What Is the MPRE® and How Should I Study for It?
The MPRE, or the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, is one of the required exams for you to be admitted to the Bar in most states. This test is the ethics portion of the Bar. It’s offered separately from other parts of the Bar Exam, and you will likely take a Professional Responsibility (PR) course in school that will help prepare you for the MPRE. Let’s get into detail about everything you need to know about the MPRE, including how to study for this exam.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- What is the MPRE?
- How do you register for the MPRE?
- 2024 MPRE Test Dates
- When do you take the MPRE?
- How is the MPRE scored?
- How to Study for the MPRE
What is the MPRE?
The MPRE is the ethics portion of the Bar Exam. It is a two-hour, 60-question multiple-choice objective exam administered three times per year. Only 50 of the 60 questions count towards your score; the other 10 are pretest exploratory questions. The pretest questions are indistinguishable from the scored ones, so treat each as a “real” question and answer them to the best of your ability.
Each question provides a scenario and a call of the question, followed by four answer choices. Common calls of the question are as follows: Is the attorney subject to discipline? May the attorney withdraw? Was the attorney’s conduct proper? The answer choices will all begin with a yes or a no, followed by an explanation.
What does the MPRE test?
The MPRE tests two bodies of law. One body is the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct. These are the rules that govern lawyer ethics. The other is the ABA’s Model Code of Judicial Conduct. These are the rules that cover judicial ethics. The most commonly tested subjects include: regulation of the legal profession, the lawyer-client relationship, client confidentiality, conflicts of interest, competence, forms of legal advocacy, communications with people other than clients, the different roles of a lawyer, safekeeping funds, advertising, lawyers’ duties to the public, and judicial conduct. The NCBE’s outline of subjects can be found online.
How do you register for the MPRE?
The MPRE is typically offered in March, August, and November. The MPRE registration fee is $160 and must be paid by a debit or credit card.
Here is the step-by-step process to register for the MPRE:
- Create an NCBE account (if you don’t already have one).
- If you have a disability recognized under the Americans with Disabilities Act, apply for MPRE test accommodations. Otherwise, skip to Step #3.
- Log in to your account, select MPRE Registration, and follow the instructions to complete the NCBE portion of the registration process.
- Receive authorization to take the MPRE from Pearson VUE 24 hours after sending your request.
- Within 48 hours of your Authorization to Test email – and no later than the registration deadline – schedule your MPRE test date with Pearson VUE.
- Pay the test fee to Pearson VUE, following the instructions provided in your Authorization to Test email.
- Receive confirmation of your test date and confirmation of payment from Pearson VUE.
You must register, schedule your test date, and pay the test fee by 11:59 p.m. central time on the registration deadline. No new registrations will be accepted after the deadline.
2024 MPRE Test Dates
Below, we list the 2024 test dates for the MPRE.
| MPRE Test Administration Dates | Registration Deadline |
| March 26, 2024 or March 27, 2024 | January 25, 2024 |
| August 13, 2024 or August 14, 2024 | June 12, 2024 |
| November 7, 2024 or November 8, 2024 | September 18, 2024 |
Source: NCBE
When do you take the MPRE?
The material on the exam will be covered, at least in part, in your Professional Responsibility class at school. The closer you take the MPRE to the time you finish your PR course, the more you’ll remember and be able to apply to your class.
Many law students take the MPRE in August between their 2L and 3L years or a few months after the PR class at school ends. You don’t want to take the MPRE before you learn the material in school. While choosing when to take the MPRE is up to you, you should plan the time carefully. For example, you probably don’t want to take the exam after you take the actual Bar Exam because you will feel burnt out at that point.
The August MPRE test is a favorite of students, as opposed to test dates during the school year because you don’t have to juggle studying for class with studying for the MPRE. You also want to give yourself a bit of wiggle room, time-wise, just in case you don’t get the score you need on your first try. You will not be sworn in until after you have passed the MPRE, and you don’t want any delay there. In some jurisdictions, like Massachusetts, you must have taken and passed the MPRE before you apply for the MA Bar Exam.
How is the MPRE scored?
MPRE scoring can throw test-takers off. There is no national scaled passing score, even though it is a national exam. Each jurisdiction decides how to treat the MPRE scaled score. Most students taking the MPRE exceed the score they need the first time they take the exam. It is required for admission to the Bars of all but two jurisdictions (Wisconsin and Puerto Rico).
MPRE scores are scaled and range from 50 (low) to 150 (high). For example, New York requires a score of 85, which translates to a raw score of approximately 32-35 correct out of the 50 testable. Because the MPRE is scaled, your score will be affected by everyone who took the MPRE that day. If the exam was particularly difficult, a lower raw score will likely net you a higher final score.
How to Study for the MPRE
You must pass the MPRE to become a licensed attorney. Fortunately, since the exam only covers the subject of ethics, you don’t have to study for months and months. Your PR class will give you a solid foundation of ethics. Kaplan also offers a free MPRE prep course with practice exams to help you nail down concepts that you may not understand or be the strongest at.
Kaplan’s free MPRE preparation program provides a comprehensive review of the legal rules and concepts tested on the MPRE. It includes exclusive tools for organizing this material and a curriculum designed to:
- facilitate your learning,
- improve your test-taking,
- and optimize your exam-day performance so that you can pass the MPRE with confidence!
Here is what one student said about studying for and taking the MPRE:
The MPRE is like a road test – you can take it as many times as you have to, only the passing score counts, and you only have to pass once. No one asks about any unsuccessful attempts. Your MPRE score will be posted to your NCBE Account File Cabinet within five weeks after you take the test. Get this licensing component of the Bar Exam over as early as you can in law school. Don’t wait until your final semester!
