Massachusetts bar exam: Legacy or current exam until July 2028; NextGen afterward.
| July exam | At least 75 days before exam |
| February exam | At least 75 days before exam |
| Fees | First-time $815; attorney $815; repeater $815; laptop $175 |
| MPRE minimum | 85 |
Dates can change. Check the board’s site before you pay.
Before filing in Massachusetts, check the current NCBE profile ↗.
| Rule | Board of Bar Examiners policy under Admission by Motion |
| Accommodation | No dedicated temporary-license rule; BBE works case-by-case with military spouse petitioners to accommodate qualifications and expedite Admission by Motion |
| Duration | Case-by-case |
| Supervision | N/A |
| Adopted | 2014 |
Confirm current status directly with Massachusetts's bar admission authority ↗: this area of law shifted federally in December 2024 and states are still catching up.
The minimum passing UBE score for Massachusetts is 270. The UBE is 200 MBE multiple-choice questions, six MEE questions and two MPT items. The MPT is given on Tuesday morning and the MEE on Tuesday afternoon, and the MBE is given in two 100-question sessions on Wednesday, in hard-copy paper booklets with Scantron bubble sheets. Examinees may handwrite or type the written portions. Results for the February exam are released sometime in April and results for the July exam sometime in October, and the names of passing examinees are then posted on the Board's website.
Someone who does not pass may request a copy of their MEE and MPT responses, and the Board sends instructions to those who failed. Future Massachusetts exams will be given in person; the remote October 2020, February 2021 and July 2021 exams were a response to the pandemic.
The Massachusetts Law Component is a separate, open-book online exam on Massachusetts-specific law: 50 multiple-choice questions on 10 areas, with the outlines available through the Bar Applicant Portal. An applicant must answer 40 of the 50 correctly. There is no fee and no limit on attempts, results appear instantly, and an unsuccessful examinee may retake after a 24-hour wait.
The Board strongly recommends taking it after sitting for the bar exam. The deadline is September 30 for the July exam and March 31 for the February exam, and an examinee who completed it for an earlier exam does not have to repeat it. The Code of Conduct and Examinee Guidelines must be submitted for every exam.
Accommodation applications are due by the close of business April 1 for a July exam and November 1 for a February exam, moving to the next Monday when the date falls on a weekend, and can be filed up to six months ahead. An examinee who sat for the immediately preceding Massachusetts exam, when results come out after November 1 or April 1, may apply up to two weeks after results are released. A form to bring food or a medical device into the testing area, such as a lactation pump or diabetic supplies, is due January 30 for February and June 30 for July.
An examinee who types the MEE and MPT must register with ExamSoft, pay ExamSoft directly, and complete a required mock exam by the deadline or may have to handwrite. An examinee who wants to withdraw files a Motion to Withdraw from the Examination with the Supreme Judicial Court and must file a new Petition for Admission to return.
The Board of Bar Examiners' results page reports that 400 examinees sat for the February 2026 exam and 49.0% passed, which is 196 people. Only 151 of the 400 were first-time takers, and 65.56% of them passed. The Board lists every examinee by attempt, so the effect of retaking is visible in its own figures.
Second-time takers passed at 49.65% (70 of 141), third-time takers at 22.86% (8 of 35) and those on a fourth attempt or more at 26.03% (19 of 73). So a repeat taker's pass rate on the second attempt was 15.9 points below a first-timer's, and it fell further on the third. The Board posts pass lists by name on a separate page, and it gives public notice of the passers before recommending them to the Supreme Judicial Court.
Source: Massachusetts Board of Bar Examiners: Massachusetts Bar Exam Results (February 2026) ↗
The Board publishes a results sheet for each exam that breaks Massachusetts law schools out by attempt. The sheet says passing rates vary from year to year and that the statistics are not an evaluation of the schools. In February 2026 the schools sent very different numbers of people: Suffolk had 89 examinees, New England Law 77 and Massachusetts School of Law 54, while Harvard had 2 and Boston College 4.
Among first-time takers, Suffolk passed 22 of 28 (78.57%) and New England Law 12 of 21 (57.14%). Massachusetts School of Law passed 5 of 11 first-timers, and 19 of its 54 examinees overall (35.19%), because 43 of its 54 examinees were on a second attempt or later. The all-other-schools group, which is graduates of schools outside the listed nine, had 106 examinees and passed 46.23%.
February groups are small and mostly repeaters, so a school's February percentage says little about its graduates' first-attempt performance. The July table below shows the same schools with 1,505 examinees.
Source: Massachusetts Board of Bar Examiners: February 2026 results by law school ↗
The Board's July 2025 sheet counts 1,505 examinees across its nine listed schools and the all-other group, with 1,141 passing, or 75.81%. Boston College graduates passed 130 of 133 (97.74%), Boston University 113 of 117 (96.58%) and Harvard all 58 who sat. Northeastern passed 121 of 136 (88.97%).
The lower end is Massachusetts School of Law at 25 of 82 (30.49%), with 55 of its 82 examinees on a second attempt or later. Among first-time takers the spread was 100% at Harvard and 99.22% at Boston College against 51.85% at Massachusetts School of Law. The schools' totals mix first-timers and repeaters in different proportions, which is why the first-time column is the fairer comparison.
Source: Massachusetts Board of Bar Examiners: July 2025 results by law school ↗
270 on the UBE. Massachusetts gives the standard UBE of 200 MBE questions, six MEE questions and two MPT items.
A separate open-book online exam of 50 multiple-choice questions on 10 areas of Massachusetts law. You need 40 correct, it costs nothing, and you may retake it after 24 hours as many times as needed.
By September 30 for the July exam and by March 31 for the February exam. The Board recommends taking it after you sit for the bar exam.
Sometime in April for the February exam and sometime in October for the July exam, with passing examinees' names posted on the Board's website.
April 1 for a July exam and November 1 for a February exam, or the next Monday if the date falls on a weekend. You can apply up to six months ahead.
You may type the MEE and MPT, but you register with ExamSoft, pay its fee directly and complete a required mock exam by the deadline. If you miss the mock exam deadline you may have to handwrite.
File a Motion to Withdraw from the Examination with the Supreme Judicial Court that references your existing Petition. You will need to file a new Petition for Admission if you sit later.
Yes. An examinee who does not pass may request a copy of the MEE and MPT responses, and the Board of Bar Examiners sends the request instructions to those who failed.
49.0%: the Board of Bar Examiners reports 196 of 400 examinees passing, and 65.56% of the 151 first-time takers.
In February 2026 second-time takers passed at 49.65% against 65.56% for first-timers, and third-time takers at 22.86% (8 of 35), by the Board's own attempt table.
Compare other state bar exam guides: Michigan · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska
Source: NCBE Comprehensive Guide: Massachusetts ↗ · reviewed August 21, 2026.