Format, Content, & Grading of the New Hampshire Bar Exam

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

The New Hampshire Bar Exam is a two-day exam --  Tuesday and Wednesday -- the MPT and essays on Tuesday and the multiple-choice Multistate Bar Exam on Wednesday.

First Day (Tuesday) morning session:  
2 MPT items

First Day (Tuesday) afternoon session:  
6 Essay Questions

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

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

New Hampshire requires that you sit for the MBE as part of the New Hampshire bar exam. New Hampshire does NOT accept your score from an MBE taken in another jurisdiction.

For further details on the MBE, click here.


Subjects Tested on the New Hampshire Bar Exam:

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

New Hampshire Essay Subjects
Torts
Evidence and Criminal Law (including Procedure, Agency, Conflict of Laws, Constitutional Law)
Contracts and Equity (including Domestic Relations, U.C.C, Agency)
Business Relations (U.C.C., Agency, Corporations, Partnerships, Bankruptcy, Creditor Rights)
Property and Taxation (including Wills, Trusts, Federal Estate and Gift tax, Federal Income Tax)
New Hampshire Constitutional Law

Grading of the New Hampshire Bar Exam:

Your MPT and essays are graded, and totaled.  The total is then converted to a scaled score, equal to the scaling on the MBE (from a low of 0 to a high of 200).

MPT and Essays: 50%
MBE: 50%

The Essay scaled score and the MBE scaled score are combined.  If your score is 280 or higher (for example, 135 on the Essays, `147 on the MBE), you pass the New Hampshire Bar Exam

The required 280 score is 70% of the theoretical high of 400.

New Hampshire generally releases the results of the Summer bar exam in late September and the results of the Winter bar exam in late April.

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

Click here for the provisions for Admission on Motion in New Hampshire.

For further information, contact:

Office of the Clerk 
Supreme Court of New Hampshire
Noble Drive
Concord, NH 03301
Telephone: 603-271-2646

Note: New Hampshire requires completion of a Practical Skills course within two years of admission to the bar.

Exam Dates:

Winter 2007
Wednesday and Thursday, 
February 28 and March 1, 2007

Summer 2007
Wednesday and Thursday, 
July 25 and 26, 2007

Filing Deadlines and Fees

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