Iowa Bar Exam Information

Dates, Cost & Location

Iowa is best known as the capital of the Corn Belt, but did you know that Iowa also has a consistent track record of producing excellent attorneys? This is the time of year when many young Iowans are preparing to become lawyers, so we’re writing this article to help prospective attorneys pass the bar exam. The Iowa Bar Exam is administered twice a year: once in February and once in July. Both administrations of the exam take place over two days. The February exam will take place from February 24–25, 2026, while the July exam will take place from July 28–29, 2026.

Although the application deadline for the February exam has already passed, the deadline for the July exam is April 1, 2026. The exam application fee for first-time test takers is $800, while the fee for test retakers is $550.

Iowa uses the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE). On the first day of the exam, test takers will answer six thirty-minute Multistate Essay Exam (MEE) essay questions and two ninety-minute Multistate Performance Test (MPT) essay questions. On the second day, test takers will spend six hours answering two hundred multiple-choice questions for the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE).

In 2027, Iowa will shift to a new version of the UBE called NextGen. NextGen will be broadly similar to the current version of the UBE, but it will have new questions testing practical skills like your ability to write persuasively and work productively with clients. NextGen won’t test Conflict of Laws, Family Law, Secured Transactions, and Trusts & Estates.

What subjects will you be tested on?
Although both the MEE and the MPT are essay-based, these two sections are structured very differently. Unlike the MPT, the MEE questions will test your understanding of a specific area of law, and it won’t give you a statute or a case decision to help guide your response. You have to be able to recognize the legal issues in the fact pattern and remember which laws, legal rules, and doctrines need to be applied. MEE questions may cover any of these areas: Business Associations (including Agency, Partnerships, and Corporations), Civil Procedure, Conflict of Laws, Constitutional Law, Contracts and Sales, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Family Law, Real Property, Secured Transactions (including Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code), Torts, and Wills & Estates.

By contrast, instead of testing you on a specific area of law, the MPT section of the bar exam tests your skills in legal writing and analysis. The laws that apply to the MPT questions will be given to you in the prompt. While your writing ability will be important for the MEE questions too, the bar exam graders place more emphasis on your knowledge of substantive law when grading the MEE, and they focus more on your writing ability when grading the MPT.

The MBE will test your knowledge of Constitutional Law, Contracts and Sales, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Federal Civil Procedure, Real Property, and Torts. The MBE doesn’t test Business Associations, Conflict of Laws, Family Law, Secured Transactions, or Wills & Estates.

What’s the minimum score for the MPRE?
To pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) in Iowa, you must receive a scaled score of at least 80.

How is the exam scored?
The MPT, MEE, and MBE are combined into a single scaled score. To pass, you must achieve a combined scaled score of 266 out of 400. The MBE is worth 50% of the total score, while the MPT is worth 20% and the MEE is worth 30%, accounting for the other half of your score.

When are the results released?
Test takers should expect to receive their results six to eight weeks after the exam administration, but there is no guaranteed date for when the scores will be released.

Can I transfer my MBE scores from another jurisdiction?
No, even though Iowa uses the UBE.

What about reciprocity across states?
Out-of-state lawyers may apply for admission on motion, provided that they graduated from an ABA-accredited law school and have practiced law for five of the past seven years. Additionally, they need to pass the UBE, and they can’t have failed the Iowa Bar Exam within five years of applying for reciprocity. They need to be in good standing in their other jurisdiction(s), they can’t be subject to attorney discipline in another jurisdiction, and they must meet Iowa’s character and fitness requirements.