Hawaii Bar Exam Info

Hawaii Bar Exam Information

Hawaii bar exam format, subjects, scoring, pass rates, dates, and bar review course options. Comprehensive resources to help pass the Hawaii Bar Exam.

AmeriBar’s Hawaii Bar Review Course has helped students pass the bar exam for over 20 years.

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Hawaii Bar Exam Format

Overview

The Hawaii Bar Exam is administered over two days.

Day 1

The state portion of the exam is administered on the first day of the Hawaii bar exam. The state portion of the bar exam consists of the Multistate Essay Exam (“MEE”), the Hawaii Legal Ethics Test, and the Multistate Performance Test (“MPT”). You will have 4 hours to answer the 6 MEE questions and 15 Hawaii Legal Ethics Test multiple choice questions. You will have three hours to answer two MPT questions.

Day 2

The Multistate Bar Exam (“MBE”) is administered on the second day of the Hawaii bar exam. The MBE is a multiple-choice test containing 200 questions. The MBE is split into a morning and afternoon session. Each session consists of 100 questions. You have three hours to complete each session.

Hawaii Bar Exam Format Video

Useful Links

Hawaii Bar Review Course – AmeriBar has been helping students pass the Hawaii bar exam for over 15 years.
HawaiiBarExam.com – Detailed Information and resources for Hawaii bar exam takers.
MBEQuestionBank.com – Online question bank with over 2500 simulated MBE questions.

Exam Dates

February 25-26, 2025
July 29-30, 2025

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Hawaii Bar Admissions

Board of Examiners of the Supreme Court of Hawaii
Ali’iolani Hale, Room 103
417 S. King Street
Honolulu, HI 96813-2912

Hawaii MPRE Score Requirement

Hawaii requires bar exam applicants to pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (“MPRE”). You must score 85 or higher on the MPRE in order to pass in Hawaii.

Scoring/Grading and Results

In order to pass the Hawaii bar exam, you must score at least 134 on the MBE’s 200-point scale. The scores of the exam sections are weighted as follows: state portion 50% and MBE 50%. Hawaii makes bar exam results available approximately 10 to 12 weeks after the exam.

Reciprocity

Basically, although admission on motion is not generally available, Hawaii allows it on specific and limited grounds for:

full-time faculty members of the University of Hawaii Law School;
full time, active duty, uniformed service, judge advocates for uncompensated representation of certain military-related clients; and
lawyers employed by a non-profit legal services provider eligible for indigent legal assistance funds.

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Heidi

Thomas Cooley Law School

Heidi, who failed twice with BarBri, describes how AmeriBar was instrumental in raising her score from 121 to 144.

Hawaii Bar Review Course

AmeriBar has been helping students pass the Hawaii bar exam for over 20 years.

AmeriBar Students

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Well, the one thing I did do differently was not use Barbri... I used the AmeriBar materials and had the one-on-one tutorial for the essays. I do think it probably made a large difference in how I handled and approached my essays.

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I chose AmeriBar and I’m convinced that had it not been for AmeriBar I wouldn’t have passed the exam.

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So, I can’t emphasize enough how much I would recommend AmeriBar to any student. I was able to pass the bar on the first attempt, even in a state that I didn’t go to law school in, and I feel like AmeriBar was a very significant contributing factor to my success on the bar exam.

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You are also taking a step in the right direction by considering AmeriBar for your test materials.

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The first time I took the bar exam, I took the Barbri program, which was a big, huge program where you don’t get a lot of individualized attention. However, the second time I took a bar preparation course, I took it through AmeriBar. AmeriBar really provided the one-on-one help that I needed to pass the bar.

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This was the fourth time taking the bar ...and this time I passed. I used a competitor’s program for the prior three times, and I didn’t pass. I have to say that I think AmeriBar’s tutoring is what really pushed me over the top.

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I think having a personal tutor help to prepare me for the bar exam is the only reason I finally passed the bar. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to AmeriBar and their program.

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Once you go with AmeriBar they will help you emotionally and academically. They will get you 100% ready for the bar exam... I’m grateful for AmeriBar – because they helped me accomplish my dream. And without them, I wouldn’t be an attorney today.

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I felt so prepared and so well-versed in every area of the law for the exam. I never felt that way with BAR/BRI the first couple of times I took it. I can’t say enough about how well-prepared I felt and how relieved I was after failing twice to come back and just nail it after six years of absence from the law.

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After three unsuccessful attempts at the bar exam, I felt as though as though I had nowhere to turn.... AmeriBar is a large contributor to my success in passing and achieving the dream of becoming a lawyer

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They offered seven hours of personal tutoring and I thought, ‘wow this is a program that is quite different.’ So I signed up and paid the money. Guess what? That was what helped me pass the bar.

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I would tell law students considering AmeriBar they should go with AmeriBar because the materials are put together in a superior way. They read much more smoothly. I think they’re put together in a more sequential and chronological way. They are far easier to comprehend, and learning it in a linear sequential way, the way AmeriBar has them set out, really helped me pass.

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Hawaii Bar Exam Subjects

Hawaii Essay Subjects

MBE Subjects

Jennifer

Regent Law School

Jennifer failed twice with Barbri. “I felt so prepared…for the exam. I never felt that way the first couple of times. I can’t say enough about how I felt after failing twice to come back and just nail it after six years of absence from the law.”

Hawaii Bar Exam Statewide Pass Rates

Exam Date	First	Repeat	Total
July 2023	75%	18%	63%
February 2023	58%	48%	54%
July 2022	71%	28%	63%
February 2022	81%	38%	67%
July 2021	74%	50%	70%
February 2021	73%	70%	72%
July 2020	84%	53%	79%
February 2020	74%	37%	57%
July 2019	71%	35%	62%
February 2019	77%	38%	63%
July 2018	80%	28%	71%
February 2018	80%	29%	63%
July 2017	78%	43%	72%
February 2017	70%	38%	59%
July 2016	76%	38%	69%
February 2016	84%	46%	73%

Hawaii Bar Review Course

AmeriBar has been helping students pass the Hawaii bar exam for over 20 years.