Delaware Bar Exam Format
The Delaware bar exam takes three days and consists of the Delaware Essays, the Multistate Performance Test (“MPT” ), and the Multistate Bar Exam (“MBE” ). Delaware law is tested on the Delaware bar exam.
Delaware Essays
Delaware tests eight (8) essays. The essays are designed for 45-minutes each. Past essay questions can be found here. Subjects may include:
- Agency
- Constitutional Law
- Contracts
- Corporations
- Criminal Law (including the Delaware Criminal Code)
- Equity
- Evidence
- Partnership
- Delaware Procedure (Delaware Supreme Court, Court of Chancery, Superior Court (Civil and Criminal), Family Court, U.S. District Court, and the original and appellate jurisdiction of the Delaware courts)
- Property
- Torts
- Trusts
- Uniform Commercial Code
- Wills
MPT (Performance Test)
Delaware tests two (2) MPT performance tests.
MBE (Multiple Choice)
Delaware uses the standard MBE. Subjects include:
- Civil Procedure
- Constitutional Law
- Contracts (Common Law, Sales/UCC Art. 2)
- Criminal Law
- Criminal Procedure
- Evidence
- Real Property
MBE Score Transfer
Delaware does not accept previous MBE scores. All applicants must take the MBE as part of the Delaware bar exam.
Delaware Bar Exam Testing Schedule
Day 1 (Monday)
8 Delaware Essays
Day 2 (Tuesday)
Morning – 2 MPTs
Day 3 (Wednesday)
Morning – MBE Part I (100 questions; 3 hours)
Afternoon – MBE Part II (100 questions; 3 hours)
Delaware Bar Exam Dates and Application
The Delaware bar exam is held once each year on the last Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of July at Widener University School of Law. Delaware does not administer a February bar exam. Applications can be found on the Delaware Board of Bar Examiners’ Website.
| Exam Date | Timely Deadline | Final Deadline |
| July 24-26, 2017 | April 15 | May 15 |
Grading
Delaware Bar Exam Weight
| Essays/MPT | 60% |
| MBE | 40% |
Grading Procedure
Please see the Delaware Drafting and Guidelines and Procedures for detailed information regarding the Delaware grading procedure. Delaware uses scaled scores.
Passing Score
The minimum passing score is a total scaled score of 145 out of 200 points.
Pass Rates
Statistics can be found here.
Review and Appeal for Applicants Failing the Delaware Bar Exam
Unsuccessful applicants may obtain a copy of any or all of the applicant’s answers to the essay and MPT exam with two representative answers to each question. Applicants must make a written request within 14 days of when the bar exam results are posted with a $10 fee for each question requested.
The Board’s decisions regarding specific grades or grades assigned to an individual applicant are final and not subject to review by either the Board or the Delaware Supreme Court. The Board states:
Changes in “raw” essay scores after grade announcement could affect all grades and could change the pass/fail determinations for other applicants, which would affect the consistency, validity and integrity of the grading process. Board Rule 20 was deleted by the Court in 1999. As a result, the Board does not engage in any post-announcement review of specific grades assigned to any individual applicant. (Delaware Drafting and Grading Guidelines and Procedures).
Retaking the Delaware Bar Exam
Applicants may take the Delaware bar exam an unlimited number of times.