Iowa Bar Exam Information
Iowa Board of Law Examiners
Office of Professional Regulation
Iowa Judicial Branch Building
1111 East Court Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50319
(515) 725-8029
Subjects and Topics Tested
Iowa is a Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) jurisdiction. The UBE consists of the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), Multistate Essay Exam (MEE) and the Multistate Performance Test (MPT). The Iowa bar exam may test the following subjects:
Scoring and Grading
A passing score on the Iowa bar exam is 266 on a 400-point scale. The MBE is weighted 50%. The MEE is weighted 30%, and the MPT is weighted 20%.
Bar Exam Dates
The Iowa bar exam is administered twice per year – once in February and once in July.
Upcoming Exams
2017: July 25-26
2018: February 27-28 and July 24-25
Bar Exam Results
Iowa bar exam results are typically released 6 weeks after the exam is administered. Results are posted on the Iowa Bar Examining Committee website, and mailed to all exam takers.
Bar Exam Format
The Uniform Bar Exam (adopted by Iowa), has the written components on Tuesday and the multiple choice component (MBE) on Wednesday
Tuesday
During the 3-hour morning session, 2 MPT questions are administered. This allows an average of 1.5 hours to complete each. During the three-hour afternoon session, 6 MEE questions are administered, allowing an average of 1.5 hours to answer each essay question.
Wednesday
100 MBE questions are administered in the 3-hour morning session, and 100 MBE questions are administered in the 3-hour afternoon session.
Reciprocity
Admission to the Iowa bar without examination is possible for a lawyer who fulfills specified requirements, including:
- being licensed in another state or the District of Columbia;
- practicing law for 5 of the past 7 years; and
- no character or fitness problems.
