New York Bar Exam
(UBE) Details

We recommend taking the MPRE any time during 2L year or as early in your 3L year as possible.

A scaled score of 85 on the MPRE is required for admission to the New York bar. Scores are scaled and range from 50 to 150. A raw score of approximately 32 correct out of 50 usually converts to a scaled score of 85.

The MPRE is a two-hour, 60-question, multiple-choice developed by the NCBE and administered in the spring, summer, and fall. When registering for the MPRE, students can select one of two dates offered at a time (see chart below) on a first come, first served basis. 

MPRE Dates (Registration Deadline / *Accommodation Registration Deadline):

• March 24 or 25, 2026 (January 22, 2025 / *November 20, 2025)
• August 11 or 12, 2026 (June 11, 2026 / *April 23, 2026)
• November 12 or 13, 2026 (September 17, 2026 / *July 30, 2026)

Registration for 2026 exams will open on December 16, 2025. The 2026 exam fee is $185.

The online, on-demand BARBRI MPRE Review course allows you to watch specific lecture segments that correspond with a particular topic module. The course is accompanied by an outline book (hard copy and/or digital), lecture handout, multiple practice exams, and BARBRI’s exclusive multiple-choice questions. You can register for the free BARBRI MPRE Review Course here: barbri.com/mpre

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Enroll early and gain immediate access to 2L/3L Exam Success and early access to Early Start Bar Review. Enroll at: barbri.com/pricing.

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All law students are required to create a NCBE Account that comes with a unique NCBE Number for identification purposes. You will need this number to be able to take the MBE (Multistate Bar Exam), which is developed by the NCBE (National Conference of Bar Examiners). The MBE is administered on the second day of the New York Bar Exam.

Most students create a NCBE account when registering for the MPRE. Register with the NCBE at: auth.ncbex.org/account/create

As an applicant for admission in New York, you must complete an online course in New York-specific law, the New York Law Course (NYLC), and pass an online examination, the New York Law Exam (NYLE). To do so, you must have a New York Board of Law Examiners (NY BOLE) account. Establish your account at portal.nybarexam.org/CreateAccount.

You cannot commence the NYLC or the NYLE more than one year before the date when you will first sit for the UBE. You also have up to three years after sitting for the bar exam to complete both. However, you cannot be admitted without completion.

The NYLC and NYLE focus on important principles of New York law that are either different from the general principles and prevailing views of the law tested on the MBE and the MEE or are unique to New York and important for the new practitioner to know.

The free online, on-demand NYLC covers 12 subjects during 17 hours of lectures that include embedded questions, which must be answered correctly before continuing each video. A supporting 200+ page outline can be downloaded (PDF) in preparation for the exam. The NYLC must be completed a minimum of 30 days prior to taking the NYLE (also prior to registering for the NYLE), but no earlier than one year prior to sitting for the UBE. Otherwise, you will be required to repeat the NYLC. In addition, you can sit for the NYLE after the bar exam (but, no later than three years after sitting for the UBE initially).

The two-hour online NYLE covers important state rules within a 50-question, open-book, multiple-choice test format. The passing score is 60% (30 out of 50 questions correct) – otherwise, you will need to retake both the NYLC and NYLE.

NYLE Dates (Registration Deadline / *Accommodation Registration Deadline):

• Thursday, December 18, 2025 12:00PM ET (Tuesday, November 18, 2025 11:59PM ET / *Friday, September 19, 2025)
• Thursday, April 16, 2026 12:00PM ET (Tuesday, March 17, 2026 11:59PM ET / *Friday, January 16, 2026)
• Thursday, September 24, 2026 12:00PM ET (Tuesday, August 25, 2026 11:59PM ET / *Friday, June 26, 2026)
• Thursday, December 17, 2026 12:00PM ET (Tuesday, November 17, 2026 11:59PM ET / *Friday, September 18, 2026)

There is a $29 fee for purchasing, downloading and registering the exam software that is required for the NYLE. All applicants will be required to perform and submit a mock exam to confirm that the software works on their computer. A few days before the date of the exam, applicants will be required to login to their account and download the exam file to their computer that will be used on exam day.

Free NYLC and NYLE review materials are provided at: nybarexam.org/Content/CourseMaterials.htm

1. Apply online between October 1-31 for the February bar exam, and between March 1-31 for the July bar exam.
   • Bar exam fee: $250 (foreign-trained applicants $750)
     Laptop fee: $100
     New York Law Course (NYLC) fee: none
     New York Law Exam (NYLE) fee: $29 payable to Examsoft
2. LL.M. candidates who must seek an Advance Evaluation of Eligibility from the New York Board of Law Examiners must submit their Online Foreign Evaluation AND all Required Foreign Documentation by May 1 preceding the February bar exam or October 1 preceding the July bar exam.
3. To take the New York Bar Exam, you must have both your NCBE Identification Number and New York Board of Law Examiners Identification Number (NY BOLE ID).
4. For a NY BOLE ID, be sure to obtain a current copy of your law school transcripts to answer some of the questions on the law school section of the online application.
5. Review the instructions for applicants regarding “Completion of Questions on Bar Exam Application” at: nybarexam.org/forms/ JDCertofAttendanceInstructions.pdf
6. In addition, go over all applicable Bar Exam Applications and Forms (handwriting sample, test accommodations request, L.L.M. Certificate of Attendance, etc.) at: nybarexam.org/forms/forms.htm

For more information and exam details, download the free BARBRI Bar Exam Digest at: barbri.com/bar-exam-digest or by scanning the code

New York uses the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) and requires a passing score of 266 out of a total of 400 points.

UBE scores are based on:  

• 20% – 2 Multistate Performance Tests (MPT) on Day 1 (morning session)  
• 30% – 6 Multistate Essay Exams (MEE) on Day 1 (afternoon session)  
• 50% – 200 Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) on Day 2 (morning and afternoon sessions)

Subjects tested: Business Associations (Agency and Partnership; Corporations and Limited Liability Companies), Civil Procedure, Conflict of Laws*, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Family Law*, Real Property, Torts, Trusts and Estates (Decedents’ Estates; Trusts and Future Interests)*, and Uniform Commercial Code (Secured Transactions)*.

*Effective with the July 2026 bar exam, the following subjects will no longer be tested on the MEE: Conflict of Laws, Family Law, Trusts and Estates, and Secured Transactions.

Locations: Applicants will be assigned to a test center in one of the four judicial departments located in New York State. Test center assignments will be based on availability and a first come, first serve basis, however first-time applicants who graduate with a Juris Doctor degree from a New York State law school will be given the first opportunity to select the city in which they want to sit (not the actual testing site); all others (approximately 24-48 hours later), including LLM’s and out of state applicants, will then have the opportunity to select a city from what remains. This is coordinated by email sometime after the application period closes (i.e., typically in late December for those taking the Winter exam, and early June for those taking the Summer exam) requiring registrants to select and confirm their seat location. Only locations with available seats will be listed in the email and since there will be no waiting lists for any location, you must select one from the choices made available to you. Prior Winter and Summer exam locations have included the following (subject to change by the NY Board of Law Examiners): 

New York City:

• Armory Track & Field Center
• Fordham University Lombardi  Center Fieldhouse
• Jacob Javits Convention Center – Exhibition Halls 1D & 1E

Albany:

• Empire State Plaza Convention Center
• Albany Capital Center

Buffalo:

• Buffalo Convention Center

Long Island:

• Hofstra University David S. Mack Sports & Exhibition Complex

Prior to seeking admission, you’ll need to complete at least 50 hours of pro bono work in the United States or abroad, before or after taking the New York Bar Exam. These service hours must be law related, helping to improve access to justice for low-income and disadvantaged individuals or providing relevant government services.

Your pro bono supervisor – not your law school – will complete your Affidavit of Compliance: nycourts.gov/attorneys/ probono/appforadmission_pro-bonoreq_fillable.pdf

In New York, the application for admission forms are uniform among the state’s four Appellate Division departments: nybarexam.org/Admission/AdmissionMultiDeptPacket.htmhttp://nybarexam.org/Admission/AdmissionMultiDeptPacket.htm

Check for everything you need in advance. Even if you’re waiting on bar exam results, there may be information you can collect during this timeframe to help expedite your application filing. In the First, Second, and Third Departments of New York, you cannot file your application papers until after you have received your bar exam results from NYBOLE notifying that you’ve passed. In the Fourth Department, you can file your application papers any time after you have taken the bar exam.

Only fully completed applications will be accepted for filing. The following official forms, available on each Appellate Division’s department website, are required to complete an application:

• An application for admission questionnaire
• Good moral character affidavits
• Employment affidavits
• Law school certificates
• Pro bono affidavit
• Any other papers you wish to submit
• An original form certificate from your law school (this form is mailed by you to the law school and then mailed directly by the law school to the appropriate Appellate Division)

The application and any further materials required by the Appellate Division and its Committees on Character and Fitness must be filed by you within three years from the date of the letter sent by the New York State Board of Law Examiners notifying you that you have passed the bar examination