Pennsylvania bar exam: Legacy or current exam until July 2028; NextGen afterward.
| July exam | Mar. 31, late filing Apr. 30 / May 15 |
| February exam | Oct. 30, late filing Nov. 30 / Dec. 15 |
| Fees | First-time $800 / $1,125 / $1,450; attorney $800 / $1,125 / $1,450; repeater $800 / $1,125 / $1,450; laptop $115 |
| MPRE minimum | 75 |
Dates can change. Check the board’s site before you pay.
Before filing in Pennsylvania, check the current NCBE profile ↗.
| Rule | 204 Pa. Code Rule 304: Limited Admission of Spouses of Active-Duty Service Members |
| Accommodation | Limited admission without exam for the spouse of an active-duty service member assigned to Pennsylvania |
| Duration | While spouse remains stationed in or last stationed in Pennsylvania before an OCONUS assignment |
| Supervision | Required (employed and supervised by a Pennsylvania-licensed attorney in active practice, or an equivalent government-employer arrangement) |
| Adopted | 2019 (adopted January 29, 2019, eff. July 29, 2019) |
Confirm current status directly with Pennsylvania's bar admission authority ↗: this area of law shifted federally in December 2024 and states are still catching up.
The February 2027 exam is in person on Tuesday, February 23 and Wednesday, February 24, 2027, in both Pittsburgh and Lancaster. The timely filing deadline is October 30, 2026, and it is also the deadline for nonstandard testing accommodation requests. The late deadline is November 30, 2026, and the final deadline is December 15, 2026. A separate late computer-based-testing deadline of January 6, 2027 is the last chance to ask to type the MPT and MEE on a laptop, and name and address changes are due January 15, 2027.
The application fee steps up with each deadline: $800 timely, $1,125 late, and $1,450 at the final deadline. The dates are October 30, November 30 and December 15 for the February exam, and March 31, April 30 and May 15 for the July exam. The Board offers no refunds or transfers of applications or fees. Payment is by credit card at online filing or by certified check, cashier's check, corporate check or money order; personal checks are not accepted, and a check that arrives after the final deadline is refused whatever its postmark.
Since April 1, 2024 the state's online payment convenience fee has been 2.75% of the transaction, replacing a flat $2.75. An MBE score transfer to another jurisdiction is $30.
Source: Fees and Deadlines ↗
Pennsylvania's minimum qualifying score for the NextGen UBE is 620, and applicants who are unsure whether a score was earned on the legacy or NextGen format are told to check their UBE transcript. The Board says Pennsylvania will administer the NextGen UBE in July 2028.
Source: NextGen UBE Passing Standards ↗
Applicants must meet the requirements of Rule 204. The Board lists 43 reciprocal jurisdictions: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, the Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Eleven jurisdictions are listed as not reciprocal: California, Delaware, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Louisiana, the Northern Mariana Islands, Nevada, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island and South Carolina. A lawyer admitted in California must ask the State Bar of California to send a Complaint Check Certificate of Standing directly, and a Colorado lawyer must get a Certificate of Disciplinary History from Colorado's attorney regulation office.
Source: Reciprocity Information ↗
The Board of Law Examiners publishes a statistics sheet for each exam. For February 2026 it counts 412 applicants tested, 190 successful (46.12%) and 222 unsuccessful, with success defined as a combined MBE and scaled MEE/MPT score of 270 or greater. First-attempt applicants passed at 63.89% (115 of 180), second-attempt at 38.26% (57 of 149), third at 26.92% (7 of 26) and fourth or more at 19.30% (11 of 57).
The sheet also prints score data. Applicants testing in Pennsylvania had a mean MBE scaled score of 133.608, against 131.215 for the national population, and a mean MEE/MPT scaled score of 132.979. The lowest MBE score among successful Pennsylvania applicants was 121.3 and the highest among unsuccessful ones was 147.3, so the two groups overlap: a low MBE score can pass with a strong written score, and a high one can fail with a weak written score. The lowest successful MEE/MPT score was 121.2.
Source: Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners: February 2026 Examination Statistics ↗
The Board's February 2026 sheet lists the ten Pennsylvania-area law schools separately and splits each into first-attempt and repeat applicants. Numbers are small: Widener's Delaware campus had 53 applicants and its Commonwealth campus 34, while the University of Pennsylvania had 3.
First-attempt results ranged from 100% for Drexel (5 of 5) and Villanova (7 of 7) to 42.86% for the University of Pittsburgh (3 of 7). Rutgers had 6 of 13 first-attempt applicants pass (46.15%). Counting every attempt, Villanova passed 12 of 15 (80.00%) and Widener Commonwealth 11 of 34 (32.35%), and the gap comes from the Widener campuses having 27 and 31 repeat applicants against 7 and 22 first-attempt ones. February is small and repeater-heavy, so treat these as a snapshot.
The Board's July 2025 sheet counts 1,558 applicants and 1,192 successful (76.51%). First-attempt applicants passed at 82.47% (1,101 of 1,335), while second-attempt applicants passed at 47.83%, third at 44.19% and fourth or more at 29.41%. The mean MBE scaled score in Pennsylvania was 144.314, compared with 142.358 nationally.
Among Pennsylvania schools, the first-attempt rate was highest at Villanova (92.86%, 104 of 112), the University of Pittsburgh (92.71%) and Duquesne (92.13%), and lowest at Rutgers (77.36%), Widener Commonwealth (77.92%) and Widener Delaware (76.40%). Every school's repeat applicants passed at a much lower rate than its first-attempt applicants, from 24.14% at Widener Commonwealth to 75.00% at Pittsburgh.
Source: Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners: July 2025 Examination Statistics ↗
October 30, 2026 is the timely deadline. Filing by November 30 costs more, and December 15, 2026 is the final deadline.
$800 if timely, $1,125 if late, and $1,450 at the final deadline. Pennsylvania does not refund or transfer application fees.
March 31 is the timely deadline at $800, April 30 is the late deadline at $1,125, and May 15 is the final deadline at $1,450.
620 is the minimum qualifying NextGen UBE score. Pennsylvania has said it will administer the NextGen UBE in July 2028.
In person in both Pittsburgh and Lancaster on February 23-24, 2027. Applicants who want to type the MPT and MEE on a laptop must request it by January 6, 2027.
No. California is on the Board's list of jurisdictions without reciprocity, along with Delaware, Florida, Guam, Hawaii, Louisiana, the Northern Mariana Islands, Nevada, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island and South Carolina.
No. Use a credit card online, or a certified check, cashier's check, corporate check or money order made out to the Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners.
January 15, 2027 is the name and address change deadline.
46.12%: the Board of Law Examiners reports 190 of 412 applicants passing, and 63.89% of the 180 first-attempt applicants.
76.51%: 1,192 of 1,558 applicants passed, and first-attempt applicants passed at 82.47% (1,101 of 1,335), by the Board's own statistics sheet.
Compare other state bar exam guides: Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Utah
Source: NCBE Comprehensive Guide: Pennsylvania ↗ · reviewed August 21, 2026.