The Uniform Bar Examination (UBE)

The Uniform Bar Examination has been adopted by these eight jurisdictions: Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Washington. Adoption of the UBE has been conditionally approved in Montana. The date of the first administration of the UBE in each jurisdiction is listed on the UBE Jurisdictions page.

Examinees who have taken the UBE and would like to transfer their UBE scores to another jurisdiction should read the instructions for UBE score transcripts on the UBE Score Transcript Services page.

The Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) is prepared and coordinated by the National Conference of Bar Examiners to test knowledge and skills that every lawyer should be able to demonstrate prior to becoming licensed to practice law. It is composed of the Multistate Essay Examination (MEE), two Multistate Performance Test (MPT) tasks, and the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE). It is uniformly administered, graded, and scored by user jurisdictions and results in a portable score.

The UBE is administered over two days, with the MBE given on the last Wednesday of February and July and the MEE and MPT given on the Tuesday prior to that. The MEE and MPT scores are scaled to the MBE, with the MBE weighted 50%, the MEE 30%, and the MPT 20%.

Jurisdictions that use the UBE continue to

decide who may sit for the bar exam and who will be admitted to practice.
determine underlying educational requirements.
make all character and fitness decisions.
set their own policies regarding the number of times candidates may retake the bar examination.
make ADA decisions.
grade the MEE and MPT.
set their own pre-release regrading policies.
assess candidate knowledge of jurisdiction-specific content through a separate test, course, or some combination of the two if the jurisdiction chooses.
accept MBE scores earned in a previous examination for purposes of making local admission decisions if they wish. Note, however, that candidates must sit for the entire UBE in a single administration in order to earn a portable UBE score.
set their own passing scores.
determine how long incoming UBE scores will be accepted.

Jurisdictions that adopt the UBE may require candidates to also complete a jurisdiction-specific educational component and/or pass a test on jurisdiction-specific law in addition to passing the UBE. Candidates should contact the bar admissions agency in the jurisdiction to which they seek admission to verify the jurisdiction’s requirements for admission. Contact information for jurisdictions can be found on the Bar Admission Services page.