Format, Content, & Grading of the Kansas Bar Exam

All data provided below are subject to change by a decision at any time by the Kansas bar examiners.  When any changes are made, they will be posted on this site.

The Kansas Bar Exam is a two-day exam -- Tuesday and Wednesday -- with the essays on Tuesday and the Multistate Bar Exam on Wednesday.

First Day (Tuesday):  
12 Kansas Essay Questions
Six Multistate Essay Exam (MEE) questions
For details on the MEE, 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.

Kansas will accept an MBE scaled score of 120 or higher from another jurisdiction if from a concurrent bar exam or if received within 13 months prior to the current bar exam, but only if the applicant passed the entire exam in one sitting in the transferring jurisdiction.

For further details on the MBE, click here.

Subjects Tested on the Kansas Bar Exam:

MBE Subjects
Constitutional Law
Contracts/Sales
Criminal Law/Procedure
Evidence
Real Property
Torts

MEE/Kansas Essay Subjects
Agency & Employment
Civil Procedure (Kansas & Federal)
Commercial Paper
Conflict of Laws
Corporations
Domestic Relations/Family Law
Legal Ethics
Non-Corporate Business Organizations
Partnerships
Personal Property
Sales
Secured Transactions
Trusts and Administration
Wills
Plus the six MBE subjects

Grading of the Kansas Bar Exam:

Your essays are graded and then converted to a scaled score on the same scaling as the Multistate Bar Exam (a low of 0 to a high of 200).

The two scores -- Kansas essay and MBE -- are then averaged.  If your average score is 133 or higher, you pass the Kansas Bar Exam.

Kansas generally releases the results of the Summer bar exam in mid-September and the results of the Winter bar exam in mid-April.

*MPRE
You must receive a scaled score of 80 on the MPRE prior to or within 180 days of taking the Kansas Bar Exam.

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

Kansas does NOT permit admission on motion.  To be admitted to the Kansas bar, you must take and pass the bar exam. 

However, Kansas grants special temporary licenses to attorneys who are employed by an entity engaged in a business in Kansas, other than the practice of law, and who will receive their entire employment compensation from that entity. 

For further information, contact:

Attorney Admissions
Kansas Judicial Center
301 S.W. 10th Street, Rm. 374
Topeka, KS 66612
Telephone: 785-296-8410
Fax: 785-296-1028

Exam Dates, Location:

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

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

Note: Kansas permits you to sit for the Kansas Bar Exam before your law school graduation, provided that you graduate within 30 days after taking the bar exam.

Filing Deadlines and Fees


Filing deadlines and fees are subject to change.  Contact the Kansas bar examiners to learn the rules in effect at the time of your application.