Ohio Bar Exam
Ohio Bar Examiners
Office of Bar Admissions
Supreme Court of Ohio
65 S. Front Street, 5th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-3431
(614) 387-9340
Bar Exam Format
The Ohio Bar Examiners administer the Uniform Bar Exam, which consists of the MEE, MPT, and MBE.
Day 1
On day one, six MEE questions are given in a three-hour session. Two MPT questions are also given in a three-hour session.
Day 2
On day two, the 200 question multiple-choice MBE is given over two three-hour sessions.
Reciprocity
You can apply for admission without examination if you fulfill the applicable requirements, some of which include:
- the general requirements for admission to practice law in Ohio; and
- passing a bar exam and having been admitted as an attorney in some other state or in the District of Columbia; and
- practicing law full time for 5 of the past 10 years; and
- not having taken and failed an Ohio bar exam.
Subjects/Topics
Essay questions on the Ohio bar exam can examine 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 Ohio 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 Supreme Court of Ohio releases the February Ohio Bar Exam results by early May, and the July Ohio Bar Exam results in late October. Then, the Supreme Court posts a file online containing those results and identifying who passed that exam.
Scoring/Grading
To pass the Ohio bar exam, you must score 270 out of 400, which equates to 135 on a 200-point scale. The combined Multistate Essay Exam (“MEE”) and Multistate Performance Test (“MPT”) scores are scaled to, and added to, the Multistate Bar Exam (“MBE”) score. The scores are weighted as follows: MEE 30%, MPT 20%, and MBE 50%.
Pass Rate/Stats
Each Ohio bar exam can have somewhat different pass rates. For some exams, the pass rates range between 61% to 84% for total takers, 79% to 89% for first-time takers, and 30% to 49% for repeat takers.