Iowa Bar Exam (UBE) details

Mandatory Orientation: On the Monday before the examination applicants are required to attend a mandatory orientation session.

Day 1

• Two 90-minute Multistate Performance Test questions (MPT in the AM)
• Six 30-minute Multistate Essay Exam questions (MEE in the PM)

Day 2

• Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), a 200-question, multiple-choice exam (100 questions in the AM, 100 questions in the PM)

MBE

• Constitutional Law
• Contracts/Sales
• Criminal Law/Procedure
• Evidence
• Federal Civil Procedure
• Real Property
• Torts

MEE

• Business Associations (Agency and Partnership; Corporations; and Limited Liability Companies)
• Conflict of Laws
• Family Law
• Trusts and Estates (Decedents' Estates; Trusts and Future Interests)
• Article 9 (Secured Transactions) of the Uniform Commercial Code
• Plus all MBE subjects

MPT

• “Closed universe” practical questions using instructions, factual data, cases, statutes and other reference material supplied by examiners.

MPRE

• A scaled score of 80 must be on file before the applicant is allowed to sit for the bar exam (by April 1 for the July exam and November 1 for the February exam). Scores will be accepted for three years after the date the MPRE is taken.

Click here to learn more about the MPRE.

The MEE and MPT scores are scaled to the MBE.

• MBE weighted 50%
• MEE weighted 30%
• MPT weighted 20%

A total scaled score of 266 is required to pass Iowa Bar Exam.

Acceptance of MBE Score

Iowa does not accept an MBE score from an exam taken in another jurisdiction.

Admission on Motion

A member in good standing of another U.S. state or territory may be admitted on motion in Iowa if the applicant has engaged in the active practice of law for five of the seven years preceding application. Additional requirements apply.

Admission by UBE Score Transfer

Applicants who have obtained a scaled score of at least 266 on a Uniform Bar Exam taken in another jurisdiction within the preceding two years may apply for admission based on that score.

Passing UBE scores earned more than two years, but less than five years prior may qualify if the applicant has been actively engaged in the practice of law for at least two of the three years immediately preceding the application. Additional requirements apply.

Applicants may take exam prior to graduation if a degree from an ABA accredited law school will be received within 45 days after the first day of the exam.

We compile all of the information that you need to know about the dates, format, subjects tested, deadlines, fees and more - for each U.S. state - in the free BARBRI Bar Exam Digest.

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