outline the issues and think through the answer before you begin to write.

  • Restate the facts only insofar as necessary to explain your answer.

  • Respond to the query or queries posed in the question.

  • Most questions can be effectively answered by identifying the issues, stating the applicable rules of law, analyzing the facts in light of the rules, and arriving at a conclusion or conclusions.

  • Don't ignore issues merely because your conclusion on another issue would render them moot. Instead, address all issues fairly raised by the question in case your conclusion on the other issue is incorrect.

  • If a question explicitly eliminates an issue, do not try to raise that issue.

  • Avoid repetition.

  • Write legibly or register to use your laptop. While points are not deducted for poor spelling or illegible handwriting, when such deficiencies make an answer unintelligible, credit cannot be given.

  • Avoid phonetic spellings and unorthodox abbreviations. Common abbreviations, such as "pl." for plaintiff and "def." for defendant will be recognized.

  • Use paragraphs and subheadings to separate ideas and issues in your answer.