Minnesota Bar Exam Information

Dates, Cost & Location

Home to some of history’s staunchest supporters of civil rights, women’s rights, and labor rights, Minnesota’s legacy of leading the way for social justice helped make America as we know it. Countless Minnesotans have changed America for the better by practicing law. If you want to follow in their footsteps, we’re excited to help you pass the bar exam!

The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) offers the bar exam twice a year: once in February and once in July. Both the winter and summer administrations of the exam are spread out over two days. The February 2026 exam is administered from February 24–25, 2026, and the July 2026 exam is administered from July 28–29, 2026. Minnesota’s regular filing deadline for the February exam is October 15, 2025, but you may apply by the late filing deadline of December 1, 2025. If you apply by the regular application deadline, the application fee is $600. If you apply later, you’ll need to pay a late fee of $200. There’s a laptop fee of $100. The application deadlines for the July exam haven’t been announced as of November 2025.

Like 40 other jurisdictions in the United States, Minnesota uses the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE). The UBE has three sections: The Multistate Essay Exam (MEE), the Multistate Performance Test (MPT), and the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE). The MEE and the MPT are both essay-based, and they’re both administered on the first day of the exam. The MEE has six half-hour essay questions, while the MPT has two ninety-minute essay questions. The MBE is a multiple-choice section that’s administered on the second day of the exam. During the MBE, test takers will spend six hours answering 200 multiple-choice questions.

Effective July 2027, Minnesota will replace the current version of the UBE with a new version called NextGen. NextGen will include more questions about practical legal work such as legal writing and dispute resolution. NextGen will not test the following subjects: Conflict of Laws, Family Law, Secured Transactions, and Trusts & Estates.

What subjects will you be tested on?

Although the MEE is not worth as much of your score as the MBE, for many students the MEE can be more challenging because it covers subjects that you’re less likely to have taken in law school. Here’s the full list of MEE topics: 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. This is only a list of possible MEE topics, as the UBE doesn’t always include every one. Since there’s no way to predict which subjects will be tested and which ones won’t, we recommend studying all of the above subjects so you’re fully prepared to pass the bar.

While the MPT is essay-based like the MEE, it functions very differently. Rather than testing your knowledge of substantive law, the MPT tests your real-world lawyering skills like legal writing and analysis. Whereas the MEE leaves you to infer which laws apply to the question, the MPT gives you the relevant laws in the prompt. Your job will be applying those laws to the facts at hand and providing a convincing argument for your conclusions.

The MBE tests you on Constitutional Law, Contracts and Sales, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Federal Civil Procedure, Real Property, and Torts.

What’s the minimum score for the MPRE?

To pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) in Minnesota, you must receive a scaled score of at least 85.

How is the exam scored?

In Minnesota, you must achieve a combined scaled score of at least 260 out of 400. The MPT, MEE, and MBE are combined into a single scaled score. The MBE is worth 50% of the total score, while the MEE is worth 30% and the MPT is worth 20%.

When are the results released?

February exam scores are expected to be released on April 17, 2026. The results of the July 2025 exam were released on October 3, 2025, so the July 2026 results will likely be released at a similar time next year.

Can I transfer my MBE scores from another jurisdiction?

Yes, provided that you scored at least a 145 on the MBE on a passing bar exam, and that you received this score within thirty-six months of your application to transfer it to Minnesota.

What about reciprocity across states?

Lawyers from other jurisdictions may apply for reciprocity in Minnesota if they’ve practiced law for at least three of the past five years and have graduated from an ABA-accredited law school.