New York Bar Examination (UBE)
Bar Exam Information
NOTE: Bar exam information is subject to change without notice.
Please verify with bar examiner’s office.
BAR EXAM DATES AND FORMAT
2021: February 23 – 24, July 27 – 28
The New York Bar Exam is a 2-day Uniform Bar Exam (UBE).
Day 1: Two 90-minute Multistate Performance Test (MPT) questions in the AM, and six 30-minute Multistate Essay Exam (MEE) questions in the PM.
Day 2: Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), a 200-question, multiple-choice exam (100 questions in the AM, 100 questions in the PM).
New York Board of Law Examiners
Corporate Plaza Building 3
254 Washington Avenue Extension
Albany, NY 12203-5195
Phone: (518) 453-5990
Fax: (518) 452-5729
New York City
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
655 W 34th St.
New York, NY 10001
White Plains
Pace Law School – New York State Judicial Institute
78 North Broadway
White Plains, NY 10603
Buffalo
Buffalo Niagara Convention Center
153 Franklin St.
Buffalo, NY 14202
Albany
Empire State Plaza
Concourse Level
Albany, NY 12242
Albany
Times Union Center
51 S. Pearl Street
Albany, NY 12207
Saratoga
Saratoga Springs City Center
522 Broadway (Route 50)
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
Subjects Tested
- Constitutional Law
- Contracts/Sales
- Criminal Law/Procedure
- Evidence
- Federal Civil Procedure
- Real Property
- Torts
- Business Associations (Agency, Partnerships, Corporations, Limited Liability Companies)
- Conflicts of Law
- Family Law
- Trusts and Estates (Decedents' Estates; Trusts and Future Interests)
- Secured Transactions (Article 9 of Uniform Commercial Code)
- Plus, all MBE Subjects
Multistate Performance Test “Closed universe” practical questions using instructions, factual data, cases, statutes and other reference material supplied by examiners.
Applicant must pass the MPRE within three years before or after passing the New York bar exam as measured from the date the applicant sat for each examination. A minimum scaled score of 85 is required.
Filing Deadlines and Fees
Apply online at nybarexam.org between November 1 and November 30 for the February exam and between April 1 and April 30 for the July exam.
Bar Exam Fee: $250 (foreign trained applicants: $750)
Bar Exam Laptop Fee: $100
New York Law Exam (NYLE) Fee: There is a $27 fee for the NYLE which is payable to Examsoft
New York Law Course (NYLC) Fee: None
Scoring
The MEE and MPT scores are scaled to the MBE, with the MBE weighted 50%, the MEE 30% and the MPT 20%. The scores are combined to determine if the applicant has achieved a passing score of 266.
Additional Information
State Specific Content Knowledge
Applicants must complete the NYLC and NYLE. The NYLC is an online, on demand course consisting of approximately 15 hours of videotaped lectures with embedded questions. The NYLE is a 50 item, two-hour, open book, multiple choice online exam administered at select dates and times throughout the year. The passing score for the NYLE is 60% (an applicant must answer 30 out of 50 questions correctly). Written materials are available on the New York Board of Law Examiners website. Applicants can take the NYLC and NYLE up to one year before or three years after sitting for the UBE, subject to the application filing deadline of the Court of Appeals (requires filing within 3 years from the date when the applicant sits for the UBE). Applicants must complete the NYLC before they can register for the NYLE.
Pro Bono Hours:
All applicants, except those on motion, must complete 50 hours of qualifying Pro Bono work.
Skills Competency and Professional Values
All applicants commencing studies after August 1, 2016 must establish they have acquired skills and professional values necessary to practice law. See Sec. 520.18 of the Rules of the Court of Appeals.
Reciprocity
Admission on Motion
May be admitted without exam from states admitting attorneys from New York without exam. Must have practiced five of the last seven years and be a graduate of an ABA accredited law school.
Admission by UBE
A UBE score achieved in another UBE jurisdiction will be accepted in New York for three years from the date the applicant sat for the UBE, as long as applicant achieved a minimum score of 266 and has completed the NYLC and achieved a passing score on the NYLE. Filing fees for a score transfer are the same amounts as for new applicants.
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