The state of Texas tests Texas Procedure and Evidence, Texas Essays, as well as (1) Multistate Performance Test (“MPT”) and the Multistate Bar Exam (“MBE”). State law is tested.
Texas Bar Essay Exam
There is 1 (90) minutes short answer exam and also covering Texas Procedure and Evidence. 40 short questions also exists and cover the likes of Civil Procedure and Criminal law & Procedure. Applicants must limit their short response answers to five lines. Each section is worth 100 (raw) points.
MPT (Multi-State Performance Test)
Texas Bar Exam also includes one (1) MPT performance test.
Texas Essays
Texas tests 12 essays in two three-hour sessions. Each topic has two questions
The Texas Essays include the following:
- Business Associations (Corporations, Agency, Partnerships, Professional Assoc.)
- Consumer Law
- Family Law
- Real Property, including Oil and Gas
- Trust and Guardianship
- Uniform Commercial Code
- Wills and Administration
MBE (Multiple Choice Bar Exam)
Texas Bar Exam tests (MBE) is conducted on the second day of the two-day test and consists of a 6 hour time period. Each time period is divided in half so you have 100 questions to answer in the first three hours, followed by a lunch break and then 3 more hours to complete the second 100 questions for a total of 200 questions. The state of Texas does not accept MBE transferred scores. The Texas bar exam test 7 subjects:
- Civil Procedure
- Constitutional Law
- Contracts (Common Law, Sales/UCC Art. 2)
- Criminal Law & Procedure
- Evidence
- Real Property
- Torts
Daily Testing Schedule (courtesy of the Texas Bar Exam)
| Tuesday-MPT & P&E | Wednesday-MBE | Thursday-Essays | |
| Morning Session | Two 90-minute sessions
Must remain seated between sessions |
3 hours of testing | 3 hours of testing |
| Lunch Break | -- | Approx. 12:00-1:30 | Approx. 12:00-1:30 |
| Afternoon Session | -- | 3 hours of testing | 3 hours of testing |
Scoring & Weight
The minimum passing combined scaled score is 675 (out of 1,000).
The MPT raw score (on the 6-point scale) is converted tin a way to have a similar mean and standard deviation to the MBE scaled scores.
MPT (scaled score divided by 2) + P&E (scaled score divided by 2) + MBE (scaled score x 2) + Texas Essays (scaled score x 2) = Final Score
| TX P&E | 10% (scaled score divided by 2) |
| TX Essays | 40% (scaled score multiplied by 2) |
| MPT | 10% (scaled score divided by 2) |
| MBE | 40% (scaled score multiplied by 2) |
There are two types of appeals that a bar applicant can make if they fail the exam twice. The first is a formal review, which must be done 14 days after receiving scores. This review has the bar applicant attend a hearing in Austin, Texas. There is also an informal review where a written request may be sent to the board. Applicants can not take the exam more than 5 times without permission.