Massachusetts Bar Exam

Massachusetts Bar Examiners

Massachusetts Board of Bar Examiners
Edward W. Brooke Courthouse
24 New Chardon Street, 1st Floor
Boston, MA 02114
(617) 482-4466

Bar Exam Format

Massachusetts adopted the Uniform Bar Exam (“UBE”). The Massachusetts bar exam consists of the MEE and the MPT on Tuesday and the MBE on Wednesday.

Day 1

    The first day has six MEE questions within a three-hour session and two MPT items within another three-hour session. On average, there are 30 minutes to answer each MEE question and 90 minutes to answer each MPT item.

Day 2

    The second day has 100 MBE questions to answer in the 3-hour morning session and 100 more to answer in the 3-hour afternoon session. On average, there are 1.8 minutes to choose each answer.

 

Reciprocity

Under specified circumstances, an attorney can obtain admission to practice law in Massachusetts without having to take the Massachusetts bar exam.  The attorney has to fulfill all of the conditions for such admission, which include practicing law for at least five of the past seven years in another United States jurisdiction. An applicant can obtain admission via a transferred UBE score of at least 270 and attained within the prior 36 months.

Subjects/Topics

The Massachusetts bar exam may test these subjects:

  • Agency;
  • Article 9 of the U.C.C. – Secured Transactions;
  • Conflict of Laws;
  • Constitutional Law;
  • Contracts (including Article 2 of the U.C.C. – Sales);
  • Corporations;
  • Criminal Law (including Criminal Procedure);
  • Decedents’ Estates;
  • Evidence Law;
  • Family Law;
  • Federal Civil Procedure;
  • Limited Liability Companies;
  • Partnerships;
  • Real Property;
  • Torts; and
  • Trusts and Future Interests.

Bar Exam Dates

The Massachusetts 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

Ordinarily, the Massachusetts Board of Bar Examiners grades the Massachusetts bar exam and reports the scores approximately 8 weeks after the February exam and 12 weeks after the July exam. The board of bar examiners mails official results letters to the Massachusetts bar exam takers. The board of bar examiners posts a list of the exam passers’ names on its website.

Scoring/Grading

To pass the Massachusetts bar exam, a taker has to score at least 270, which equates to 135 on a 200-point scale.  The Multistate Bar Exam (“MBE”) counts for 50%. The Multistate Essay Exam (“MEE”) questions count for 30% and the Multistate Performance Test (“MPT”) questions count for 20%.

Pass Rate/Stats

Commonly, the Massachusetts bar exam pass rates range from 54% to 86% for total takers, 69% to 94% for the first-time takers, and 24% to 52% for the repeat takers.