Illinois Bar Exam Info

Illinois Bar Exam Information

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

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Illinois Bar Exam Format

Overview

The Illinois Bar Exam is administered over two days. The examiners have adopted the Uniform Bar Exam (“UBE”).

Day 1

The written portion of the exam is administered on the first day of the Illinois bar exam. The written portion of the bar exam consists of the Multistate Performance Test (“MPT”) and the Multistate Essay Exam (“MEE”). You will have three hours to answer two MPT questions. You will have three hours to answer the six MEE questions.

Day 2

The Multistate Bar Exam (“MBE”) is administered on the second day of the Illinois 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.

Illinois Bar Exam Format Video

Useful Links

Illinois Bar Review Course – AmeriBar has been helping students pass the Illinois bar exam for over 20 years.
IllinoisBarPrep.com – Detailed Information and resources for Illinois bar exam takers.
MBEQuestionBank.com – Online question bank with over 2500 simulated MBE questions.

Reciprocity

Illinois allows for admission on motion for attorneys who fulfill certain requirements, some of which include:

being licensed to practice law in any United States jurisdiction for at least three of five years;
fulfilling all educational and character and fitness requirements; and
being in good disciplinary standing in every jurisdiction of admission.

Illinois Next Gen Status

Adopted Next Gen Uniform Bar Exam? Yes
Date of First Next Gen Exam: February 2028

Exam Dates

February 24-25, 2026
July 28-29, 2026

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Illinois Bar Admissions

Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar
625 S. College Street
Springfield, IL 62704-2521

Illinois MPRE Score Requirement

Illinois requires bar exam applicants to pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (“MPRE”). You must score 80 or higher on the MPRE in order to pass in Illinois.

Scoring/Grading and Results

In order to pass the Illinois bar exam, you must score at least 266. This equates to 133, based on the MBE’s 200-point scale. The scores of the exam sections are weighted as follows: MEE 30%, MPT 20%, and MBE 50%. Illinois makes the February bar exam results available during the first half of April, and the July Illinois bar exam results in the first half of October.

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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.”

Illinois Bar Review Course

AmeriBar has been helping students pass the Illinois 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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Illinois Bar Exam Subjects

Illinois Essay Subjects

MBE Subjects

Heidi

Thomas Cooley Law School

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

Illinois Bar Exam Statewide Pass Rates

Exam Date	First	Repeat	Total
July 2023	79%	27%	70%
February 2023	62%	35%	43%
July 2022	77%	20%	68%
February 2022	56%	36%	43%
July 2021	79%	17%	67%
February 2021	57%	32%	42%
July 2020	84%	35%	75%
February 2020	59%	29%	41%
July 2019	80%	26%	71%
February 2019	67%	44%	52%
July 2018	77%	28%	70%
February 2018	69%	41%	55%
July 2017	80%	38%	74%
February 2017	74%	44%	58%
July 2016	77%	32%	72%
February 2016	75%	49%	63%

Illinois Bar Review Course

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