MPRE Passing Score by State (2026)

What Is the MPRE?

The Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) is a 2-hour, 60-question multiple-choice exam developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) and given at Pearson testing centers. It tests an applicant's knowledge of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct, along with leading cases on lawyer liability: the rules governing lawyer behavior, conflicts of interest, client confidentiality, advertising, fee splitting, and the lawyer's duties to courts and third parties.

Almost every U.S. jurisdiction requires applicants to pass the MPRE before admission to practice. The exceptions are Wisconsin (which grants diploma privilege to University of Wisconsin and Marquette law graduates) and Puerto Rico. Connecticut and New Jersey require the MPRE but also accept a law school professional responsibility course in its place. Maryland and Washington were the last states to adopt the MPRE and both now require it.

The test is offered three times per year — typically March, August, and November. Many students take it in August or November of their 3L year, or the August before, after finishing a professional responsibility course.

When to Take the MPRE

The MPRE is not part of the bar exam itself, but admissions offices require it before licensing. Strategic timing:

• Summer between 2L and 3L (August): Most common. Bar exam prep hasn't started yet, and you can knock out the MPRE while still in academic mode.
• 3L year (November or March): Common for students who want to delay or who haven't completed the relevant 2L courses (Professional Responsibility is typically required in 2L).
• After law school graduation: Possible but risky — most jurisdictions require MPRE passage before bar admission, so failing post-graduation can delay your start date.

Most jurisdictions limit how long a passing MPRE score stays valid, usually measured from your bar exam or admission date, though some, including California, Texas and Illinois, set no limit. If you move to a new jurisdiction, check both its minimum score and its time window.

How the MPRE Is Scored

The MPRE is scored on a 50-150 scaled score range. Your raw score (the number of the 50 scored questions you answer correctly) is converted to a scaled score through equating, a statistical process that adjusts for differences in difficulty between this exam form and past forms. It is not a curve against other test takers. Scaling adjusts for question difficulty so that scores are comparable across administrations.

50 of the 60 questions count toward your score; the other 10 are unscored pretest questions being tried out for future exams. You won't know which is which during the test, so treat every question as live.

NCBE does not publish a national MPRE pass rate, since each jurisdiction sets its own passing score.

When Do MPRE Scores Come Out?

NCBE releases MPRE scores within five weeks of the exam date, on the Score Services page of your NCBE Account. NCBE also reports your score to the jurisdiction you named when you registered. To send it to another jurisdiction, request an MPRE Score Report through MPRE Score Services.

Your score is not a percentage. An 85 is a scaled score on NCBE's 50 to 150 range, not 85% of questions correct. NCBE's published figures put the passing range at roughly 56 to 61% correct (75 to 86 scaled), and the exact conversion shifts a little from one exam form to the next. Check your number against your jurisdiction's minimum in the table above.