Format, Content, & Grading of the Wisconsin Bar Exam

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

Wisconsin Diploma Privilege: Graduates of a Wisconsin law school are eligible for admission to the Wisconsin bar without sitting for a bar exam.  For details, click here.

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

First Day (Tuesday):  
Eight Wisconsin Essay Questions

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.

You may transfer an MBE scaled score of at least 145 achieved on a bar exam you passed, taken within 37 months of your sitting for the Wisconsin Essay portion.

For further details on the MBE, click here.


Subjects Tested on the Wisconsin Bar Exam:

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

Wisconsin Essay Subjects
Associations
Civil Procedure 
(Pleading and Practice and Jurisdiction of Courts)
Corporations
Family Law (Domestic Relations)
Partnerships
Professional Responsibility 
(Ethics and Legal Responsibilities of the Profession)
Sales
Secured Transactions
Sole Proprietorships
Taxation (Federal)
Trusts & Estates
plus the six MBE subjects

Grading of the Wisconsin Bar Exam:

Your scores on the eight Wisconsin essays are totaled, and then converted to a single scaled score, on a scaling similar to that of the MBE (from a low of 0 to a high of 200).

Your scaled Wisconsin Essay score is added to your scaled MBE score.

You need at least a combined 258 (for example, 135 on the essays, 130 on the MBE).

In addition you must receive at least 129 scaled on the essays, and you must pass five of the eight essays, to pass the Wisconsin Bar Exam.

Wisconsin generally releases the results five weeks after the bar exam.

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

Attorneys may be admitted on motion from jurisdictions that admit Wisconsin attorneys without exam. 

Attorney-applicants must also satisfy the originating jurisdiction's requirements for admission on motion.

For further information, contact:

Wisconsin Board of Bar Examiners
110 East Main Street
Madison, WI 53703
Telephone: 608-266-9760

Exam Dates:

Winter 2008
Tuesday and Wednesday, 
February 26 and 27, 2008

Summer 2008
Tuesday and Wednesday, 
July 29 and 30, 2008

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