Legal
Bar admission and legal profession exams — the MPRE and the path to practicing law.
Which exam are you taking?
Exams are grouped with their close relatives — the other tiers of the same licence, the same exam in other states. Open a group to see each exam with its free practice questions, study guide and cheat sheet.
- Bar admission exams1 exam60 free questionsNCBE examinations required for admission to practice law, including the MPRE professional responsibility exam.MPREExplore Bar admission exams →
The MPRE: what it is, who needs it, and how it is scored
The Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination is the ethics exam of bar admission. It is written by the National Conference of Bar Examiners, required for admission in all but two U.S. jurisdictions, and taken separately from the bar exam itself — most candidates sit it during law school, because it tests the rules of professional conduct rather than doctrinal law and because jurisdictions accept a passing score earned before the bar exam.
Scoring is where the MPRE differs from a pass-fail licence exam. NCBE reports a scaled score, and each jurisdiction sets the score it requires for admission; the same result can pass in one state and fall short in another. The exam mixes scored questions with unscored pretest questions that are indistinguishable during the test, so every question deserves the same effort.
Delivery and registration are strict. The exam is given on Pearson VUE computers in fixed administrations several times a year, registration and payment must be complete by the deadline, and NCBE accepts no late registrations. Score reports go to the candidate and, on request, to the jurisdictions the candidate designates.
Where you are in the process
The link goes to the exam guide, where the question count, time limit, fee and each jurisdiction's passing score come from NCBE and the admitting jurisdictions.
Most jurisdictions allow the MPRE before the bar exam and before graduation; the course that maps to it is professional responsibility. Register early for a fixed administration.
Each jurisdiction sets its own required scaled score, and a small number of jurisdictions do not require the MPRE at all. The exam guide lists the requirement by jurisdiction.
One passing score can serve several jurisdictions if it meets each one's threshold and is within each one's validity window; designate the recipients when you register or afterwards.
NCBE does not accept late registrations. The next administration is the only option, so plan around the fixed calendar.
Multiple choice with four answer choices, on the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the Code of Judicial Conduct, with unscored pretest items mixed in.
From registration to score
- 01Register with NCBE for a fixed administration and pay by the deadline; no late registrations are accepted.
- 02Sit the exam at a Pearson VUE test centre in one session.
- 03Receive the scaled score and have it reported to the jurisdictions you designate.
- 04Confirm that the score meets each jurisdiction's threshold and falls within its validity window relative to your bar admission.
Fee, format and passing standard
All 1 exams on this page. Each figure is that exam's verified fact, cited to the regulator's page on the exam guide it links to. A blank cell means the regulator publishes no fixed figure.
| Exam | Fee | Questions | Time | Passing | Written by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MPRE | — | 60 | 2h | Set by each jurisdiction (scaled 50–150; commonly 75–86) | National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) |
Who writes these exams
- National Conference of Bar Examiners
- Writes and administers the MPRE, scales the scores and reports them to jurisdictions.
- State bar admission authorities
- Decide whether the MPRE is required, set the passing score and the validity window, and admit candidates.
Official pages this section is drawn from
- National Conference of Bar Examiners · MPRE
- National Conference of Bar Examiners · Preparing for the MPRE
- National Conference of Bar Examiners · Registering for the MPRE
What you'll find on every Legal exam
Each exam has up to four pages, one per job to be done: practice the questions, understand the exam, study the outline, or revise the morning of. Flashcards and glossary terms sit inside the study guide rather than on pages of their own.
- Practice tests1
- Free question banks with a worked explanation on every answer.
- Exam guides1
- Cost, format, eligibility and difficulty, straight from the official outline.
- Study guides1
- Full outline coverage, plus the exam's flashcards and glossary terms.
- Cheat sheets1
- One-page summaries built for the last review, with a PDF download.
Official sources
Every exam number on this page traces to a document published by the body that sets or administers the exam. These are the primary publishers cited across Legal.
- National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE)ncbex.orgcited by 1 exam
Last verified against these documents: