Supreme Court Rules - Rule 8 - Rules Governing the Missouri Bar and the Judiciary - Admission to the Bar: The Bar Examination

Clerk Handbooks

Supreme Court Rules

		Section/Rule:	8.08
Subject:	Rule 8 - Rules Governing the Missouri Bar and the Judiciary - Admission to the Bar	Publication / Adopted Date:	February 1, 1972
Topic:	The Bar Examination	Revised / Effective Date:	September 23, 2015

8.08. The Bar Examination

(a) The board shall conduct examinations of applicants for admission to the bar twice each year at such times and places as this Court may direct. The examination shall cover such subjects as the board may prescribe with the approval of this Court.

(b) Applicants are expected to have knowledge of legal ethics and familiarity with the Missouri rules of professional conduct. Prior to being issued a license to practice law, each applicant for admission by examination shall attain a scaled score of not less than 80 on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination. The applicant’s certified Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination score must be received by the board no later than one year after the date of written notification to the applicant of passing the bar examination.

(c) Applicants for admission by bar examination shall be required to successfully complete the Missouri educational component test (MECT) prescribed by the board and approved by this Court. Successful completion of the MECT shall occur no earlier than the date of submission of the initial application to take the bar examination and no later than one year after the date of written notification to the applicant of passing the bar examination. Applicants who do not pass the bar examination within two years after successful completion of the MECT shall be required to successfully complete the MECT again.

(Adopted February 1, 1972, effective Sept. 1, 1972. Amended August 31, 1982, effective January 1, 1983; Amended August 9, 1993; Amended October 16, 1995, effective March 1, 1996; Amended February 25, 1997, effective March 1, 1997; Amended effective April 22, 1998; Amended September 3, 2003, effective October 1, 2003; Amended March 7, 2005, effective July 1, 2005; Amended January 26, 2009, effective July 1, 2009; Amended April 8, 2010, effective July 1, 2010; Amended August 16, 2011, effective September 1, 2011; Amended effective September 23, 2015.)

Regulations of Board of Law Examiners

1. The bar examination is the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) prepared by the National Conference of Bar Examiner, which consists of six Multistate Essay Examination (MEE) questions, two Multistate Performance Test (MPT) tasks, and the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE).

2. The bar examination is administered on the last consecutive Tuesday and Wednesday in February and July. The MEE and MPT are administered on Tuesday and the MBE is administered on Wednesday.

3. The bar examination questions are graded according to the law of general application and not the law of any specific state.

4. Raw scores earned in the MEE and MPT portions of the examination are combined and scaled to the MBE to calculate scaled essay scores. MBE scores are weighted 50%, MEE scores are weighted 30%, and MPT scores are weighted 20% in calculating scaled total scores, which are expressed on a 400-point scale. An applicant's scaled total score is the sum of the applicant's scaled MBE score and scaled essay score. A scaled total score of at least 260 is required to pass the bar examination.

5. The results of the bar examination will be published and disseminated at such dates and times as this Court shall set.

6. No regrading or rescoring of any part of the essay portion of the examination will be provided. No appeal or review of exam scores or results is allowed.

7. In determining whether an applicant passes the bar examination, the board shall accept the applicant's scaled score on the MBE taken in another jurisdiction and transferred to Missouri only if:

(a) The applicant has not previously failed the bar examination in Missouri;

(b) The score was attained in an examination administered within the 19 months immediately preceding the date of the examination to be taken in Missouri; and

It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that the transferring jurisdiction has certified the applicant's MBE score to the board by July 1 for a July examination and by February 1 for a February examination. If the transferred MBE score is not timely certified, the applicant may be required to sit for both days of the examination in Missouri.

An applicant is allowed to utilize a transferred MBE score and sit for only the essay portion of the bar examination in Missouri one time. If such applicant does not achieve a passing score in the applicant's first attempt, the applicant must sit for both days of the examination in any subsequent attempts. In determining whether an applicant has achieved a passing score, the applicant's transferred scaled MBE score and the applicant's scaled essay score combined must yield a scaled total score of at least 260.

If an applicant elects to utilize a transferred MBE and sit for only the essay portion of the bar examination in Missouri, the score the applicant receives will not qualify as a "Uniform Bar Examination" score.

8. Scores of an applicant on the bar examination will not be disclosed to the public, except that the board is authorized to:

(a) Make public statistical results of the examination; and

(b) Disclose to the law school from which an applicant graduated the applicant’s grades, provided the applicant has signed a release form authorizing the board to do so;

(d) Certify, upon an applicant's request, an applicant's scaled MBE score to other jurisdictions in which the applicant seeks admission.

9. Enrollment ceremonies for successful applicants will be held in Jefferson City at such locations, dates and times as this Court shall set.

10. Testing accommodations will be provided for applicants demonstrating a disability to the extent such accommodations are reasonable, consistent with the nature and purpose of the examination, and necessitated by the applicant’s disability. Applicants needing accommodations shall file a petition for testing accommodations in such form as prescribed by the board. A fully completed petition for testing accommodations, including all required supporting documentation, shall be submitted with the application for bar examination in accordance with the filing deadlines set out in Rule 8.07 and subject to the corresponding prescribed fee.

(Amended October 11, 1965; September 8, 1969; May 10, 1971; Amended June 27, 1980, effective August 1, 1980; Amended effective January 1, 1983; Amended March 25, 1986; September 22, 1986; Amended December 12, 1989, effective April 1, 1990; Amended January 9, 1990, effective April 1, 1991; Amended effective August 9, 1993; Amended October 16, 1995, effective March 1, 1996; Amended February 25, 1997, effective March 1, 1997; Amended August 29, 1997, effective September 1, 1997; Amended October 15, 1998, effective November 1, 1998; Amended June 27, 2000, effective July 1, 2000; Amended July 3, 2001, effective August 1, 2001; September 3, 2003 effective October 1, 2003; Amended January 27, 2004, effective February 1, 2004; Amended March 7, 2005, effective July 1, 2005; Amended January 26, 2009, effective July 1, 2009; Amended April 8, 2010, effective July 1, 2010; Amended August 16, 2011, effective September 1, 2011.)