Missouri Bar Exam

 ***Missouri’s Miscellaneous Rules allow attorneys applying to take the bar exam to practice law in Missouri on a temporary basis.

Missouri Bar Exam Format

The Missouri bar exam is the Uniform Bar Exam (“UBE”). The bar exam takes two days and consists of the Multistate Performance Test (“MPT”), Multistate Essay Exam (“MEE”), and the Multistate Bar Exam (“MBE”). Missouri law is not tested on the Missouri bar exam.

Applicants must also complete an open-book Missouri Education Component.

MPT (Performance Test)
Missouri tests two (2) MPT performance tests.

MEE (Essays)
Missouri tests six (6) MEE essays. Subjects may include:

• Business Associations (Agency and Partnership; Corporations and LLCs)
• Civil Procedure (Federal)
• Conflict of Laws
• Constitutional Law
• Contracts (Common Law, Sales/UCC Art. 2)
• Criminal Law
• Criminal Procedure
• Evidence
• Family Law
• Negotiable Instruments/Commercial Paper (UCC Art. 3)
• Real Property
• Secured Transactions (UCC Art. 9)
• Torts
• Trusts and Estates (Decedents’ Estates, Trusts, Future Interests)

MBE (Multiple Choice)
Missouri uses the standard MBE. Subjects include:

• Civil Procedure
• Constitutional Law
• Contracts (Common Law, Sales/UCC Art. 2)
• Criminal Law
• Criminal Procedure
• Evidence
• Real Property
• Torts

MBE Score Transfer
Missouri accepts UBE and MBE scores from other jurisdictions. Missouri accepts MBE scores provided that the score was achieved within 19 months (3 exams) of the current exam, the applicant passed the entire previous bar exam, and the applicant did not previously fail the Missouri bar exam. Applicants choosing to transfer an MBE score and sit for only the written portion of the exam do not earn a UBE score. Applications for transferring a UBE score can be found here.

Missouri Bar Exam Testing Schedule

Day 1
Morning – 2 MPTs (3 hours)
Afternoon – 6 Essays (3 hours)

Day 2
Morning – MBE Part I (100 questions; 3 hours)
Afternoon – MBE Part II (100 questions; 3 hours)

Missouri Bar Exam Dates and Application

The Missouri bar exam is administered twice each year on the last Tuesday and Wednesday of February and July in Jefferson City, Missouri. Applications can be found on the Missouri Board of Law Examiners’ Website.

Grading

Missouri Bar Exam Weight

Grading Procedure
Raw essay scores are converted to scaled essay scores using the standard deviation method and puts the raw essay scores on the same 200 point scale as the MBE. The scaling also adjusts for possible differences in the difficulty of the essay questions or in the harshness of the essay grading from one exam administration to another.

An applicant’s MBE raw score is the number of MBE questions the applicant answered correctly. MBE raw scores are then converted to scaled scores. The scaling controls for possible differences in question difficulty from one exam administration to another.

The written portion scaled score and the MBE scaled score are added to generate the final bar exam score. Applicants sitting for both the written and MBE portions in Missouri earn a portable Uniform Bar Exam score that may be used in other jurisdictions that accepts such scores.

Passing Score
The minimum passing score is a total score of 260 or greater.

Pass Rates
Past exam performance statistics can be found here.

Review and Appeal for Applicants Failing the Missouri Bar Exam

Applicants cannot review their bar exam answers. The released bar exam results are final. There is no re-grading or appeal process. However, applicants may request to have their MBE score hand graded for a fee.

Retaking the Missouri Bar Exam

Missouri places no limit on the amount of times an applicant may take the Missouri bar exam.