Accommodations
A reasonable modification to any policies, practices, and procedures that might otherwise prevent individuals with disabilities from taking the bar examination in an accessible place or manner, provided such modifications do not result in a fundamental alteration to the examination or other admission requirements, impose an undue burden, or jeopardize examination security. For more information, and the forms to apply for accommodations, see Nonstandard Testing Accommodations for the Bar Exam.
Applicant Portal
The Applicant Portal is used by the Board of Bar Examiners to communicate with Petitioners, securely share documents, and administer the Massachusetts Law Component (MLC). Petitioners will receive an email from the Applicant Portal after their case is referred to the BBE, inviting them to register their account.
First-Time Examinees: You will receive this email in early January for a February exam, or early June for a July exam. Repeat examinees will use the same account that was registered upon your first-time petition.
Petitions by UBE Transfer and Motion: Your petition is initially filed with and reviewed by the SJC Clerk's Office. After the SJC Clerk's Office has completed its initial review, your case is referred to the Board of Bar Examiners. You will receive this email after your case has been referred to the BBE. If you have not received the Portal email within a month after filing your petition, please contact the BBE. Please also periodically check your spam/junk folder, to ensure you do not miss this email or any other email communications.
Attorney Recommendation
Not to be confused with the Letters of Recommendation, the Attorney Recommendation is a form that must be signed by a member of the bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or of any state, district, or territory of the United States who recommends that the petitioner be admitted to the bar, and who can certify that the petitioner is of good moral character. See:
Recommendation by Attorney for Admission by Examination
Recommendation by Attorney for Admission by Transfer of UBE Score
Recommendation by Attorney for Admission by Motion
Character and Fitness (C&F)
The Board of Bar Examiners considers good character to embody that degree of honesty, integrity and discretion that the public and members of the bench and the bar have the right to demand of a lawyer. The Board of Bar Examiners considers sufficient acquirements and qualifications to be those that are necessary to demonstrate a lawyer's fitness to practice law. For more information, see Board of Bar Examiners Rule V: Character and fitness standards for admission.
E-File
Petitions for Admission must be submitted electronically. Tyler Technologies is the vendor that produces the Odyssey Guide and File software, the Court's e-file platform.
ExamSoft
ExamSoft is the vendor that produces the Examplify software, used by examinees who opt to type their essay responses. For more information, see Using your laptop at the bar exam.
First-Time Examinee
A first-time examinee is one who has not previously filed a Petition for Admission in Massachusetts. Those who have previously sat for the bar exam in another jurisdiction, but are petitioning in Massachusetts for the first time should refer to the Guide to Filing a Petition for Admission by Examination (First-Time).
Those who have previously filed a Petition for Admission by Examination in Massachusetts, regardless of whether they have sat for the exam, should refer to the Guide to Filing a Petition for Admission by Re-Examination.
Massachusetts Law Component (MLC)
The MLC is a 50-question multiple-choice exam on key distinctions and essential highlights of Massachusetts law and procedure covering ten areas of law. The MLC is a requirement for bar admission of all petitioners (Petitioners by Examination, Petitioners by UBE Transfer, and Petitioners by Motion). For more information, see The Massachusetts Law Component (MLC).
Multistate Bar Examination (MBE)
The MBE consists of 200 multiple choice questions, administered over two 3-hour test sessions. The purpose of the MBE is to assess the extent to which an examinee can apply fundamental legal principles and legal reasoning to analyze given fact patterns.
For more information, see NCBE: The Multistate Bar Examination.
Multistate Essay Examination (MEE)
The MEE consists of six 30-minute questions. The purpose of the MEE is to test the examinee’s ability to (1) identify legal issues raised by a hypothetical factual situation; (2) separate material which is relevant from that which is not; (3) present a reasoned analysis of the relevant issues in a clear, concise, and well-organized composition; and (4) demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental legal principles relevant to the probable solution of the issues raised by the factual situation.
For more information, see NCBE: The Multistate Essay Examination.
Multistate Performance Test (MPT)
The MPT consists of two 90-minute items. The MPT is designed to test an examinee’s ability to use fundamental lawyering skills in a realistic situation and complete a task that a beginning lawyer should be able to accomplish. The MPT is not a test of substantive knowledge. Rather, it is designed to evaluate certain fundamental skills lawyers are expected to demonstrate regardless of the area of law in which the skills are applied.
For more information, see NCBE: The Multistate Performance Test.
Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE)
The MPRE is a two-hour, 60-question multiple-choice examination covering established standards related to a lawyer's professional conduct. The MPRE is developed, administered, and scored by NCBE. An MPRE scaled score of 85 or greater is a filing requirement in Massachusetts, meaning that one must have earned this score before they are eligible to file a Petition for Admission.
For more information, see NCBE: The Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam.
Petition for Admission
The Petition for Admission to the Bar in Massachusetts, unlike in other jurisdictions, is a civil action at law. This Petition is filed with the Court and docketed as a civil case. "Petition" and "Petitioner" are therefor used to refer to the application and the individual filing the application, respectively.
Uniform Bar Exam (UBE)
The Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) is coordinated by NCBE and is composed of the Multistate Essay Examination (MEE), two Multistate Performance Test (MPT) tasks, and the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) (see above). It is uniformly administered, graded, and scored and results in a portable score that can be transferred to other UBE jurisdictions.
For more information, see NCBE: The Uniform Bar Exam.