Indiana State Board of Law Examiners
30 S Meridian St., Suite 875
Indianapolis, IN 46204

Executive Director
Bradley Skolnik

Pho: 317.232.2552
Fax: 317.233.3960

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Board of Law Examiners > Bar Admissions > By Examination > Bar Exam Information Bar Exam Information

First Time Takers Bar Exam Information Guide

First Time Takers Bar Exam Information Guide  

Exam Dates

The Indiana Bar Examination is administered twice each year:

  1. on the last Tuesday and Wednesday in February, and
  2. on the last Tuesday and Wednesday in July

View exam dates through 2014.

The July 2013 Indiana Bar Examination will be held on July 30 & 31, 2013 at the Indiana Convention Center, Sagamore Ballrooms 1-7,  100 South Capitol Avenue,  Indianapolis, IN  46225

Deadlines

Click the link below for a list of application filing deadlines (for postmark date).
For first time applicants
For Re-exam applicants

Exam Content

The examination will consist of three parts:

  1. Multistate Performance Test (MPT)
  2. Indiana Essay Examination (IEE), and
  3. Multistate Bar Examination (MBE)

The three parts of the test are weighted as follows:

  • MPT 20%
  • IEE 30%
  • MBE 50%

The Indiana Essay subject areas tested will come from the following nine subjects (which the MBE does not cover):

  • Administrative Law
  • Business Organizations
  • Commercial Law
  • Indiana Constitutional Law
  • Family Law
  • Pleading and Practice
  • Personal Property
  • Taxation (Federal and State)
  • Wills, Trusts & Estates

The essay questions will be unlabeled, will not necessarily be limited to one subject and, unless requiring the application of Federal tax law, will call for answers based on the law of Indiana.

The passing score is a combined scaled score of 264. The MPT and IEE raw scores are scaled to the MBE scores using the standard deviation method.


Exam Results and Admission Ceremony Information

Special Information for Veterans.

The State Board of Law Examiners has received approval status for the Indiana Bar Examination from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Eligible Veterans and dependents may be eligible for reimbursement of bar examination fees.

For further information contact:

Department of Veterans Affairs
P.O. Box 4616
Buffalo, New York 14240-4616
1-888-GIBILL-1 (1-888-442-4551)
http://www.gibill.va.gov/

This is a benefit of the Veterans Administration, so the Board of Law Examiners plays no role in securing these benefits. Please make any requests for further information directly to the office listed above.

Procedure for Review

Request for Verification of MBE Score. An applicant may request a verification of his/her MBE score. This request can be made by mailing a written request, together with a check made payable to “NCBE” in the amount of $10.00 to the Indiana Board of Law Examiner’s office. The office will then submit a request to the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE). Once the MBE has been verified, NCBE will notify the Indiana Board of Law Examiners of the verification of the MBE score or of any changes. The Board office will then, in turn, notify the applicant.

Request for Review (Appeal). Effective January 1, 2005, applicants are no longer limited to taking five (5) examinations. To request review please read and follow the Procedure for Review.

Release of MBE Scores

The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) has been approved to release MBE scores to applicants. To obtain your MBE score, print the forms from the NCBE website and mail the fees and form as instructed at the bottom of the form. The release of MBE scores must go through NCBE (checks/money orders payable to NCBE). The Indiana Board of Law Examiners does not release MBE scores. This approval is retroactive and applies to any Indiana Bar Examination given from February 2001 to current exams.

Score Transfer Information

Transferring MBE scores to Indiana. Indiana accepts MBE transfer scores on concurrent exams only. With proper scheduling an applicant may be permitted to take the bar examination in two states in a period of three days. As Indiana gives its local examination on Tuesday, the alternate state must administer its local examination on Thursday. The applicant would take the Indiana examination on Tuesday, the MBE in either state on Wednesday and the alternate state’s local examination on Thursday. Arrangements to use the MBE score in conjunction with another state must be made through both Indiana and the alternate jurisdiction.

Transferring MBE scores to another jurisdiction. To request your score be transferred to another jurisdiction, please visit the National Conference of Bar Examiners website at  http://www.ncbex.org/multistate-tests/mbe/mbe-score-services/, click on “The Multistate Bar Examination (MBE)”, then “MBE Score Transfer” read and follow directions given. A link to the form to request a score transfer is found in the text of this section of their website.

Request for a Score Advisory. A score advisory is used to inform applicants whether their score is sufficient for admission without examination in the District of Columbia and/or Minnesota. You will not receive your actual score. To request a score advisory visit the National Conference of Bar Examiners website at http://www.ncbex.org/multistate-tests/mbe/mbe-score-services/, click on “The Multistate Bar Examination (MBE)”, then “MBE Score Transfer”. The same form is used for both a score transfer request and a score advisory request.