Montana Bar Exam Information

Dates, Cost & Location

Known for its scenic mountain views, flyfishing, and Glacier National Park, Montana is a wonderful place to practice law if you’re looking for a more relaxed atmosphere than Wall Street or K Street. Montana offers the bar exam in February and July. The February administration of the exam will take place from February 24–25, 2026, while the July administration will take place from July 28–29, 2026. The application fee for first-time test takers is $625. You’ll also have to pay an additional character and fitness fee, but the fee varies based on each person. Test retakers pay an application fee of $310.

Missouri uses the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE). The UBE takes a total of twelve hours to complete, but the whole exam is spread across two days. On the first day of the exam, test takers answer six thirty-minute Multistate Essay Exam (MEE) essay questions and two ninety-minute Multistate Performance Test (MPT) essay questions. On the second day, they will spend six hours answering 200 multiple-choice questions for the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE).

What subjects will you be tested on?

The MEE can test you on 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.

The MPT primarily tests your ability to write a clear and convincing argument in a memorandum or legal brief, rather than your knowledge of substantive legal issues. The relevant laws that apply to the question will be provided in the prompt.

The MBE will test 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 Montana, you must receive a scaled score of at least 80.

How is the exam scored?

Different states require different bar passage scores; Montana requires a combined scaled score of 266 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 MPT is worth 20% and the MEE is worth 30%.

When are the results released?

You should expect to receive the results in late April, but there’s no guaranteed release date.

Can I transfer my MBE scores from another jurisdiction?

Montana doesn’t accept MBE results from other states, but you can apply for Bar admission in Montana if you’ve taken the UBE in another jurisdiction.

What about reciprocity across states?

You can practice law in Montana through reciprocity if you’ve practiced law for the past five years, have graduated from an ABA-accredited law school, pass a character and fitness evaluation, and have received at least a 266 on the UBE.