Illinois

Illinois Bar Exam Information

Illinois Bar ExamIllinois 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.

Course Video on Illinois Bar Exam Format

Useful Links

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

Exam Dates

  • February 25-26, 2020
  • July 28-29, 2020
  • February 23-24, 2021
  • July 27-28, 2021

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.

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.

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Jennifer

Regent Law School

“I felt so prepared and so well-versed in every area of the law for the exam. I never felt that way with Barbri 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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UBE Bar Review Course Books

Illinois Bar Review Course

AmeriBar has been helping students pass the Illinois bar exam for over 17 years. 

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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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I really appreciate everything AmeriBar has done for me. It was probably the best decision I’ve made in the past five to six years of my life. If I didn’t pass this time, I wasn’t going to take the bar exam again. Without AmeriBar it would have been another disappointment. My scores went up 10-15 points in each section. The only thing I did differently this time is use an AmeriBar tutor.
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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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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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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

  • Business Associations
  • Conflict of Laws
  • Family Law
  • Trusts, Wills, and Estates
  • UCC Article 2 – Secured Transactions
  • All MBE Subjects

MBE Subjects

  • Civil Procedure
  • Constitutional Law
  • Contracts and Sales
  • Criminal Law and Procedure
  • Evidence
  • Property
  • Torts
MBE Question of the Day
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Heidi

Thomas Cooley Law School

Heidi was unsuccessful twice with Barbri before enrolling in tutoring.

“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.”

Illinois Bar Exam Statewide Pass Rates

Exam DateFirstRepeatTotal
July 201877%28%70%
February 201869%41%55%
July 201780%38%74%
February 201774%44%58%
July 201677%32%72%
February 201675%49%63%
July 201580%31%76%
February 201581%52%69%
July 201485%30%81%
February 201484%58%75%

UBE Bar Review Course Books

Illinois Bar Review Course

AmeriBar has been helping students pass the Illinois bar exam for over 17 years. 

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