Nevada Bar Exam Format
The Nevada bar exam takes four days and consists of the Nevada Essay Exam, the Multistate Performance Test (“MPT”), and the Multistate Bar Exam (“MBE”). Nevada law is tested on the Nevada bar exam.
Nevada Essay Exam
Nevada tests eight (8) essays. The essays are designed for one hour each. The essays contain at least one question on legal ethics and may contain issues from more than a single subject. Model answers can be found here. Subjects include:
- Agency and Partnership
- Civil Procedure (Nevada and Federal)
- Community Property
- Conflict of Laws
- Constitutional Law
- Contracts (Common Law and UCC Art. 2/Sales)
- Corporations
- Criminal Law
- Criminal Procedure
- Evidence
- Legal Ethics
- Negotiable Instruments/Commercial Paper (UCC Art. 3)
- Persons and Domestic Relations
- Real Property
- Remedies
- Secured Transactions (UCC Art. 9)
- Torts
- Will, Estates and Trusts
MPT (Performance Test)
Nevada tests one (1) MPT performance test.
MBE (Multiple Choice)
Nevada 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
Nevada does not accept MBE scores from other jurisdictions.
Nevada Bar Exam Testing Schedule
Day 1 (Monday)
Mandatory Registration for All Applicants
Day 2 (Tuesday)
Morning – 3 Nevada Essays
Afternoon – 1 Nevada Essay and 1 MPT
Day 3 (Wednesday)
Morning – MBE Part I (100 questions; 3 hours)
Afternoon – MBE Part II (100 questions; 3 hours)
Day 4 (Thursday)
Morning – 4 Nevada Essays
Nevada Bar Exam Dates and Application
The Nevada bar exam is held on the last Monday through Thursday of February and July. Applications can be found on the State Bar of Nevada’s Website.
| Exam Date | Application Deadline | Final Deadline |
| Feb. 20-23, 2017 | Oct. 1 | Dec. 1 |
| July 24-26, 2017 | March 15 | May 15 |
Grading
Nevada Bar Exam Weight
| NV Essays | 56% |
| MPT | 10.7% |
| MBE | 33.3% |
Grading Procedure
Each MPT is worth 1.5 times an individual essay. Overall, the written portion of the exam is worth at least twice that of the MBE. Scores that are less than standard on one portion may be compensated for higher scores on other portions of the exam. The written portion of the exam is scaled to the MBE. The written scaled score and the MBE scaled score are combined to generate the total bar exam score.
Passing Score
The minimum passing score is a total scaled score of 75 or greater and passing no less than three essays with a scaled score of 75. Bar exam results are normally released 10 weeks after the bar exam.
Pass Rates
Pass rates are generally between 62 and 65 percent.
Review and Appeal for Applicants Failing the Nevada Bar Exam
Applicants may obtain copies of their essay exam answers and questions for a fee. Applicants with total scaled scores immediately below the passing score are reconsidered before final certification of the results. After certification, the results are final and there is no appeal available. Applicants may request that their MBE scores be hand graded for a fee.
Retaking the Nevada Bar Exam
Applicants may reapply to take the Nevada bar exam.