Washington DC Bar Exam Info

Washington DC Bar Exam Information

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

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

Free Trial >

Schedule a Free Washington DC Bar Exam Strategy Session

Washington DC Bar Exam Format

Overview

The Washington DC 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 Washington DC 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 Washington DC 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.

Washington DC Bar Exam Format Video

Useful Links

Washington DC Bar Review Course – AmeriBar has been helping students pass the Washington DC bar exam for over 15 years.
MBEQuestionBank.com – Online question bank with over 2500 simulated MBE questions.

Reciprocity

Under specific circumstances, the District of Columbia allows an applicant to obtain admission by motion (without examination) by fulfilling every applicable requirement. The District of Columbia permits admission on a transferred UBE score of 266 within 5 years of when the score was attained.

Washington DC 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

Do you want to pass the Washington DC bar exam?

Start a free trial (no card needed) and get on the road to passing today.

Washington DC Bar Admissions

Committee on Admissions
D.C. Court of Appeals
430 E Street NW, Room 123
Washington, DC 20001

Washington DC MPRE Score Requirement

Washington DC 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 Washington DC.

Scoring/Grading and Results

In order to pass the Washington DC 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%. The District of Columbia makes bar exam results available approximately 9 to 10 weeks after the exam.

Washington DC Bar Exam Course Free Trial

No fuss, no card, no commitments - It's the Washington DC Way!

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.”

Washington DC Bar Review Course

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

AmeriBar Students

Play

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.

Play

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

Play

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.

Play

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

Play

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.

Play

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.

Play

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.

Play

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.

Play

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.

Play

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

Play

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.

Play

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.

Click here to watch over 50 additional AmeriBar reviews

Washington DC Bar Exam Subjects

Washington DC 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.

Washington DC Bar Exam Statewide Pass Rates

Exam Date	First	Repeat	Total
July 2023	84%	34%	78%
February 2023	55%	35%	45%
July 2022	79%	26%	72%
February 2022	56%	29%	42%
July 2021	84%	44%	73%
February 2021	64%	33%	47%
July 2020	82%	53%	77%
February 2020	45%	28%	38%
July 2019	78%	34%	69%
February 2019	56%	38%	49%
July 2018	72%	37%	67%
February 2018	50%	38%	47%
July 2017	76%	33%	72%
February 2017	53%	31%	46%
July 2016	71%	16%	61%
February 2016	59%	29%	47%

Washington DC Bar Review Course

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