Information & Applications » Bar Exam » About the Bar Exam
Filing Deadlines and Fee Schedule
The timely filing deadline to submit an application is MARCH 1 for the July exam and OCTOBER 1 for the February exam. The last filing deadlines are MAY 1, for a July examination, and DECEMBER 1, for a February examination. The filing deadlines are strictly enforced. MBLE does not accept applications for the July examination before February 1 or applications for the February examination before September 1. This means that you may not start your July exam application until February 1 AND may not start your February exam application until September 1. Any applications that have been STARTED prior to these dates will be deleted in order to avoid database inconsistencies. Click here to review the fees and corresponding filing deadlines.
The filing fee is determined upon the postmarked or submitted date of the electronic application, filing fee and executed authorization and release form.
Filing Fees Are Not Refundable
A filing fee may be carried forward one time to the next scheduled examination upon written notice of postponement submitted by email to mble@courts.mo.gov prior to the examination for which the applicant is registered. See Regulation 3 to Rule 8.07.
Date, Location & Schedule
The Bar Examination is given on the last consecutive Tuesday and Wednesday of each February and July. The bar examination schedule posted shows the exact amount of time allotted for the test sessions. However, the actual start times are tentative pending approval by the NCBE. Click here for the Bar Examination Dates, Locations & Schedule.
Exam Security Procedures and Code of Conduct
There are restrictive exam security procedures and a code of conduct that each applicant must follow. Only certain items are allowed in the examination room. All other items are prohibited from the examination room unless specifically listed. Click here for the exam security procedures and a list of what is allowed.
Health-Related Condition
If you have a health-related condition that may require special attention during the examination, submit a Health-Related Condition Notice Form by January 1 for a February examination and by June 1 for a July examination. If the need is for food/juice, medication, an assistive device, or special seating (unless the need is for wheelchair access), a statement from your medical doctor verifying your condition and supporting your need must be included. If you are requesting an accommodation for a disability, as defined under the ADA, refer to the Bar Exam ADA Accommodations Request section of the MBLE homepage.
Laptop Program
Applicants may request to use their laptop computer to type their answers to the essay portion of the examination, subject to use of the required secure software. Applicants must pay a nonrefundable fee to download and use the required software. To request to use your laptop, you must answer "YES" to the laptop question in the application for bar examination and timely follow all instructions for downloading the software. Review the tutorial videos available on your MBLE User Home Page under the "Laptop Exam" section. Click here for more information about using your laptop.
Subjects Tested
Missouri is a Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) state. In Missouri, MBLE administers the UBE, which is comprised of the Multistate Essay Exam (MEE), the Multistate Performance Test (MPT) and the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE). The MEE, MPT and MBE are written by the National Conference of Bar Examiners. Visit the NCBE web site for information about the components of the examination and the subjects tested.
Past Exams
You can order past MEE, MPT, and MBE questions written by the National Conference of Bar Examiners online at www.ncbex2.org/study-aids/.
Exam Scores
As set out in Regulation 4 to Rule 8.08, a total score of at least 260 is required to pass the Missouri bar exam. For additional information, review the Explanation of Score Report. To review pass/fail rates and performance statistics for recent examinations, click here.
Transferring UBE Scores from Missouri
The Missouri Board of Law Examiners uses the UBE score transcript services provided by NCBE to transfer UBE scores earned in Missouri to other jurisdictions. NCBE will not release any UBE score information until after your scores have been released by the Missouri Board of Law Examiners. Instructions for submitting a request can be found on the UBE page on NCBE’s web site.
Transferring an MBE Score
The Missouri Board of Law Examiners will accept an MBE score transferred from another jurisdiction provided the following requirements are met: (1) the transferred MBE score must have been attained in an examination administered within 19 months preceding the Missouri bar exam, (2) the applicant must have passed the entire exam in one administration in the transferring jurisdiction, and (3) the applicant cannot have previously failed the bar examination in Missouri. See Regulation 7 to Rule 8.08. We must receive the transferred score by July 1 if it is to be used for a July exam or by February 1 if it is to be used for a February exam.
It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure his or her MBE score is transferred to MBLE timely. To transfer an MBE score to Missouri, contact either the NCBE or the jurisdiction where you took the MBE. To see a list of the jurisdictions that use NCBE to transfer MBE scores, review the MBE page on NCBE's web site.
PLEASE NOTE: If you transfer an MBE score to Missouri and sit for only the essay portion of the examination you will NOT earn a UBE score. You will earn a score that can be used only to seek admission in Missouri.
Missouri receives MBE scores rounded to one decimal place.
To transfer your MBE score earned in Missouri to another jurisdiction, follow these instructions.
J.D. Requirements
Rule 8.07(c) requires that persons taking the bar examination must have met all the requirements for a J.D. degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association. No applicant for admission by examination shall be certified for admission until the J.D. degree has been conferred. To demonstrate that your J.D. degree has been conferred, the Board of Law Examiners requires an official transcript that reflects the date the degree was awarded. "Issued to student" transcripts will not be accepted. You should request an official transcript be mailed directly to our office by your school or submitted electronically by the school with email notification to our office at transcripts@courts.mo.gov. The transcript must include the date your J.D. degree was awarded.
Graduates of nonABA-approved law schools and foreign law schools cannot apply to take the examination unless they demonstrate that they meet the requirements set out in Rule 8.07(d) or (e). Review these instructions and checklist if you need to request permission under Rule 8.07(d) or (e) to apply for the bar examination because your law degree is not from an ABA-approved law school.
ADA
Testing accommodations will be provided for applicants demonstrating a disability to the extent such accommodations are reasonable, consistent with the nature and purpose of the examination, and necessitated by the applicant's disability. The testing accommodation forms and supporting documentation must be uploaded to your MBLE user homepage. For instructions, forms, and additional information see MBLE's website, Exam Information, Request for ADA Accommodations.
MBLE reminds exam applicants seeking accommodations to review Rule 8.08, Regulation 10 and the information below regarding submission requirements.
Fully completed ADA requests for testing accommodations and repeat accommodations MUST be submitted with your electronic bar exam application, pursuant to Regulation 10 of Rule 8.08. This means ALL forms and supporting documentation must be uploaded to your user homepage with your application submission. Requests for accommodations which are not complete or not timely filed shall be rejected. Extensions will not be granted and late requests will not be considered.
NOTE – Applicants with pending bar applications (pending but not submitted) will not be able to upload their ADA accommodation request forms (or other documents) until they have completed electronic submission of their application and it has no critical warnings (see the Forms & Progress section of your MBLE user homepage). The blue Upload New Document button will appear in the bottom right-hand corner of your homepage after you have properly submitted your electronic application. Once you submit your electronic application, all ADA accommodation request forms and supporting documentation must be uploaded on the same day as your application submission. Any documents or forms not uploaded on the same date as your electronic submission date are not timely filed and will not be considered.
MPRE
Rule 8.08(b) provides that bar exam applicants must attain a scaled score of not less than 80 on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE) before they can be admitted. The certified MPRE score must be received by MBLE no later than one year after the date the applicant is notified of passing the bar examination. Until the official MPRE score report is received and all admission requirements have been met an applicant's name will not be published on the list of successful candidates, and the applicant will not be certified for admission.
The MPRE is developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) and administered on NCBE's behalf by its test contractor, Pearson VUE. Applicants can access the online MPRE registration only through their NCBE Number accounts. For online registration go to the MPRE page on the NCBE website.
Applicants must request that NCBE report their MPRE score directly to Missouri. Score reports submitted by applicants are not acceptable. Additional information can be found online on NCBE's MPRE page.
Missouri Educational Component Test
The State of Missouri has adopted the Uniform Bar Examination ("UBE") for all exam applicants seeking licensure in the state. Because the UBE tests on uniform principals of law, the Supreme Court of Missouri and the Missouri Board of Law Examiners have prepared a mandatory open book test ("Missouri Educational Component Test" or "MECT") for exam applicants to complete as a condition of licensure. The Missouri Materials and the MECT are located at http://www.courts.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=325.
All applicants taking the MECT must sign the Certificate of Completion. The Certificate of Completion must be received by MBLE during the timeframe outlined in Rule 8.08(c). Your test score is valid in accordance with Rule 8.08(c) from the issue date on the Certificate of Completion. Make certain that your name, email address and telephone number are correct on the form. Once printed and signed by you, your Certificate of Completion may be uploaded from your MBLE user home page OR mailed to the MBLE at one of the addresses on the Contact page.
Character and Fitness
In addition to passing the bar examination, all applicants must receive approval by the Board of the applicant's character and fitness for admission. Applicants who did not seek an early character and fitness determination prior to their last year of law school must submit an Application for Character and Fitness Report concurrently with their Application for Bar Examination. Applicants who have previously submitted an Application for Character and Fitness Report must submit a Character & Fitness Update Application covering the time period since the date of their latest full C & F application or update thereto.
Information about the character and fitness process is available here. The Board will conduct a complete and thorough background investigation of every applicant before reaching a determination. It is not required that an applicant have received C&F approval prior to sitting for the exam.
Proof of Citizenship or Prescribed Alien Status
Rule 8.03(a)(4) requires all applicants must be either a citizen or national of the United States, an immigrant lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or an alien otherwise authorized to work lawfully in the United States. If you are a U.S. citizen, provide a CERTIFIED birth certificate, a CERTIFIED Consular Report of Birth, or a copy of your Certificate of Citizenship. You should obtain a CERTIFIED birth certificate from the appropriate government office in the state where you were born. If you mail the required document to our office in lieu of uploading the document, our office will retain these documents and they will not be returned to you. If you are a naturalized citizen, a lawful permanent resident, or an alien authorized to work in the U.S., provide a legible copy of both sides of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) document evidencing your current status - we will use it to verify your status through USCIS. We cannot accept a copy of your passport as proof of citizenship because USCIS will not verify status on the basis of a passport. You will need to provide a copy of your Certificate of Naturalization or Certificate of Citizenship. NOTE: An Optional Practical Training (OPT) authorization is considered part of the educational purpose of a non-resident student visa. It is not a work visa and is not considered by the Board of Law Examiners as satisfying the requirement of Rule 8.03(a)(4).
UBE Score versus non-UBE Score
Applicants must sit for both the essay (MEE and MPT) portion and the MBE portion of the examination in a single administration in order to earn a portable UBE score that can be transferred to seek admission in other jurisdictions. Applicants who transfer an MBE score to Missouri and sit for only the essay portion of the examination will earn a score that can be used only to seek admission in Missouri.