The Smart Guide to the New York Bar Exam

A Guide to Mastering the NY Bar Exam

NY Bar Exam Format

NY Bar Exam Sections - MBE 200 Multiple Choice, MPT 2 Writing Assignments, MEE 6 Essays
New York is a Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) jurisdiction. All UBE jurisdictions use the same 3 sections:
^

Multistate Bar Exam (MBE)

200 multiple choice
^

Multistate Essay Exam (MEE)

6 essays
^

Multistate Performance Test (MPT)

2 writing assignments

NY Bar Exam Dates

Feb. 2024 exam: Feb. 27-28, 2024
July 2024 exam: July 30-31, 2024

*The New York Bar Exam takes place on the last Tuesday & Wednesday of February and July.

How to Prepare for
the New York Bar Exam

(FREE Study Guides)

Click the links above for FREE study guides covering each section of the bar exam.

Contact Info

New York State Board of Law Examiners
Corporate Plaza, Building #3
254 Washington Avenue Extension
Albany, NY 12203-5195

Website:      www.nybarexam.org
Phone:        (518) 453-5990
Fax:             (518) 452-5729

Frequency Charts

(FREE Charts & Statistics)

Click the links above for FREE Frequency Charts covering each section of the bar exam.

Subjects Tested on NY Bar Exam

MEE Essay Subjects

  1. Business Associations (Agency, Partnerships, Corporations, LLC’s)
  2. Civil Procedure
  3. Conflict of Laws
  4. Constitutional Law
  5. Contracts
  6. Criminal Law & Procedure
  7. Evidence
  8. Family Law
  9. Real Property
  10. Secured Transactions
  11. Torts
  12. Trusts & Future Interests
  13. Wills & Estates

MBE Subjects

  1. Civil Procedure
  2. Constitutional Law
  3. Contracts
  4. Criminal Law & Procedure
  5. Evidence
  6. Real property
  7. Torts

Minimum Passing Score

For New York, the UBE minimum passing score is 266.

Jurisdiction-Specific Component

YES
An online course (NYLC) and online exam (NYLE) on New York law is required prior to admission for applicants seeking admission on examination or by UBE score transfer.

This jurisdiction-specific component is given separately from the bar exam.

NY Bar Exam Schedule

(for February 2024 In-Person Exam)

SessionTuesdayWednesday
AMMPT – 2 Performance Tests (3 hours)100 MBE Questions (3 hours)
PMMEE – 6 Essays (3 hours)100 MBE Questions (3 hours)

New York administers the 2-day Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) twice per year on the last Tuesday and Wednesday of February and July. 

On Tuesday, the MPT and MEE written components are administered. 

On Wednesday, the MBE multiple choice questions are administered. 

Pass Rate – NY Bar Exam

Examination

Overall Pass Rate

First-Timer Pass Rate

Repeater Pass RateResults Release Date
July 202366%76%29%October 19, 2023
February 202340%56%31%April 21, 2023
July 202266%75%23%October 20, 2022
February 202245%61%30%April 13, 2022
July 202163%78%18%October 28, 2021
February 202149%64%34%April 21, 2021
October 202084%85%45%December 16, 2020
February 202040%61%28%April 24, 2020
July 201965%76%24%October 23, 2019
February 201945%61%36%April 24, 2019