Bar Exam & MPRE Resource Guide

As of February  21, 2023, the Delaware Judiciary announces changes to the Delaware Bar Exam

• Going forward the exam will be offered twice a year (currently it is only offered in July; starting in 2024 it will also be offered in February).
• The “cut” or passing score for the exam will be reduced from a scale of 145 to 143. 
• The essay portion of the exam will be reduced from eight essays to four and the number of topics that could be tested in those essays will be reduced from 14 areas of the law to 10 areas of the law.

In addition, the Supreme Court also adopted several recommended reforms to the admissions process for attorneys. Those include:

• A modification of the clerkship requirements, reducing it from a 21- week commitment to 12 weeks. 
• A reduction in the “checklist” of activities for candidates – where potential lawyers need to sit in on certain legal proceedings – from a mandatory list of 25 items to 18 out of 30 potential items. 
• A reduction in the late application fee from $1,400 for law school graduates to $900, and from $1,600 for attorneys admitted in another jurisdiction to $1,000.

The Bar Examination shall consist of the Multistate Bar Examination (“MBE”), two Multistate Performance Tests (“MPT”), and 4 essay questions (see Rules of the Board of Bar Examiners of the State of Delaware, Rule 12)

Format of the DE Bar Exam:

The Delaware Bar Examination is two full days. Tuesday consists of 4 Delaware essay questions and the MPT. Wednesday consists of the MBE. The exam schedule is 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on both days.

The Delaware Board of Bar Examiners posts the questions to prior  Delaware Bar Exams online between March and May for the previous year. For example, the July 2018 questions appeared online in May 2019. Those questions are available here.

While the Delaware Board of Bar Examiners posts the questions to prior DE bar exams, representative answers are not included. The Law Library has a print collection of past exam questions and representative answers. You can find it in the catalog under: Delaware. Board of Bar Examiners (this link will take you to the catalog record). The most recent copies can be found on Reserve at the circulation desk. The binders also contain a subject index of the questions from 2004 to the most recently available questions.

They can be borrowed for up to three (3) hours and cannot leave the library.

MBE Subjects: 

The 175 scored questions on the MBE are distributed evenly, with 25 questions from each of the seven subject areas:

• Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Real Property, and Torts.

Delaware Jurisdiction Overview - provides an overview of the requirements and components of the bar exam for the state of Delaware.

NCBE Study Aids - this will help you find study aids for the MRRE, MBE, MEE, & MPT. It also has sample test questions and answers.

Bar Exam Questions (Delaware only publishes past Questions online not past Answers. If you want questions and answers, the law library has them in print on reserve at the circulation desk. Click this link to see the catalog record. Any questions, please see a librarian).

Delaware Board of Bar Examiner's Website

Frequently Asked Questions about the Delaware Bar Exam

An applicant must achieve a scaled score of not less than 85 on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (“MPRE”) taken between January 1 of the calendar year four (4) years preceding and December 31 of the calendar year following the year in which the applicant passes the Delaware Bar Examination. The applicant shall be responsible to assure that the results of the MPRE are transmitted to the Board.

(Rules of the Board of Bar Examiners of the State of Delaware Rule 8)

 MPRE Score Services

Delaware Bar Clerkship Requirement: The Clerkship consists substantially full-time service for at least 12 weeks’ duration, which period need not be continuous but which may not begin prior to matriculation at a law school described in Supreme Court Rule 52(a)(5). A week means a forty-hour work week. The Clerkship must be completed in Delaware, under the supervision of a Delaware attorney. Each applicant must also complete a Clerkship Checklist. The Clerkship Checklist is available on the Board's website. Both the Clerkship and Clerkship Checklist must be satisfactorily completed before an applicant can be admitted to the Bar.

****You have until December 31 of the year following the year in which you pass the Bar Examination If you need extra time due to extenuating circumstances, you may file a Petition for an Extension of Time under Board Rule 53.****

Clerkship Requirements