Florida Bar Examination Information

This notice is being issued in July 2010 and supersedes all previous announcements on this subject.

General Bar Examination Schedule	Examination Location	Timely Filing Deadline	$325 Late Fee Deadline	$625 Late Fee Deadline
July 27 - 28, 2010 (Tuesday & Wednesday)	Tampa Convention Center 333 South Franklin St. Tampa FL	Postmarked on or before May 1, 2010	Postmarked on or before June 1, 2010	Postmarked on or before June 15, 2010
February 22 - 23, 2011 (Tuesday & Wednesday)	Tampa Convention Center 333 South Franklin St. Tampa FL	Postmarked on or before November 15, 2010	Postmarked on or before December 15, 2010	Postmarked on or before January 15, 2011

If the examination filing deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, then the deadline will be extended until the end of the next business day.

Late Fee
All Examination Applications must be postmarked or received in the board's office not later than the timely filing deadline to avoid a late filing fee. The final cut-off date to apply to take the February bar examination is January 15, and for the July bar examination is June 15.

The Florida Bar Examination consists of the following:

• The General Bar Examination (Part A and Part B)
• The Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE)

Administration
The General Bar Examination consists of two parts: Part A and Part B. Part A consists of three hours spent answering essay questions and three hours of 100 multiple-choice questions. Florida Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure and the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration 2.051, 2.060, and 2.160 comprise one segment. The remaining five segments, each of which will embrace no more than two subjects, are selected from the following subjects, including their equitable aspects:

• Florida Constitutional Law
• Federal Constitutional Law
• Trusts
• Business Entities
• Real Property
• Evidence
• Torts
• Wills & Administration of Estates
• Criminal Law
• Contracts
• Family Law
• Chapters 4 & 5 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar

Part A
Questions on Part A are designed to test your knowledge of both general law and Florida law. When Florida law varies from general law, the question should be answered in accordance with Florida law. The board publishes a study guide for Part A and it is available at no cost.

Part B
Part B is the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) offered by the National Conference of Bar Examiners. An MBE Information Booklet may be downloaded from the National Conference of Bar Examiners website.

Examination Procedure
The examination procedure allows for an election for testing by either of two methods that are explained below:

• The Overall Method may be utilized only by applicants who submit to Parts A and B during the same administration of the General Bar Examination. A passing grade under this method would be an average scaled score of 136 or better, or such score as may be set by the Supreme Court of Florida.
• The Individual Method may be utilized by those applicants who passed one part of the examination previously and elect to retake only the part previously failed. Applicants must achieve a passing score on each part taken. Effective July 1, 2004, a scaled score of 136, or such score as may be set by the Supreme Court of Florida, is passing.

An applicant who attains a passing scaled score on one part may elect to take the Overall Method without jeopardizing that passing status. The applicant will retain the passing status even if he or she on a subsequent administration does not achieve a passing score on the part previously passed.

Test Accommodations
Applicants who may require test accommodations during the administration of the General Bar Examination must petition the board for such test accommodations. The board has responded favorably to every reasonable request for accommodations by those with certifiable disabilities. All required forms for filing a petition for test accommodations can be located on the board’s website. The petition and required documentation must be postmarked by the timely filing deadline for the desired examination or late filing fees will be required. The final cut-off date to petition for test accommodations for the February bar examination is January 15, and for the July bar examination is June 15. There is no cost to petition the board for test accommodations and no cost for accommodations approved by the board.

Bar Review Course Policy
It is the policy of the Florida Board of Bar Examiners that information relating to bar review courses will not be furnished by the board.

MPRE Administration
The Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) is offered by the National Conference of Bar Examiners. It consists of 60 multiple-choice questions administered during a two-hour test period and is administered three times a year at established test centers across the country.

Description of Valid MPRE Scores
You must take the MPRE within the guidelines set out below. It is your responsibility to request that your score be forwarded to Florida. A report of your score will be sent directly to the Florida Board of Bar Examiners and a copy will be sent to you. Please review your copy of the score report carefully to verify that all identifying data is correct. If not, it is your further responsibility to contact the National Conference of Bar Examiners to have a corrected score report forwarded to the Florida Board of Bar Examiners. MPRE scores are acceptable under the following conditions:

• Scaled score of 80 or better is achieved, or such scaled score as fixed by the Supreme Court (rule 4-33.2), and
• Score is attained within 25 months of passing all parts of the Florida Bar Examination (rule 4-18.1).

MPRE Website
Visit the National Conference of Bar Examiners website for detailed information about and registration for the MPRE.