New Jersey Bar Exam
New Jersey Bar Examiners
New Jersey Board of Bar Examiners
P.O. Box 973
Trenton, NJ 08625-0973
Bar Exam Format
The New Jersey Uniform Bar Exam includes the multiple choice questions on Wednesday and the essay questions on Tuesday.
Day 1
The first day consists of the written questions. Thirty minutes is allocated to answer each of the six MEE questions, on average, during the three-hour morning session. The three-hour afternoon session includes two MPT items.
Day 2
The second day is the MBE, having 100 questions in the 3-hour morning session and 100 questions in the 3-hour afternoon session. On average, there are approximately 1.8 minutes to answer each question.
Reciprocity
The State of New Jersey allows for admission by motion for lawyers from reciprocal jurisdictions who fulfill all applicable requirements.
New Jersey will accept a student’s transferred UBE score of 266 that is submitted within 36 months of the exam at which it was earned.
Subjects/Topics
The New Jersey bar exam essay questions may examine these subjects:
- Civil Procedure;
- Contracts;
- Criminal Law and Procedure;
- Constitutional Law;
- Real Property;
- Evidence;
- Torts;
- Agency;
- Conflict of Laws (will not be the main subject of an essay question);
- Corporations (and LLCs);
- Family Law;
- Partnerships;
- Uniform Commercial Code Articles 2 (Sales) and 9 (Secured Transactions); and
- Wills, Trusts, and Estates.
Bar Exam Dates
The New Jersey 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
Although not definite dates, the board seeks to release the February New Jersey bar exam results by mid-May, and the July exam results by mid-November. The board will post a list of passers on its website.
Scoring/Grading
To pass the New Jersey bar exam, you have to score at least 266, on a 400-point scale (133 on a 200-point scale). The board weights the Multistate Bar Exam (“MBE”) 50%, the Multistate Essay Exam (“MEE”) 30%, and the Multistate Performance Test (“MPT”) 20%.
Pass Rate/Stats
Measured over several traditional New Jersey bar exams, their pass rates have ranged between 48% and 82% for total takers, 65% and 87% for first-time takers, and 29% and 52% for repeat takers.