Format, Content, & Grading of the Indiana Bar Exam

All data provided below are subject to change by a decision at any time by the Indiana Board of Law Examiners.  When any changes are made, they will be posted on this site.

The Indiana Bar Exam is a two-day exam -- Tuesday and Wednesday -- with the essays and performance questions on Tuesday and the multiple-choice Multistate Bar Exam on Wednesday.

First Day (Tuesday):  
4-hour Essay Exam -- Six Essay Questions
Two 90-minute Multistate Performance Test (MPT) questions
For details on the MPT, click here.

Second Day (Wednesday) morning session: 
3 hours 
Multistate Bar Examination (MBE)
100 Multiple-Choice questions.

Second Day (Wednesday) afternoon session: 
3 hours
Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) 
100 Multiple-Choice questions.

If you take two bar exams at the same time (the essay/MPT day in Indiana on Tuesday, the local in your second state on Thursday, the MBE in either state on Wednesday), Indiana will accept the score of the MBE taken in either state.  

Check to see if your other state has the same policy on accepting the MBE.  If not, be certain to take the MBE in the other state, so that it will apply to both jurisdictions.

For further details on the MBE, click here.


Subjects Tested on the Indiana Essay Exam (IEE):

Administrative Law
Agency
Commercial Law
Indiana Constitutional Law
Corporations
Partnerships
Contracts
Family Law
Pleading & Practice (Indiana & Federal Rules of Civil Procedure)
Personal Property
Taxation
Trusts & Estates
Wills

Grading of the Indiana Bar Exam:

The MPT and the Indiana essays are half your grade on the Indiana bar exam.  The MBE is the other half.

MPT - 20%
IEE - 30%
MBE - 50%

Your combined score on the MPT and essays is scaled, on the same scaling as the MBE (i.e., low of 0, high of 200).

The scores from the two days are added together.  If your combined score equals at least 264 (e.g., 132 on the MBE, 132 on the MPT/Essays), you pass.

Indiana generally releases the results of the bar exam in about 75 days after the exam.

*MPRE -- A scaled score of 80 on the MPRE within two years of passing the Indiana Bar Exam is required for admission.

July 2003

July 2002

February 2003

February 2002

Total Takers

535

515

244

246

Overall Pass Rate

74%

77%

63%

57%

First-Time Takers

459

434

147

162

First-Timer Pass Rate

79%

83%

73%

68%

Repeaters

76

81

97

84

Repeater Pass Rate

39%

43%

48%

35%

Admission on Motion 
(i.e., without having to sit for the bar exam)

Indiana grants conditional one-year licenses to attorneys who have actively engaged in the practice of law for five of the seven years immediately preceding their Indiana application and who intend to practice predominantly in Indiana. 

After the fifth consecutive renewal of the license, the conditional admission becomes permanent.

For further information, contact:

State Board of Law Examiners
115 West Washington Street
Suite 1370 South Tower
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Telephone: 317-232-2552

Exam Dates:

Winter 2007
Tuesday, Wednesday, 
February 27, 28, 2007

Summer 2007
Tuesday, Wednesday, 
July 24, 25, 2007




Filing Deadlines and Fees:

Filing deadlines and fees are subject to change.  Contact the Indiana Board of Law Examiners to learn the rules in effect at the time of your application.