Rhode Island uses the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) which includes essays and multiple-choice questions. The exam is comprised of three components: a Multistate Performance Test (MPT), a Multistate Essay Exam (MEE), and a Multistate Bar Exam (MBE).
| Exam Dates: | Feb 21-22, 2023 & July 25-26 2023 |
| Exam Type: | Two-day UBE with multiple choice and long-form questions |
| Location: | Providence, RI |
| Application Fee: | $975 |
| On-Motion Application Fee: | N/A |
| Filing Deadline: | May 1, 2022 |
| Late Filing Deadline: | No late filing is permitted |
| Late Fee: | N/A |
The Rhode Island Bar Exam is usually scheduled to take place on the last Tuesday and Wednesday of February and July. Visit the Supreme Court of Rhode Island website for updated information.
The Rhode Island bar exam takes place in Providence. The exact location will be released shortly before the exam.
A petition for admission or reapplication costs $975, while deferrals cost $300. Admission must be received by the to-be-announced filing deadline, and no late filing is permitted.
The following fees may apply:
“Closed universe” practical problem using instructions, factual data, cases, statutes and other reference material supplied by examiners.
The Rhode Island Bar Exam follows a two-day UBE format:
Morning: six 30-minute Multistate Essay Exam (MEE) questions
Afternoon: two 90-minute Multistate Performance Test (MPT) questions
Morning: one hundred multiple-choice Multistate Bar Exam (MBE)
Afternoon: one hundred multiple-choice Multistate Bar Exam (MBE)
Rhode Island requires a minimum scaled MPRE score of 80 obtained within two years for admission.
The Rhode Island Bar Exam is weighted as follows:
The applicant must achieve a scaled score of 130 on the MBE and a combined score of 276 to pass the exam.
Rhode Island usually releases the July scores in late October. However, the release of the results may be delayed due to the postponement of the exam.
Applicants may transfer a scaled MBE score if taken from a concurrent exam.
Rhode Island does not accept admission on motion. Therefore, all applicants must sit the exam.
However, Rhode Island only requires the MEE and MPT portions of the exam for attorneys who have practiced law for 5 out of the 10 years immediately preceding the application. A scaled score of 138 is required to pass.
Clerk, Supreme Court
Providence County Courthouse
250 Benefit Street
Providence, RI 02903
Telephone: (401) 222-4233
Email: riBarexam@courts.ri.gov
Website: www.courts.ri.gov