The MBE is a 200-question multiple-choice examination administered in two three-hour sessions. It is administered by user jurisdictions as part of the bar examination administered twice per year. Areas of law covered on the MBE include the following: Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Real Property, and Torts.
The MBE is only one of a number of measures that a jurisdiction’s board of bar examiners may use in determining minimal competence to practice law. Each jurisdiction determines its own policy with regard to the relative weight given to the MBE score and other scores. The MBE is a component of the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE), and jurisdictions that administer the UBE weight the MBE component at 50%.
The purpose of the MBE is to assess the extent to which an examinee can apply fundamental legal principles and legal reasoning to analyze given fact patterns. MBE questions are developed by seven MBE drafting committees, one for each subject covered on the MBE. The drafting committees are composed of a mix of the following experts: law professors, practicing attorneys, and judges.
- National Conference of Bar Examiners