Free Guides
Start Now

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

July 2026 exam: July 28-29, 2026

Feb. 2027 exam: Feb. 23-24, 2027

*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)

Part 1: Smart Guide to MBE

Part 2: Smart Guide to MEE

Part 3: Smart Guide to MPT

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)

MBE Frequency Analysis

MEE Frequency Analysis

MPT Frequency Analysis

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. Constitutional Law
  4. Contracts
  5. Criminal Law & Procedure
  6. Evidence
  7. Real Property
  8. Torts

Note: Starting with the July 2026 exam, the following subjects are no longer tested on the MEE: Conflict of Laws, Family Law, Secured Transactions, Trusts & Future Interests, and 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 July 2026 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
February 202641%60%30%April 22, 2026
July 202570%78%32%October 23, 2025
February 202539%57%27%April 22, 2025
July 202469%79%27%October 23, 2024
February 202442%59%33%April 24, 2024
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