Maryland Bar Exam

Maryland Bar Examiners

Maryland State Board of Law Examiners
2011-F Commerce Park Drive
Annapolis, MD 21401
(410) 260-3640

Bar Exam Format

The Maryland bar exam format consists of 10 state essay questions, 1 MPT, and the MBE.

Day 1

The first day involves: 1) answering the 1 MPT and Maryland essay questions 1-3 from 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M; and 2) answering Maryland essay questions 4-10 from 1:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M.

Day 2

The second day involves: 1) answering 100 MBE multiple choice questions from 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M., and 2) answering another 100 MBE questions from 1:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M.

The Attorney Exam format consists of essay questions, which a taker has three hours to answer during a part of the first day.  The taker should bring books to use for this open book test.  The taker’s answers should refer to rules and statutory sources.

Reciprocity

To practice law in Maryland, one must pass either the Maryland bar exam or the Attorney Exam.

Subjects/Topics

The Maryland bar exam essay question subjects include:

  • Agency;
  • Business Associations;
  • Commercial Transactions;
  • Constitutional Law;
  • Contracts;
  • Criminal Law and Procedure;
  • Evidence;
  • Family Law;
  • Maryland Civil Procedure;
  • Professional Conduct;
  • Property; and
  • Torts.

The Maryland out-of-state attorney exam (the “Attorney Exam”) subjects are the:

  • Maryland Rules of Procedure governing practice and procedure in civil cases and criminal causes;
  • Maryland Lawyers’ Rules of Professional Conduct;
  • Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland; and
  • Criminal Procedure Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland.

Bar Exam Dates

The Maryland 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

The February Maryland bar exam results are released in early May.  The July Maryland bar exam results are released in early November.  The Attorney Exam results are not released at a set date.  All exam takers receive their results by regular mail. Only those exam takers who do not pass will receive their grades. Results are posted on the Maryland State Board of Law Examiners website.

Scoring/Grading

A score of at least 406 on a 600 point scale is required to pass the Maryland bar exam.

The Written Test raw score is comprised of the essay scores and the Multistate Performance Test (“MPT”) score.  The MPT is weighted one and one-half as much as a single Maryland essay question.  The Written Test raw score is then converted to the MBE scale.

Total Scale Score = (Written Scale Score x 2) + MBE Scale Score

To pass the Attorney Exam, a score of at least 70% of the total point score is required.

Pass Rate/Stats

Each Maryland bar exam can have different pass rates.  Over the course of some exams, the pass rates have been 50% to 82% for total takers, 61% to 88% for first time takers, and 30% to 53% for repeat takers.