Iowa Bar Exam Info

Iowa Bar Exam Information

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

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Iowa Bar Exam Format

Overview

The Iowa 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 Iowa 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 Iowa 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.

Iowa Bar Exam Format Video

Useful Links

Iowa Bar Review Course – AmeriBar has been helping students pass the Iowa bar exam for over 15 years.
IowaBarExam.com – Detailed Information and resources for Iowa 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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Iowa Bar Admissions

Iowa Board of Law Examiners
Office of Professional Regulation
Iowa Judicial Branch Building
1111 East Court Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50319

Iowa MPRE Score Requirement

Iowa 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 Iowa.

Scoring/Grading and Results

In order to pass the Iowa 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: MPT 20%, MEE 30%, and MBE 50%. Iowa makes bar exam results available approximately six weeks after the exam.

Reciprocity

Iowa permits admission based on a UBE score of at least 266 that is transferred from another jurisdiction within the applicable time limit, if every other requirement for admission is fulfilled. Basically, Iowa permits admission without examination for a lawyer who fulfills specified requirements, which include:

being licensed in another state or the District of Columbia;
practicing law for five of the past seven years; and
not having character or fitness problems.

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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.”

Iowa Bar Review Course

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

Iowa 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.

Iowa Bar Exam Statewide Pass Rates

Exam Date	First	Repeat	Total
July 2023	88%	45%	86%
February 2023	70%	35%	51%
July 2022	83%	31%	79%
February 2022	81%	48%	64%
July 2021	77%	28%	71%
February 2021	64%	52%	60%
July 2020	88%	10%	83%
February 2020	59%	24%	47%
July 2019	87%	30%	80%
February 2019	66%	39%	56%
July 2018	86%	42%	80%
February 2018	73%	36%	57%
July 2017	88%	38%	82%
February 2017	78%	60%	69%
July 2016	76%	19%	71%
February 2016	68%	48%	61%

Iowa Bar Review Course

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