***The District of Columbia allows admission for attorneys achieving Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) scaled scores of 133 or greater if taken at the same time as a written bar exam where the applicant passed that bar exam and was admitted to the jurisdiction. Applicants must have graduated from an ABA accredited law school and achieved a Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE) score of 75 or greater.
Washington D.C. Bar Exam Format
The D.C. bar exam takes two days and consists of the Multistate Performance Test (“MPT”), Multistate Essay Exam (“MEE” ), and the Multistate Bar Exam (“MBE” ). D.C. law is not specifically tested on the D.C. bar exam.
MPT (Performance Test)
D.C. tests two (2) MPT performance tests.
MEE (Essays)
D.C. tests six (6) MEE essays. Subjects include:
- Business Associations (Agency, Partnership, Corporations, LLCs)
- Civil Procedure (Federal)
- Conflict of Law
- 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 (Trusts, Future Interests, Wills)
D.C. Appellate Rule 46(b)(8)(iii)also states the following additional subjects may be covered on the D.C. bar examination:
- Administrative Law
- Equity
- Legal Ethics
- Tax Law
MBE (Multiple Choice)
D.C. 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
D.C. allows admission for an MBE scaled score of 133 or greater if taken at the same time as a written bar exam where the applicant passed the bar exam and was admitted to the jurisdiction. Applicant must have graduated from an ABA accredited law school and achieved an MPRE score of 75 or greater.
Accepted for a scaled score of 133 or greater. The prior administration must be within 25 (4 exams) months of the present exam and must have contained identical subjects to the present exam. The applicant must obtain a scaled score of 133 or greater on the D.C. essay portion of the bar exam.
D.C. Bar Exam Testing Schedule
Day 1
Morning – 2 MPTs (3 hours)
Afternoon – 6 MEE essays (3 hours)
Day 2
Morning – MBE Part I (100 questions; 3 hours)
Afternoon – MBE Part II (100 questions; 3 hours)
Washington D.C. Bar Exam Dates and Application
The D.C. Bar Exam is held on the last Tuesday and Wednesday of February and July. Applications can be found on the D.C. Court of Appeals’ Website.
| Exam Date | Application Deadline | Late Deadline |
| February 21-22, 2017 | Arppox. Dec. 15 | Approx. Dec. 31 |
| July 25-26, 2017 | Approx. May 1 | Approx. May 15 |
Grading
D.C. Bar Exam Weight
| MEE | 25% |
| MPT | 25% |
| MBE | 50% |
Grading Procedure
The D.C. bar exam is graded using scaled scores.
MPT – MPT question are worth 45 raw points.
MEE – Individual MEE essays are worth 15 raw points.
Passing Score
The minimum passing requirements for the D.C. bar exam are a reported scaled score of 266.
D.C. bar exam results are released in mid-May for the February bar exam and mid-November for the July bar exam.
Pass Rates
Not currently available.
Review for Applicants Failing the D.C. Bar Exam
Applicants with written scaled scores within five points of the passing score or combined written and MBE scores that are within five points of the passing score will be further reviewed by the D.C. Bar Admission Committee.
Applicants who fail the D.C. bar exam will receive their MBE scaled score and the raw and scaled scores for the MEE essay questions. Applicants transferring MBE scores from another bar exam will only be notified that they passed the MBE (the score will be reported as 133).
Applicants that fail the D.C. bar exam may request to have their MEE or MPT answers re-graded. Applicants must request to review the bar exam. The review is available during a three-hour time period on a date specified by the Director of Admissions. The applicant’s answers, the bar exam essay questions, and model answers will be provided for review.
Applicants attending the review session may then submit a petition for re-grading of any answer. Separate petitions should be filed for each answer the applicant wants re-graded. The petitions must be filed within 10 days of the review, excluding weekends and legal holidays. Each petition is required to include the reasons supporting re-grading and must be sent to the Director of Admissions. The petition should include only the applicant’s bar exam number and cannot include reference to scores, economic status, etc. Examiners will review the petitions, and the Director of Admission will notify the applicant of the final decision.
Retaking the Washington D.C. Bar Exam
D.C. places no limit on the amount of times the D.C. bar exam can be taken before special permission is required.