Indiana Bar Exam

Indiana Bar Examiners

Indiana State Board of Law Examiners
30 South Meridian Street, Suite 875
Indianapolis, IN 46204-3569
(317) 232-2552

Bar Exam Format

The Indiana bar exam has its written parts on Tuesday and the multiple choice part on Wednesday.

Day 1

The first day’s written parts include two MPTs answerable in three hours and six IEE questions answerable in four hours.  On average, you have 1.5 hours to answer each MPT and 40 minutes to answer each essay question.

Day 2

The second day has the MBE’s 100 multiple choice questions to answer in the 3 hours before the lunch break and 100 more of them to answer in the 3 hours afterward.  On average, you have 1.8 minutes to choose each answer.

Reciprocity

A lawyer admitted to practice law in another United States jurisdiction can qualify to practice law in Indiana by admission on motion.  The lawyer may qualify by fulfilling several conditions, which include practicing law for at least five of the past seven years in the other jurisdiction.

Subjects/Topics

The Indiana Essay Examination (“IEE”) subjects are:

  • Administrative Law;
  • Business Organizations;
  • Family Law;
  • Indiana Constitutional Law;
  • Indiana Debt Collection;
  • Indiana Employment Law;
  • Pleading and Practice;
  • Residential Landlord-Tenant Law;
  • Secured Transactions;
  • Taxation (Federal and State); and
  • Wills, Trusts and Estates.

Bar Exam Dates

The Indiana bar exam is held in February and July. The exam is usually on the last Wednesday and prior Tuesday of each month.

2024

  • February 27-28, 2024
  • July 30-31, 2024

Exam Results

Commonly, the Indiana State Board of Law Examiners grades the Indiana bar exam and reports the scores approximately 8 to 9 weeks after administering the exam.  The board of law examiners will mail notification of the exam scores and post a list of passers on its website.

Scoring/Grading

To pass the Indiana bar exam, a taker has to score at least 132 on a 200-point scale.  The Multistate Performance Test (“MPT”) counts for 20%, the IEE counts for 30%, and the Multistate Bar Exam (“MBE”) counts for 50%.

Pass Rate/Stats

Typically, the Indiana bar exam pass rates range between 61% and 82% for total takers, 76% and 87% for the first-time takers, and 28% and 56% for the repeat takers.