The Smart Guide to the MBE
A Guide to Mastering the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE)
Chapter
01
Format & Overview of the MBE
What You’ll Learn:
- Format of the MBE – number of questions; scored vs. unscored questions
- MBE Test Day Sessions – time and how many questions per session
- How Much Time to Spend Per MBE Question
- The 7 Subjects Tested on the MBE
MBE Format
*The unscored questions are indistinguishable and distributed evenly, so you must answer ALL 200 questions.
MBE Test Day
In-person bar exam jurisdictions use two 3-hour sessions with 100 MBE questions per session.
| In-Person Exam Jurisdictions | ||
| MBE Test Day – Two 3-hour Sessions | ||
| MBE Session # 1 | 3 Hours | 100 Questions |
| MBE Session # 2 | 3 Hours | 100 Questions |
Timing & Pace
To finish 100 MBE questions within each 3-hour session, you have 1.8 minutes (1 minute 48 seconds) per question.
Subjects Tested on the MBE
Seven (7) Subjects are Tested on the MBE, with 25 scored questions from each subject area:
- Civil Procedure¹
- Constitutional Law
- Contracts
- Criminal Law & Procedure
- Evidence
- Real Property
- Torts
*Note, the additional 25 unscored pretest questions may be from any of the seven subject areas.
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¹Civil Procedure was added to the MBE in February 2015.
