Iowa bar exam: dates, fees and scores

Iowa's February 2027 exam, deadline and fee

The February 2027 Iowa exam is February 23 and 24, 2027 at the Courtyard by Marriott Ankeny, 2405 SE Creekview Drive, and the application deadline is November 1, 2026. Iowa gives the UBE, with the MBE on the last Wednesday of February and July and the MEE and MPT on the Tuesday before it. The July deadline is April 1.

The application fee is $800, paid by check or money order to the Iowa Board of Law Examiners, and it is non-refundable. An application is filed only if all three items reach the Office of Professional Regulation by the deadline: the NCBE online character report application PDF, the Iowa application with the forms attached, and the fee. Items count as filed when postmarked or hand-delivered to 1111 East Court Avenue in Des Moines.

Source: Bar Examination Registration ↗

Who may sit in Iowa, and how retakes work

To sit, an applicant must have a JD or LLB from an ABA-approved school, an MPRE score of 80 or above, an intention to practice law in Iowa, and the character and fitness to practice. A failing applicant who wants the next exam must file a new application within the usual deadlines or within 30 days of the release of the score from the prior Iowa exam, whichever is later. If a deadline falls on a day the office is closed, filing is accepted through the next business day, and there is no waiver of the deadlines.

Iowa lets applicants use a laptop for the MEE and MPT but does not permit tablets or wireless keyboards and mice. Accommodation forms are due by the bar application deadline, and the Board reserves the right to ask for more information and to seek an independent evaluation. Health-related conditions outside the ADA, such as pregnancy, breast pumping or medication access, use a separate courtesy accommodation form to be filed as soon as the need is known. The Board does not schedule or administer the MPRE.

Iowa UBE transfer

A transferred score must be 266 or above for exams taken before July 1, 2026 and 260 or above for exams on or after July 1, 2026. It must come from a UBE administered within the two years before the transfer application is filed, or it is accepted up to five years after the exam if the applicant has been regularly practicing for at least two of the last three years. The certified score must reach the Board within three months after filing.

The fee is $900. The applicant needs an ABA-approved LLB or JD and an MPRE score of at least 80 filed with the Board, with no date requirement on the MPRE for transfer applicants. Anyone denied admission or permission to sit by any jurisdiction on character and fitness grounds is not eligible to transfer by rule (Iowa Ct. R. 31.4).

Source: Admission By Transferred UBE Score ↗

Admission on motion in Iowa

Iowa admits on motion an attorney licensed in another state or the District of Columbia who has practiced five full years while licensed within the seven years before applying, still holds a license, and meets Iowa Court Rule 31.12 character and fitness standards. The fee is $900, paid before the application is submitted, and the NCBE investigation fee is separate.

An applicant is not eligible if currently subject to lawyer discipline in another jurisdiction, if the applicant failed the Iowa bar exam within five years before applying, or if the applicant has failed five or more bar examinations.

Source: Admissions on Motion ↗