New York Bar Exam (UBE) details
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Bar exam details

A typical New York Bar Exam is a 2-day Uniform Bar Exam (UBE).

Day 1

  • Two 90-minute Multistate Performance Test questions (MPT in the AM)
  • Six 30-minute Multistate Essay Exam questions (MEE in the PM)

Day 2

  • Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), a 200-question, multiple-choice exam (100 questions in the AM, 100 questions in the PM)

Subjects tested

MBE

  • Constitutional Law
  • Contracts/Sales
  • Criminal Law/Procedure
  • Evidence
  • Federal Civil Procedure
  • Real Property
  • Torts

MEE

  • Business Associations (Agency and Partnership; Corporations; and Limited Liability Companies)
  • Conflict of Laws
  • Family Law
  • Trusts and Estates (Decedents' Estates; Trusts and Future Interests)
  • Article 9 (Secured Transactions) of the Uniform Commercial Code
  • Plus all MBE subjects

MPT

  • “Closed universe” practical questions using instructions, factual data, cases, statutes and other reference material supplied by examiners.

MPRE

  • A scaled score of 85 is required for admission to the bar. Applicant must pass the MPRE within three years before or after passing the New York bar exam as measured from the date the applicant sat for each examination.

Click here to learn more about the MPRE.

Scoring

The MEE and MPT scores are scaled to the MBE.

  • MBE weighted 50%
  • MEE weighted 30%
  • MPT weighted 20%

A total scaled score of 266 or higher is required to pass the New York Bar Exam.

Reciprocity

Acceptance of MBE Score

  • New York does not accept an MBE score from an exam taken in another jurisdiction.

Admission on Motion

  • A member in good standing of a reciprocating state may be admitted on motion in New York if the applicant has engaged in the active practice of law for five of the seven years preceding application. Additional requirements apply.

Admission by UBE Score Transfer

  • Applicants who have obtained a scaled score of at least 266 on a Uniform Bar Exam taken in another jurisdiction within the preceding three years may apply for admission based on that score. Additional requirements apply.

Additional information

State Specific Content Knowledge

  • Applicants must complete the New York Law Course (NYLC) and the New York Law Exam (NYLE).
  • The NYLC is an online, on-demand course consisting of approximately 15 hours of videotaped lectures with embedded questions.
  • The NYLE is a 50 item, two-hour, open-book, multiple-choice online exam administered at select dates and times throughout the year. The passing score for the NYLE is 30.
  • Applicants can take the NYLC and NYLE up to one year before or three years after sitting for the UBE. Applicants must complete the NYLC before they can register for the NYLE. 

Pro Bono Hours

  • All applicants, except those on motion, must complete 50 hours of qualifying Pro Bono work prior to filing an application for admission.

Skills Competency and Professional Values

  • All applicants must establish they have acquired skills and professional values necessary to practice law. See Sec. 520.18 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals.

International law graduates and lawyers

A foreign law graduate or lawyer may already be eligible to sit for a U.S. state bar exam with their current credentials.

New York operates a relatively open policy in permitting foreign law graduates or lawyers to sit the bar examination, and does not impose restrictions to admission on grounds of nationality or residence.

Learn more about U.S. bar exam eligibility and requirements for foreign law graduates, lawyers and U.S. LL.M. students.

BARBRI Bar Exam Digest

We compile all of the information that you need to know about the dates, format, subjects tested, deadlines, fees and more - for each U.S. state - in the free BARBRI Bar Exam Digest.

Download the Digest ›

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