Montana bar exam: dates, fees and scores

Montana exam dates, postmark deadlines and deferrals

The February 2027 Montana UBE is February 23 and 24 at the Great Northern Hotel in Helena, with applications postmarked by October 1, 2026. The July exam was July 28 and 29, 2026 at the University Center on the University of Montana campus in Missoula, with a March 15 postmark deadline. Applications must be postmarked or hand-delivered to the Bar Admissions Administrator, and a late application is not accepted without a Court Order approving late filing, plus a late fee if the Supreme Court grants the petition.

An applicant who does not appear without asking in writing for a deferral has the application dismissed. After three deferrals, the applicant files a new application and pays the filing fee again, and a deferral costs $20 online. Courtesy seating, for someone who wants a Montana seat for the score alone, is available, and courtesy applicants skip the $155 Montana Law Seminar fee and the seminar materials.

Source: Montana Bar Admissions ↗

Montana's requirements for every applicant

Every applicant needs an ABA-accredited JD, certification by the Commission on Character & Fitness, a qualifying MPRE score, a qualifying UBE score by exam or transfer (or the admission on motion requirements), completion of the Montana Law Seminar, and payment of the license tax to the Supreme Court and dues to the State Bar. All applicants file the online NCBE application and mail a signed original Montana application with the documents on the checklist and the fee scale. Montana does not accept early applications from law students and does not recognize foreign applicants.

The Montana Law Seminar is a Supreme Court required course on the structure of the Montana legal system, the unique aspects of Montana law and the accepted culture of practice there. It is online and pre-recorded, is provided after the applicant clears character and fitness, and carries no CLE credit.

Montana scores, MPRE and admission on motion

Montana accepts a transferred UBE score of 266 or greater from a qualified exam within three years of the date of application, and transfer applicants may file at any time. Montana no longer accepts transferred MBE scores, so an examinee sits for the MEE, MPT and MBE in one cycle. An MPRE score of 80 or better earned within three years of the application is not needed to sit for the UBE but is required before admission, and it must reach the Bar Admissions Administrator within nine months after notice of passing.

Admission on motion has been available since January 1, 2016, and applicants may file at any time. The Bar lists the admission on motion price as $2,475, which includes admissions dues and first-year Bar dues, with a separate NCBE fee. The motion goes to the Supreme Court as an original and seven copies with the Bar's certification letter, and the Clerk of the Supreme Court handles the swearing-in.

Montana's July 2026 exam: 94 applicants and the passers who are not yet admitted

The Montana Board of Bar Examiners reports that it examined 94 applicants on July 28 and 29, 2026, and that the results were certified by the Board and the Bar Admissions Administrator. Its pass letter separates two groups. One is the applicants it recommends for admission. The other is applicants who passed the July 2026 exam but still need a qualifying MPRE score, the Montana Law Seminar, or both, and who therefore have not met the requirements for admission to the Bar of Montana in the Board's opinion.

The point for a candidate is that passing the written exam does not by itself get a Montana license. The Board's own letter treats the MPRE and the Montana Law Seminar as conditions that can leave a successful examinee waiting.

Source: Montana Board of Bar Examiners: July 2026 pass letter ↗