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Pennsylvania Bar Exam Information
Pennsylvania bar exam information including format, subjects, scoring, pass rates, dates, and bar review course options. Comprehensive resources to help pass the Pennsylvania Bar Exam.
AmeriBar’s Pennsylvania Bar Review Course has helped students pass the bar exam for over 15 years.
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Pennsylvania Bar Exam Format
Overview
The Pennsylvania Bar Exam is administered over two days.
Day 1
The written portion of the exam is administered on the first day of the Pennsylvania bar exam. The written portion of the bar exam consists of the Pennsylvania essay questions and the Performance Test (“PT”). You will have three hours to answer one PT and two essay questions. You will have three hours to answer four essay questions.
Day 2
The Multistate Bar Exam (“MBE”) is administered on the second day of the Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania Bar Exam Format
Useful Links
- Pennsylvania Bar Review Course – AmeriBar has been helping students pass the Pennsylvania bar exam for over 15 years.
- PennsylvaniaBarExam.com – Detailed Information and resources for Pennsylvania bar exam takers.
- MBEQuestionBank.com – Online question bank with over 2500 simulated MBE questions.
Exam Dates
- July 30-31, 2019
- February 25-26, 2020
- July 28-29, 2020
- February 23-24, 2021
Pennsylvania Bar Admissions
Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners
601 Commonwealth Avenue
Suite 3600
P.O. Box 62535
Harrisburg, PA 17106-2535
601 Commonwealth Avenue
Suite 3600
P.O. Box 62535
Harrisburg, PA 17106-2535
Pennsylvania MPRE Score Requirement
Pennsylvania requires bar exam applicants to pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (“MPRE”). You must score 75 or higher on the MPRE in order to pass in Pennsylvania.
Scoring/Grading and Results
In order to pass the Pennsylvania bar exam, you must score at least 272. This equates to 136, based on the MBE’s 200-point scale. The scores of the exam sections are weighted as follows: the written portion 55%, and MBE 45%. Pennsylvania releases the February bar exam results in mid-April and the July exam results in mid-October.
Reciprocity
If you are a domestic attorney, you may qualify for admission to the Pennsylvania Bar if you fulfill many detailed requirements. Some of those requirements are:
- You have an initial law degree from an American Bar Association (ABA)-approved law school;
- You are a member of the bar of a reciprocal state on active status; and
- You prove having spent at least half of your time practicing law in a reciprocal state for five of the past seven years or having passed the bar exam in a reciprocal state.
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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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AmeriBar has been helping students pass the Pennsylvania bar exam for over 17 years.
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Pennsylvania Bar Exam Subjects
Pennsylvania Essay Subjects
- Business Organizations
- Civil Procedure (Federal and Pennsylvania)
- Conflict of Laws
- Contracts
- Criminal Law
- Employment Discrimination
- Evidence (Federal and Pennsylvania)
- Family Law
- Federal Constitutional Law
- Federal Income Tax
- Professional Responsibility
- Real Property
- Torts
- UCC Article 2 – Sales
- Wills, Trusts, and Decedent’s Estates
MBE Subjects
- Civil Procedure
- Constitutional Law
- Contracts and Sales
- Criminal Law and Procedure
- Evidence
- Property
- Torts
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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.”
Pennsylvania Bar Exam Statewide Pass Rates
| Exam Date | First | Repeat | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 2017 | 81% | 38% | 74% |
| February 2017 | 72% | 44% | 54% |
| July 2016 | 75% | 28% | 69% |
| February 2016 | 74% | 44% | 56% |
| July 2015 | 78% | 26% | 71% |
| February 2015 | 68% | 37% | 53% |
| July 2014 | 82% | 24% | 76% |
| February 2014 | 72% | 44% | 57% |
| July 2013 | 83% | 28% | 77% |
| February 2013 | 72% | 50% | 61% |
AmeriBar has been helping students pass the Pennsylvania bar exam for over 17 years.