Dates, deadlines and information for the Bar Examination and MPRE.
NYS Board of Law Examiners
Corporate Plaza - Building 3
245 Washington Avenue Ext.
Albany, N.Y. 12203-5195
518-452-8700
800-342-3335 (in NY only)
You should apply online at www.nybarexam.org during the open registration period.
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Applications
At the National Council of Bar Examiners website:
The Board of Law Examinations (BOLE) will email you a BOLE ID and password.
You must complete all segments of the New York Law Course (NYLC) before you register for the New York Law Examination (NYLE).
The deadline to register for the New York Law Examination is thirty (30) days before the fate of the NYLE. You must complete the NYLC at least thirty days before the date of the next NYLE to register and take that NYLE. The course may take you longer than planned, so do not expect to complete the course in a single day or the day before your anticipated registration deadline.
The NYLE is on Examsoft and requires you to pay a $27 fee to Examsoft. Remove your law school copy of Examsoft software from your computer and load the NYLE copy of Examsoft software to insure you do not have any issues accessing the NYLE.
In addition to receiving a passing score for New York on the Uniform Bar Examination to be certified as passing the bar examination to apply for admission to practice in New York.
Applications are available online at the Board of Law Examiner's website.
Applications must be completed online or received by the New York State Board of Law Examiners within the dates specified by the Board of Law Examiners:
There is no provision for late filing except that for applicants who took the immediately preceding New York bar examination, the deadline for reapplication is 14 days from receipt of the examination results, within the filing deadlines above, whichever is later.
Application Fee and Payment
The fee for the Uniform Bar Examination in New York is $250. If you are qualifying to take the Uniform Bar Examination in New York examination following the study of law in another country (LL.M. students), the fee is $750.
"Law School Certificate" & "Specimen of Applicants Handwriting"
Once you complete your online application you will receive a confirmation via email. After the deadline date passes (in December for February takers or May for July takers) you will receive a PDF of two forms sent to your email address. One is called the "Law School Certificate" and the other is the “Specimen of Applicants Handwriting.” Records & Registration can retrieve and print your "Law School Certificate." However, you must print and bring the “Specimen of Applicants Handwriting" to the Records and Registration Office as soon as possible to complete it in front of a member of the staff at Records and Registration. Do NOT fill out the handwriting sample until you are in front of one of the Records staff. All New York State bar examination applicants must complete these two forms, even if you are using a laptop to take the exam.
Dates of NYLE | Registration Deadline |
Thursday, March 30, 2023 12:00 p.m. | Tuesday, February 28, 2023 11:59 p.m. |
Thursday, September 14, 2023 12:00 p.m. | Tuesday, August 15, 2023 11:59 p.m. |
Thursday, December 14, 2023 12:00 p.m. | Tuesday, November 14, 2023 11:59 p.m. |
Day 1 morning - 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (3 hours)
2 Multistate Performance Test (MPT) questions – suggested 90 minutes each
Day 1 afternoon - 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. (3 hours)
6 Multistate Essay exam (MEE) essays – suggested 30 minutes each
Passing score is 266 for New York.
The grading breakdown is 50% for the MBE, 30% for the MEE, and 20% for the MPT.
The MBE is given the Tuesday preceding the MBE in February and July. The examination consists of six essays which are thirty (30) minutes each. The subjects that may be tested include the following: Business Associations (Agency and Partnership; Corporations and Limited Liability Companies), Civil Procedure, Conflict of Laws, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Family Law, Real Property, Torts, Trusts and Estates (Decedents' Estates; Trusts and Future Interests), and Uniform Commercial Code (Secured Transactions).
The MBE is given the last Wednesday of February and July. The states have their portion of the examination on the Tuesday before or the Thursday after or sometimes both (California). The MBE is a 200 question multiple choice examination covering the following topics: Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Real Property and Torts. Beginning with the February 2015 bar examination, Civil Procedure will also be tested.
Prior to July 2016 (old New York Bar examination):
Beginning July 2016 (NYLC, NYLE & UBE):
For information on Bar Examination registration, dates, deadlines and contents of the examinations, go to the National Council of Bar Examiners website. From their site, you can link to any state or United State territory that offers a bar examination under "Jurisdiction Information."