Format, Content, & Grading of the Maryland Bar Exam

All data provided below are subject to change by a decision at any time by the Maryland bar examiners.  When any changes are made, they will be posted on this site.

The Maryland Bar Exam is a two-day exam -- Tuesday and Wednesday -- with the essay questions on Tuesday and the multiple-choice Multistate Bar Exam on Wednesday.

First Day (Tuesday) morning session:  
Six Maryland Essay Questions

First Day (Tuesday) afternoon session:  
Six Maryland Essay Questions

Second Day (Wednesday) morning session: 
3 hours 
Multistate Bar Examination (MBE)
100 Multiple-Choice questions.

Second Day (Wednesday) afternoon session: 
3 hours
Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) 
100 Multiple-Choice questions.

Applicants may transfer an MBE score form another jurisdiction form a concurrent exam only.

For further details on the MBE, click here.

Subjects Tested on the Maryland Bar Exam:

MBE Subjects
Constitutional Law
Contracts/Sales
Criminal Law/Procedure
Evidence
Real Property
Torts

Maryland Essay Subjects
Agency
Commercial Transactions
Corporations
Family Law
Maryland Civil Procedure
Partnerships
Professional Responsibility
Plus the six MBE subjects

Grading of the Maryland Bar Exam:

Each Maryland Essay question is worth six points.

Your total essay score is then scaled on the same scaling as the MBE (0-200).

The Maryland Essay Exam counts for 2/3 of your final score.

The MBE counts for 1/3 of your final score.

The way this works practically is: 

Your scaled Essay Exam score is doubled and added to your scaled MBE score.

Thus, if you received a scaled score of 135 on the Maryland Essay Exam, and a scaled score of  140 on the MBE,

your final score would be (2 X 135) + 140 = 410.

You need a minimum combined score of 406 (out of a potential 600) to pass.

Thus, your 410 would be a passing score.

Maryland generally releases the results of the Summer exam in mid-November and the results of the Winter exam in mid-May.

Admission on Motion 
(i.e., without having to sit for the bar exam)

Maryland does NOT permit admission on motion.  

In general, you must take and pass the Maryland bar exam. 

However, if you passed a bar exam and are licensed to practice law in another jurisdiction, and have practiced law as a principal means of support in another jurisdiction for 10 years, or five of the last 10 years immediately preceding your Maryland application, and you intend to practice law in Maryland, you may be able to take an essay exam, instead of the full Maryland Bar Exam.

The essay exam tests Maryland Civil/Criminal Practice & Procedure and Rules of Professional Conduct. 

For further information, contact:

Maryland Board of Law Examiners
Robert F. Sweeney
District Court Building 
3rd Floor
251 Rowe Boulevard
Annapolis, MD 21401
Telephone: (410) 260-1975

Exam Dates, Locations:

Winter 2007
Tuesday and Wednesday, 
February 27 and 28, 2007
Baltimore

Summer 2007
Tuesday and Wednesday, 
July 24 and 25, 2007
Baltimore

Note: In addition to passing the Maryland Bar Exam, prior to admission, you  must complete a course on legal professionalism offered by the Maryland State Bar Association.

Filing Deadlines and Fees:

You must complete both an application for admission and an original petition to take the bar exam.

Filing deadlines and fees are subject to change.  Contact the Maryland law examiners to learn the rules in effect at the time of your application.