Format, Content, & Grading of the Maine Bar Exam

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

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

First Day (Tuesday) morning session:   
Four 45-Minute Maine Essay Questions

First Day (Tuesday) afternoon session: 
Two 45-Minute Maine Essay Questions
One 90-minute Multistate Performance Test (MPT) question
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.

For further details on the MBE, click here.

See special Maine MBE rules below.*

Subjects Tested on the Maine Bar Exam:

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

Maine Subjects
Agency
Conflict of Laws
Corporations
Creditors' Rights
Equity
Estates
Family Law
Federal Income Taxation
Maine Code of Professional Responsibility
Maine Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure
Maine Rules of Appellate Procedure
Maine Rules of Evidence
Partnerships
Statute of Frauds
Statutes of Limitations
Uniform Commercial Code
Wills & Trusts
Plus the six MBE subjects

Grading of the Maine Bar Exam:

Your essays and MPT questions are scored.

Your combined Essay/MPT score is then scaled, on the same scaling as the MBE (i.e., from a low of 0 to a high of 200).

Your Essay/MPT scaled score is multiplied by 7/11.

Your scaled MBE score is multiplied by 4/11.

The two results are added together.  If your combined score is 140 or higher, you pass the Maine Bar Exam.

Maine generally releases the results within 75 days after the bar exam.

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

Maine does NOT permit admission on motion.  

To be admitted to the Maine bar, you must take and pass the Maine Bar Exam or a modified form of the Maine Bar Exam. 

*Modified Maine Bar Examination

An applicant who 

(i) has been admitted by examination to practice in one or more jurisdictions and has been in the active practice of law for at least three of the preceding five years or 

(ii) has taken the MBE within the 61 months prior to the current exam, 

may elect to take only the first day of the Maine Bar Exam. 

An applicant qualified under either (i) or (ii) and who has achieved a useable MBE scaled score may be admitted on the basis of a further modified written examination.

For further information, contact:

Maine Board of Bar Examiners
P.O. Box 30
Augusta, ME 
04332-0030
Telephone: 207-623-2464
Office:
40 Water Street
Hallowell, ME 04347

Exam Dates:

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

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

Future Exam Dates
February 26 & 27, 2008
July 29 & 30, 2008

Filing Deadlines and Fees:

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