What is the Format of the New York Bar Exam for July 2021?

New York will administer the July 2021 bar exam remotely – making the third time the test has gone online since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This could be a good news: lately the Bar Exam pass rate has been the highest since 2013. For the February 2021 session the pass rate was 49% – that’s up from 40% a year ago, when the exam was administered in person.

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Among other news, the New York Board of Law Examiners announced that it will give a full Uniform Bar Exam on July 27 and 28, and that the total number of examinees will be capped at 10,000. Other than that – the format of the New York Bar Exam remains the same: is a two-day exam composed of the MBE, the MEE and the MPT.

New York Bar Exam Overview – Structure

The New York bar exam format splits the exam into several components or sections. The exam consists of the Multistate Essay Exam (MEE), the Multistate Performance Test (MPT), and the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE). These exam components make up the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE).

Subjects Tested on the New Bar Exam

MBE Subjects

Civil Procedure
Constitutional Law
Contracts and Sales
Criminal Law and Procedure
Evidence
Property
Torts

Each multiple choice question tests one subject. However, every MBE subject is tested on every MBE exam.

MEE/Essay Subjects

All MBE Subjects
Business Associations (agency, partnership, llcs, and corporations)
Conflict of Laws
Wills and trusts
Family Law
Secured Transactions

Not every MEE subject is tested on every essay exam. Additionally, the New York bar exam essay component may test more than one subject per essay question.

What is the New York Bar Exam Schedule Breakdown?

Day One: MPT and MEE

The morning session of the first day of the New York bar exam occurs from 9:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M., and the afternoon session occurs from 2:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. The New York bar exam format for the first day consists of the Multistate Performance Test (MPT) and the Multistate Essay Exam (MEE). The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBEX) provide the MPT and the MEE.

During the morning session, the New York bar examiners administer two MPT questions. You have three hours to answer both questions. Although you can use this time as you choose, the New York bar examiners estimate using 90 minutes for each MPT item.

During the afternoon session, the New York bar exam format consists of six MEE essay questions. You have three hours to answer all six questions. Although you can use this time as you choose, the New York bar examiners estimate using 30 minutes per essay question

Day Two: MBE

The morning session of the second day of the New York bar exam occurs from 9:30 A.M. to 12:30 P.M., and the afternoon session occurs from 2:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. During each of the 3-hour sessions, you must answer 100 mixed-subject multiple-choice questions on the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), which is drafted by the NCBEX.

Coming soon: the New Bar Exam for New York State

The Bar Exam will soon look a little bit different in the next few years. The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) recently announced that it would be administering a “new” bar exam beginning in 2024 or 2025. More information will be coming soon but it seems that the new bar exam format will essentially mash all of the UBE components (MEE, MBE, MPT) into one. So, there will be a fact pattern and then a combination of multiple-choice questions and essay prompts which focus on legal skills. Stay tuned!

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