Board of Law Examiners
Office of Professional Regulation
Judicial Branch Building
1111 E. Court Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50319
515.725.8029
http://www.iowacourts.gov/
Iowa Bar Exam Format
The Iowa Bar Exam is a two-day exam preceded by a mandatory orientation and registration session on Monday afternoon. Day 1 consists of two 90-minute Multistate Performance Test (MPT) questions and six 30-minute Multistate Essay Examination (MEE) questions. Day 2 is the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), a 200-question, multiple-choice exam.
Multistate Edge prepares you for the MBE portion of the Iowa Bar Exam.
Iowa Bar Exam Subjects: Iowa/MEE Subjects (MBE Subjects are in bold)
Business Associations (including Agency and Partnership, Corporations, and LLCs), Conflict of Laws, Family Law, Federal Civil Procedure, Trusts & Estates (including Future Interests and Decedents’ Estates), U.C.C. (including Negotiable Instruments, Art. 3, and Secured Transactions, Art. 9), Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Constitutional Law, Evidence, Real Property, and Torts
MPRE
A scaled score of 80 on the MPRE must be filed with the examiners no later than April 1 preceding the July exam or November 1 preceding the February exam. MPRE scores are good for three years.
Iowa Bar Exam Scoring and Results
Iowa does not release its grading formula. Iowa has not determined when results will be released.
Click here to see passage results for past Iowa Bar Exams.
Iowa Bar Exam MBE Reciprocity
Iowa accepts an MBE score from another jurisdiction or from a previous Iowa exam from one of the four last administrations of the MBE.
Iowa Bar Exam Reciprocity
In order to be eligible for admission without taking the Iowa Bar Exam, the applicant must have engaged in the active practice of law for five of the seven years immediately preceding the application and demonstrate a bona fide intention to practice law in Iowa.
Iowa Bar Exam Application Deadlines and Fees
Please visit the Board of Bar Examiners’ website for details on application deadlines and fees, and for more information on other topics.
*Bar exam information is subject to change without notice; please verify with the bar examiner’s office.
