Information & Applications » Bar Exam » About the Bar Exam
Filing Deadlines
The timely filing deadline to submit an application is MARCH 1 for the July exam and OCTOBER 1 for the February exam. Late filing with additional fee is permitted only until MAY 31 for the July exam and DECEMBER 31 for the February exam. The filing deadlines are strictly enforced. We do not accept applications for the July examination before February 1 or applications for the February examination before September 1. This means that you may NOT START your July exam application until February 1 AND may NOT START your February exam application until September 1. Any applications that have been STARTED prior to these dates will be deleted in order to avoid database inconsistencies. Click here to review the fees and corresponding filing deadlines.
The filing fee is determined upon the postmarked or submitted date of the electronic application, filing fee and executed authorization and release form.
Filing Fees Are Not Refundable
A filing fee may be carried forward one time to the next scheduled examination upon written notice of postponement submitted by email to mble@courts.mo.gov prior to the examination for which the applicant is registered. See Regulation 3 to Rule 8.07.
Date, Location & Schedule
The Bar Examination is given on the last consecutive Tuesday and Wednesday of each February and July. The February 2015 exam will be administered in Columbia on February 24 and 25 at the Holiday Inn Executive Center, I-70 Drive SW, phone (573) 445-8531. The July 2015 exam will be administered on July 28 and 29 at two sites in Jefferson City: (1) the Truman Hotel & Convention Center, 1510 Jefferson Street, telephone (635-7171) and (2) Capitol Plaza Hotel, 415 West McCarty Street, telephone (573) 635-1234. The bar examination schedule posted shows the exact amount of time allotted for the test sessions. However, the actual start times are tentative pending approval by the NCBE. Click here for the Bar Examination Schedule.
Exam Security Procedures and Code of Conduct
There are restrictive exam security procedures and a code of conduct that each applicant must follow. There are also certain things you must bring with you to the examination, certain things you are permitted to bring, and certain things that are prohibited. Click here for the exam security procedures, code of conduct and a list of what is allowed and what is not.
Medical Alert
If you have any medical condition that may require special attention during the examination (or if you need to have prescription medication or medical devices in the examination room), submit a Notice of Medical Alert at least 3 weeks prior to the first day of the examination. This form does not apply to applicants seeking disability accommodations.
Laptop Program
Applicants may request to use their laptop computer to type their answers to the essay portion of the examination, subject to use of the required secure software. Applicants must pay a nonrefundable fee to the software company to download and use the required software. To request to use your laptop, you must answer "YES" to the laptop question in the application for bar examination and timely follow all instructions for downloading the software. Click here for more information about using your laptop.
Subjects Tested
The bar examination in Missouri includes the Multistate Essay Exam (MEE), the Multistate Performance Test (MPT) and the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), which are written by the National Conference of Bar Examiners. Visit the NCBE web site for information about the components of the examination and the subjects tested.
Past Exams
You can order past MEE, MPT, and MBE questions written by the National Conference of Bar Examiners online at www.ncbex2.org/catalog/.
Weighting and Cutscore
As set out in Regulation 4 to Rule 8.08, MBE scores are weighted 50%, MEE scores are weighted 30%, and MPT scores are weighted 20% in calculating total scores. A total scaled score of at least 260 is required to pass the bar exam. For additional information, review the FAQ and this Explanation of Score Report. To review pass/fail rates and performance statistics for recent examinations, click here.
Transferring UBE Scores from Missouri
The Missouri Board of Law Examiners uses the UBE score transcript services provided by NCBE to transfer UBE scores earned in Missouri to other jurisdictions. NCBE will not release any UBE score information until after your scores have been released by the Missouri Board of Law Examiners. Instructions for submitting a request can be found on the UBE Score Transcript Services page on NCBE’s web site.
Transferring a MBE Score
The Missouri Board of Law Examiners will accept an MBE score transferred from another jurisdiction provided the following requirements are met: (1) the transferred MBE score must have been attained in an examination administered within 19 months preceding the Missouri bar exam, (2) the applicant must have passed the entire exam in one administration in the transferring jurisdiction, and (3) the applicant cannot have previously failed the bar examination in Missouri. See Regulation 7 to Rule 8.08. We must receive the transferred score by July 1 if it is to be used for a July exam or by February 1 if it is to be used for a February exam.
It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure his or her MBE score is transferred to us timely. To transfer an MBE score to Missouri, contact either the NCBE or the jurisdiction where you took the MBE. Approximately half of all jurisdictions use the services of the NCBE to transfer MBE scores to another jurisdiction. To see a list of the jurisdictions that use NCBE to transfer MBE scores, review the MBE Scores Services FAQs.
PLEASE NOTE: If you transfer an MBE score to Missouri and sit for only the essay portion of the examination you will NOT earn a UBE score. You will earn a score that can be used only to seek admission in Missouri.
Missouri receives MBE scores rounded to one decimal place.
To transfer your MBE score earned in Missouri to another jurisdiction, follow these instructions.
J.D. Requirements
Rule 8.07(c) requires that persons taking the bar examination must have met all the requirements for a J.D. degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association. No applicant for admission by examination shall be certified for admission until the J.D. degree has been conferred. To demonstrate that your J.D. degree has been conferred, the Board of Law Examiners requires an official transcript that reflects the date the degree was awarded. "Issued to student" transcripts will not be accepted. You should request an official transcript is mailed directly to our office by your school or submitted electronically by the school with email notification to our office at transcripts@courts.mo.gov. The transcript must include the date your J.D. degree was awarded. If you pass the bar examination, your exam results will not be released, your name will not be published on the web list of successful candidates, and you will not be certified for admission until we receive an official transcript showing the date your J.D. degree was conferred.
Graduates of nonABA approved law schools and foreign law schools cannot apply to take the examination unless they demonstrate that they meet the requirements set out in Rule 8.07(d) or (e). Review these instructions and checklist if you need to request permission under Rule 8.07(d) or (e) to apply for the bar examination because your law degree is not from an ABA approved law school.
ADA
Testing accommodations will be provided for applicants demonstrating a disability to the extent such accommodations are reasonable, consistent with the nature and purpose of the examination, and necessitated by the applicant's disability. Applicants needing accommodations must file a Petition for Test Accommodations, including all required supporting documentation, with the Application for Bar Examination in accordance with the exam filing deadlines and fee schedule.
Instructions: General Instructions for Requesting Accommodations
Form 1: Application Request for Test Accommodations
Form 2: Learning Disability Verification
Form 3: Attention Deficit / Hyperactitivy Disorder Verification
Form 4: Psychological Disability Verification
Form 5: Visual Disability Verification
Form 6: Physical Disability Verification
Form 7: Certification of Accommodations History
MPRE
Rule 8.08(b) provides that bar exam applicants must attain a scaled score of not less than 80 on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE) before they can be admitted. The certified MPRE score must be received by MBLE no later than one year after the date the applicant is notified of passing the bar examination. Until the official MPRE score report is received and all admission requirements have been met an applicant's name will not be published on the list of successful candidates, exam scores will not be released and the applicant will not be certified for admission. The applicant will be provided examination results.
The MPRE is administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) on behalf of the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE). Applicants can access the online MPRE registration only through their NCBE Number accounts. For information online and telephone registration go to the MPRE registration page on the NCBE website.
Applicants must request that NCBE report their MPRE score directly to Missouri. Score reports submitted by applicants are not acceptable. Additional information can be found online on the MPRE Score Services page. You may also contact NCBE at: MPRE Records Dept., 302 South Bedford Street, Madison, WI 53703-3614, Phone: (608) 280-8550.
Missouri Educational Component
The State of Missouri has adopted the Uniform Bar Examination ("UBE") for all applicants seeking licensure in the State. Because the UBE tests on uniform principals of law, the Supreme Court of Missouri and the Missouri Board of Law Examiners have prepared a mandatory open book test ("Missouri Educational Component Test" or "MECT") for all applicants to complete as a condition of licensure in accordance with Rule 8.08(c).
The review materials ("Missouri Materials") include 11 outlines on the subjects of Torts, Civil Procedure, Real Property, Trusts, Estates, Family Law, Business Associations, Administrative Law, Missouri Courts, Evidence and Trust Account Management. The Missouri Materials and the MECT are located at http://www.courts.mo.gov/page.jsp?id=325.
The Missouri Materials are intended to assist Missouri bar applicants. The Missouri Materials are distributed and presented with the understanding that the Missouri Board of Law Examiners, its committees, authors, reviewers and speakers do not render legal, accounting, tax or other professional advice. The Missouri Materials are provided as research information to be used by bar applicants for the MECT. The Missouri Materials may be used beyond the MECT by the applicants, in conjunction with other research deemed necessary in the exercise of their independent professional judgment. Original and fully current sources of authority should be researched. Although every effort has been made to assure the accuracy of the Missouri Materials, the law continues to change and there is no guarantee that every statement is correct. The MECT will be graded upon the information provided in the Missouri Materials as posted at the time of the test given even if such information is later deemed to be incorrect. The Missouri Materials and the MECT are provided in English only.
All applicants must take the MECT and must sign the Certificate of Completion. Once issued and signed by you, the Certificate of Completion must be mailed to the Board of Law Examiners during the time frame outlined in Rule 8.08(c). Prior to mailing, please make certain that your name, email address and telephone number are correct on the form. Your Certificate of Completion may be uploaded from your user home page or mailed to Board of Law Examiners, 1700 Jefferson St., Jefferson City, MO 65109. Your test score is valid in accordance with Rule 8.08(c) from the issue date on the Certificate of Completion.
Character and Fitness
In addition to passing the bar examination, all applicants must receive approval by the Board of the applicant's character and fitness for admission. Applicants who did not seek an early character and fitness determination prior to their last year of law school must submit an Application for Character and Fitness Report concurrently with their Application for Bar Examination. Applicants who have previously submitted an Application for Character and Fitness Report must submit a Character & Fitness Update Application covering the time period since the date of their latest full C & F application or update thereto.
Information about the character and fitness process is available in the FAQ. The Board will conduct a complete and thorough background investigation of every applicant before reaching a determination. If the Board has not reached a determination prior to the examination, the applicant may be permitted to take the examination with the understanding that the applicant's successful exam results will not be released unless and until the Board grants approval.
Proof of Citizenship or Prescribed Alien Status
Rule 8.03(a)(4) requires all applicants must be either a citizen or national of the United States, an immigrant lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or an alien otherwise authorized to work lawfully in the United States. If you are a U.S. citizen, provide a CERTIFIED birth certificate, a CERTIFIED Consular Report of Birth, or a copy of your Certificate of Citizenship. Our office will retain these documents and they will not be returned to you. You should obtain a CERTIFIED birth certificate from the appropriate government office in the state where you were born. You can visit www.vitalrec.com to locate the appropriate office. If you are a naturalized citizen, a lawful permanent resident, or an alien authorized to work in the U.S., provide a legible copy of both sides of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) document evidencing your current status - we will use it to verify your status through USCIS. We cannot accept a copy of your passport as proof of citizenship because USCIS will not verify status on the basis of a passport. You will need to provide a copy of your Certificate of Naturalization or Certificate of Citizenship. NOTE: An Optional Practical Training (OPT) authorization is considered part of the educational purpose of a non-resident student visa. It is not a work visa and is not considered by the Board of Law Examiners as satisfying the requirement of Rule 8.03(a)(4).
UBE Score versus non-UBE Score
Applicants must sit for both the essay (MEE and MPT) portion and the MBE portion of the examination in a single administration in order to earn a portable UBE score that can be transferred to seek admission in other jurisdictions. Applicants who transfer an MBE score to Missouri and sit for only the essay portion of the examination will earn a score that can be used only to seek admission in Missouri.