What the exam actually is
The bar exam is a licensing test. There is no single national license.
Most jurisdictions now give some version of the Uniform Bar Examination, which is written and scored the same way everywhere but passed at a score each jurisdiction picks. A few states write their own exam, and some add a state-law component on top of the national one. That is why a friend's experience in one state can look nothing like yours.
Why it is called "the bar"
The word comes from the railing that separated the working area of a courtroom from the public seating. To be "called to the bar" meant being allowed inside that rail to argue a case. English and American usage carried the phrase forward, and "admitted to the bar" now just means licensed to practice.
The name has nothing to do with the exam being a hurdle you jump over, though most people who sit for it would say that fits too.
Who has to take it
Anyone who wants a full license to practice law in a state generally has to pass that state's exam or transfer a qualifying score into it. That covers new graduates, lawyers moving between states without an admission-on-motion route, and foreign-trained lawyers who qualify to sit.
A short list of people do not take it in the ordinary way. Wisconsin has a diploma privilege for graduates of its two in-state law schools, and a handful of states run apprenticeship or supervised-practice routes. Those are exceptions with strict conditions, not a general waiver. Our guide to alternatives to the bar exam lays out each one.
What the exam feels like
The legacy Uniform Bar Exam runs over two days. One day holds six 30-minute essays (the Multistate Essay Examination) and two 90-minute performance tasks (the Multistate Performance Test). The other day holds the 200-question Multistate Bar Examination in two three-hour sessions, and 175 of those questions count toward your score.
The NextGen version is a different test. NCBE describes nine hours of testing in three three-hour sessions, mixing stand-alone multiple choice, integrated question sets and performance tasks, scored on a 500 to 750 scale. Which one you sit for depends on your jurisdiction and the month you test.
Passing is one requirement out of several
Most jurisdictions also require a separate ethics exam, the MPRE, in almost every jurisdiction; NCBE lists Wisconsin and Puerto Rico as the exceptions. Many require a character and fitness review, a fingerprint-based background check, proof of your law degree, and sometimes a state-law course or a skills or pro bono requirement.
So the honest answer to "does passing the bar make you a lawyer?" is no, not by itself. You become a lawyer when the jurisdiction admits you, usually after an oath or swearing-in. Until then you can hold a passing score and still not be licensed.
How this differs from law school exams
A law school exam tests what one professor taught. The bar exam tests a wide, shallow slice of law across many subjects, mostly rules stated in general terms, and it rewards speed and accuracy over original argument. You are not writing the best possible analysis of one hard question. You are getting many rules right, quickly, and applying them to facts.
That is why strong law students sometimes struggle with it and students who were average in class sometimes pass easily. The skill is different, and it can be trained.
Common questions
Is the bar exam the same in every state?+
No. Many states give the Uniform Bar Exam, but each sets its own passing score, and some add state-law components or write their own test. Louisiana, Nevada and a few others differ more than most.
Can someone become a lawyer without taking the bar exam?+
Sometimes. Wisconsin's diploma privilege for its in-state graduates and a small number of apprenticeship or supervised-practice routes exist, each with strict conditions. Lawyers already licensed elsewhere may also be admitted on motion without sitting.
How many days is the bar exam?+
The legacy Uniform Bar Exam is two days. NCBE describes the NextGen exam as nine hours of testing in three three-hour sessions. Some jurisdictions add a separate state component on another day.
What to do next
- 1
Find your jurisdiction's exam type and the month you plan to test.
- 2
Write down every non-exam requirement your jurisdiction lists: ethics exam, character review, education proof.
- 3
Read the exam-format guide for the components you will face.
- 4
Put application deadlines in a calendar before you pick a study start date.