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UBE (Uniform Bar Examination) States 2024

UBE (Uniform Bar Examination) States 2024

The Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) is a standardized bar exam in the United States, developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE). The UBE offers portability of scores across states lines and consists of three parts: the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), the Multistate Essay Examination (MEE), and the Multistate Performance Test (MPT). The MBE is weighted at 50%, the MEE at 30%, and the MPT at 20%.

The bar exam is an examination administered in each state to assess a candidate’s knowledge and skills to determine whether or not the candidate is competent to practice law in that jurisdiction. It was created in Delaware in 1738, and soon other states followed suit. Like the bar exam, the Uniform Bar Exam is administered twice a year over the course of two days, once in February and once in July, and is uniformly administered and scored. The UBE differs in that it can also be used to apply in multiple jurisdictions that have adopted the UBE.

The Uniform Bar Exam was first administered in 2011 in Missouri and North Dakota. Other states began to use the UBE gradually, with a total of 41 jurisdictions (39 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) using the UBE.

Three recent states to adopt the UBE include Michigan in February 2023, Pennsylvania in July 2022, and Indiana, and Oklahoma in July 2021. Some of the largest legal markets in the United States, including California and Florida, have not adopted the UBE, for reasons such as concerns about the lack of questions on state law.

A person who passes the Uniform Bar Exam can transfer scores to another jurisdiction within a certain number of months of passing the exam. The transfer eligibility time varies between jurisdictions, ranging from 24 to 60 months.

The American Bar Association endorsed the Uniform Bar Exam at its 2016 mid-year meeting.

UBE (Uniform Bar Examination) States 2024

51 Rows

State
UBE Adopted
Jurisdictions Date
AlabamaJuly 2011
AlaskaJuly 2014
ArizonaJuly 2012
ArkansasFeb. 2020
California
ColoradoFeb. 2012
ConnecticutFeb. 2017
Delaware
District of ColumbiaJuly 2016
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
IdahoFeb. 2012
IllinoisJuly 2019
IndianaJuly 2021
IowaFeb. 2016
KansasFeb. 2016
KentuckyFeb. 2021
Louisiana
MaineJuly 2017
MarylandJuly 2019
MassachusettsJuly 2018
MichiganFeb. 2023
MinnesotaFeb. 2014
Mississippi
MissouriFeb. 2011
MontanaJuly 2013
NebraskaFeb. 2013
Nevada
New HampshireFeb. 2014
New JerseyFeb. 2017
New MexicoFeb. 2016
New YorkJuly 2016
North CarolinaFeb. 2019
North DakotaFeb. 2011
OhioFeb. 2021
OklahomaJuly 2021
OregonJuly 2017
PennsylvaniaJuly 2022
Rhode IslandFeb. 2019
South CarolinaFeb. 2017
South Dakota
TennesseeFeb. 2019
TexasFeb. 2021
UtahFeb. 2013
VermontJuly 2016
Virginia
WashingtonJuly 2013
West VirginiaJuly 2017
Wisconsin
WyomingJuly 2013

Sources