Florida Bar Exam Information

2010 exam dates and location(s)

The February 2010 Florida bar exam will take place on Tuesday, February 23 and Wednesday, February 24. The July 2010 Florida bar exam will take place on Tuesday, July 27 and Wednesday, July 28. Exams are given at the Tampa Convention Center.

Subject matter (MBE subjects are in bold)

Contracts, Corporations, Evidence, Family Law, Florida and Federal Constitutional Law, Florida and Federal Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure, Florida Rules of Professional Conduct and Rules Regulating Trust Accounts, Partnerships, Real Property, Torts, Trusts and Wills, and Administration of Estates (all topics include equitable aspects).

Structure

The Tuesday exam day consists of the state portion of the exam – three FL essays (one hour each) and 100 Florida multiple choice questions (tested over three hours). The Wednesday exam day consists of the MBE. The MBE is a 200 question multiple choice exam. 100 questions are asked in the morning over a three hour period, and 100 questions are asked in the afternoon over a three hour period. The MBE has 33 questions each for Contracts and Torts, and 31 questions each for Constitutional Law, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, and Real Property. 190 of the 200 questions are graded, the other 10 are experimental. 200 questions over six hours averages out to 1.8 minutes per question.

Scoring

The state portion (essays and multiple choice) is worth 50% of the exam’s total score. The MBE is worth 50%. The results of each portion are combined to determine if an examinee has achieved a minimum passing score of 136.

MPRE

An applicant must achieve a minimum score of 80 on the MPRE within 25 months of passing the Florida bar exam.

Pass rate

Florida’s pass rate for the July 2008 exam was 83% for first time takers, and 75% for all takers.

Other exam information

A Florida Bar Exam Virtual Tour is available on the Board’s web site. This tour has proven to be very useful to bar exam applicants.

A laptop program is available for all interested applicants for a $100 fee.

Video surveillance and metal detectors will be present at the exam site. Belongings may be stored on site at the convention center for a fee of $2 per item.

Bar examiner contact information

Application deadlines and fees

Applications for the July exam are considered timely if received or postmarked by May 1. Timely application fees start at $375. A late fee of $275 will be assessed for applications received by June 1, and $525 for applications received by June 15.

Application fees must be paid by check.

Forms

The following is a summary of requirements relating to the submission of the Florida bar exam application and related forms: 1) the application must be completed online only, as paper applications are not available; 2) applicants can print supporting forms from the Board’s web site.; 3) to be considered timely filed, first-time applicants must file a Bar Application; 4) to be considered timely filed, registrants must file a Supplement to Bar Application and Conversion Application; 5) applicants must check the web site. for a complete list of documents that can or cannot be faxed; 6) applicants must not send duplicates; 7) applicants cannot confirm receipt of application via telephone; 7) each applicant must submit a 2” x 2” photograph; 8) applicants must submit a transcript from the degree-awarding undergraduate institution they previously attended.

Character and Fitness considerations

Each applicant must submit fingerprints electronically prepared by Integrated Biometric Technology. IBT has 32 Florida locations. The fee for electronic fingerprinting is $58.25. Separate fingerprinting provisions apply to out of state applicants – this information can be found on the Board’s web site.

Applicants are responsible for amending their application within 30 days of any occurrence that changes the answer to any question.

Student Registration

First year law students can register with the Board after their first semester of law school. The deadlines for student registration vary according to start date as follows:

1. August/September start date—the fee is $75 if registration is completed by January 15, and $300 if registration is completed by March 15;
2. January/February start date—the fee is $75 if registration is completed by June 15, and $300 if registration is completed by August 15; and
3. May/June start date—the fee is $75 if registration is completed by October 15, and $300 if registration is completed by December 15.

Results

The Board releases results for the February 2010 exam in mid-April, and results for the July 2010 exam in mid-September. The Board mails results the day it posts the pass list to its web site.

*All state bar exam information is subject to change without notice; please verify this information with the bar examiner’s office.*