New York Bar Exam
New York Bar Examiners
New York State Board of Law Examiners
Corporate Plaza, Building #3
254 Washington Avenue Extension
Albany, NY 12203
(518) 453-5990
Bar Exam Format
New York has adopted the Uniform Bar Exam (“UBE”), which includes the MPT and MEE on Tuesday and the MBE on Wednesday.
Day 1
Two MPT questions are administered within the 3-hour morning session, allowing an average of 90 minutes to answer each of them. Six MEE questions are administered within the 3-hour afternoon session, allowing an average of 30 minutes to answer each essay question.
Day 2
Each of the 3-hour morning and afternoon sessions have 100 MBE multiple choice questions to answer in 1.8 minutes each, on average.
Reciprocity
Generally, the law examiners permit an attorney’s admission on motion to the New York State Bar, if the attorney:
- has practiced law for five of the past seven years;
- is admitted to practice law in a reciprocal jurisdiction; and
- has graduated from an American Bar Association-approved law school.
New York permits admission on a transferred UBE score of 266 within 3 years of when the score was attained
Subjects/Topics
The essay portion of the New York 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 New York 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
Traditionally, the law examiners release the February New York bar exam results in mid-May and the July results in mid-November. By email, the law examiners will send written pass or fail notices to all takers. The law examiners’ website provides private “results lookup” for all takers to view their results online. The law examiners will post a public pass list on their website.
Scoring/Grading
A passing score on the New York bar exam is 266 of 400 points (i.e., 133 on a 200-point scale). The MPT is weighted 20%, the Multistate Essay Exam (“MEE”) is weighted 30%, and the MBE is weighted 50%.
Pass Rate/Stats
For some New York bar exams, traditionally the pass rates range:
- for total takers, between 42% and 75%;
- for first-time takers, between 59% and 91%; and
- for repeat takers, between 20% and 42%.