Utah Bar Exam Information

Dates, Cost & Location

Home to the Sundance Film Festival, the Great Salt Lake, and the Mighty Five National Parks, Utah has a top-notch legal community that specializes in a diverse field of legal subjects. If it’s your dream to practice law in Utah, we’re here to help! The Utah Bar Exam is offered in February and July every year. The February exam takes place on February 24–25, 2026, while the July exam is administered on July 28–29, 2026. Although the application for the February 2026 exam has closed, the deadline to apply for the July exam is March 1, 2026. The application fee is $550. The laptop fee is $200.

Like most states, Utah uses the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE). The UBE is divided into two days, with the first day reserved for the essay portions of the exam and the second day for multiple-choice questions. The Multistate Essay Exam (MEE) and the Multistate Performance Test (MPT) are 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 Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) is administered on the second day of the exam. For the MBE, test takers will spend six hours answering 200 multiple-choice questions.

Utah will transition to the NextGen version of the UBE in July 2028. The NextGen bar exam will be broadly similar to the current UBE, but it will include more questions about the practical aspects of legal practice, such as negotiating settlements and professional responsibility. NextGen won’t test Conflict of Laws, Family Law, Secured Transactions, or Trusts & Estates.

What subjects will you be tested on?

The MEE tests a broad range of subjects. Not all of them will necessarily appear on the exam, as the essay subjects vary with each administration. Nevertheless, be sure to study all the following subjects so that you’re in the best position possible to pass the UBE: 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.

Although the MPT is essay-based like the MEE, it differs in terms of content and application. Whereas the MEE tests your knowledge of specific legal topics, the MPT tests your legal writing abilities. The MPT will give you a set of facts and applicable laws. It will be your job to write a persuasive memorandum or legal brief that applies the laws to the facts. Although it helps to be familiar with the area of law that the question touches upon, it’s more important that you work on your ability to structure an argument and respond to the issues raised by the prompt. In contrast, the MEE doesn’t usually give you the laws that apply to the question, and you’ll be graded significantly on your knowledge of the question’s key legal issues.

While the MBE has more questions than either the MEE or the MPT, its scope is more narrow. The MBE only 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 Utah, you must receive a scaled score of at least 86.

How is the exam scored?

To pass, you must achieve a combined scaled score of 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 MPT is worth 20% and the MEE is worth 30%.

When are the results released?

Test takers should expect to receive their results about two months 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?

Yes.

What about reciprocity across states?

To practice law in Utah without taking the UBE, you can apply for admission on motion. To apply, you must have practiced law for at least eighty hours during thirty-six of the past sixty months, have graduated from an ABA-accredited law school, and be in good standing in all jurisdictions where you’re presently licensed to practice.