South Dakota bar exam: dates, fees and scores

South Dakota: February 2027 is the last of the current exam

The South Dakota Supreme Court has adopted the NextGen exam, and its first South Dakota administration will be July 2027. The Board says the last offering of the MPT, MEE, ILQ and MBE in South Dakota will be February 2027, and that rule changes are coming on the transfer of MBE scores and on how long scores obtained before July 2027 stay effective. The bar portal lists February 2027 applications.

The filing deadlines are November 1 for the February exam and May 1 for the July exam. The exam is given on the last Tuesday and Wednesday of February and July. A candidate who sat before must submit a whole new application, fees included, and a withdrawal must be in writing through the applicant portal or by email. Any change to a submitted application must also come in writing.

Source: South Dakota Board of Bar Examiners ↗

What South Dakota charges, by route

The bar examination route has a $450 South Dakota application fee, an NCBE character and fitness report, $395 for the first bar exam after graduation or $550 more than a year after graduation, $50 for fingerprints and $100 for Examplify registration for laptop users. A supplemental NCBE report costs $250 if prepared for a different jurisdiction and $120 if prepared for South Dakota.

Admission without examination costs $650 to South Dakota plus a $550 NCBE report for anyone currently or previously authorized to practice, and $50 for fingerprints. South Dakota also lists a Public Service Pathway with a $450 application fee, a $395 NCBE report for those authorized to practice, $50 fingerprints and, if applicable, the $100 Examplify fee. The Board takes credit cards, and if not paying by card requires money orders or cashier's checks, not personal checks. Fingerprint cards from another state or organization are not accepted; the Board supplies its own.

Source: Fees ↗

South Dakota accommodations and applicant forms

The Board says it will make reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities unless a fundamental alteration in the exam would result, and will not test them separately unless needed. For health-related conditions and lactation, an applicant must ask in writing, provide medical documentation verifying breastfeeding, and list the accommodations believed necessary with as much specificity as possible. Its portal also carries forms for the student practice certification, the Dean's Certificate of Study, a Public Service Pathway employment report and a pathway waiver or extension request.

Source: South Dakota Board of Bar Examiners ↗

South Dakota's only law school on the bar exam: the ABA disclosure for 2022 to 2024 graduates

The University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law publishes the ABA's required first-time bar passage report. It counts each graduating class's first attempt across every jurisdiction where the graduates sat. The class of 2024 had 73 first-time takers and 53 passed, a 72.60% rate against an ABA weighted average of 78.62%, which is 6.02 points below. The class of 2023 passed 37 of 55 (67.27% against 78.50%), and the class of 2022 passed 57 of 79 (72.15% against 79.53%).

The school's rate was below the ABA weighted average in all three classes, by 6.02, 11.23 and 7.38 points. The report defines the average as a weighted figure that gives more weight to the jurisdictions where more of the school's graduates sat. None of the graduates was reported admitted through an alternative pathway in those years. Because it covers every jurisdiction, this is not the same as the South Dakota-only first-time rate the school reports elsewhere.

Source: University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law: ABA first-time bar passage disclosure (2025 report) ↗

South Dakota's bar exam debate: scoring changes, the public-service pathway and the regional first-time rates

South Dakota Searchlight reported in October 2023 that the dean of USD's law school told legislators the first-time pass rate for its July 2023 graduating class was 72% and the ultimate two-year pass rate for the class of 2022 was 88%. The article says NCBE put the total South Dakota examinee pass rate at 75%. It also says pass rates fell sharply before 2018 and rose after South Dakota's 2018 scoring adjustment, which lets examiners use a high essay score to boost a low multiple-choice score.

The same article says the Legislature had debated bills for two consecutive years to remove the bar exam requirement for USD graduates, and that critics argued the 2014 scoring changes hurt passage rates, particularly for people of color. The state Supreme Court set up a study committee, which the dean's letter said was on track to recommend a pilot admission through supervised practice and a portfolio of work, limited to public service or rural practice. USD's 2025 article refers to a Public Service Pathway as South Dakota's alternative route.

In May 2025 USD reported that its Class of 2024 and Class of 2025 graduates had an 80% first-time pass rate on the South Dakota exam. It cited NCBE's February 2025 first-time rates for the region: South Dakota 82%, Minnesota 68%, North Dakota 60%, Nebraska 60%, Montana 55%, Wyoming 50% and Iowa 44%. These are the school's figures, and the ABA table above is the audited one.

Source: South Dakota Searchlight: Law school dean to lawmakers (October 31, 2023) ↗

South Dakota's exam format and how each part is scored

South Dakota's Board of Bar Examiners regulations set out an exam of five parts: the Multistate Essay Examination, one essay on Indian Law, the Multistate Performance Test, the Multistate Bar Examination and the MPRE. The MEE is a two and one half hour exam of five essay questions that tests general and South Dakota law. The Indian Law question is one essay given after the MEE.

The Indian Law essay covers basic principles of federal Indian law, including civil and criminal jurisdiction, the Indian Civil Rights Act, the Indian Child Welfare Act and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. It does not cover tribal or customary law. The MPT is two ninety-minute questions, and the MBE is 200 questions over six hours.

An applicant must pass each of three portions. The combined MPT, MEE and Indian Law portion needs a general average of 75 percent. The MBE needs a scaled score of 133. A strong written score can add up to three points to the MBE score: one point for 80 to 84 percent, two for 85 to 89 and three for 90 percent or more. The MPRE is scored separately.

These regulations date from before the Board announced NextGen, and the Board says rule changes are coming for July 2027. The regulation text also describes the MPRE as 50 questions, while NCBE's current exam has 60 questions of which 50 are scored.

Source: South Dakota Codified Laws: Regulations of the Board of Bar Examiners (Appendix A to chapter 16-16) ↗