The Iowa Bar Exam is a two-day exam -- Tuesday, and Wednesday -- with essays on Tuesday, essays and performance questions on Tuesday, and the multiple-choice Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) on Wednesday.

Sample of Iowa Bar Exam Schedule (from July 2011): Tuesday

8:15: Enter exam room, find seat, and receive instructions
8:30 - 11:30: MPT Part I and MPT Part II
1:15: Enter exam room, find seat, and receive instructions
1:30 - 4:30: MEE

Wednesday

8:15: Enter exam room, find seat, and receive instructions
8:30 - 11:30: MBE
1:15: Enter exam room, find seat, and receive instructions
1:30 - 4:30: MBE


Iowa accepts an MBE score from a bar exam taken in another jurisdiction within the prior two years.

Grading of the Iowa Bar Exam: Iowa does not disclose its grading formula.

*MPRE: A scaled score of 80 on the MPRE must be on file with the examiners by October 1 for the subsequent Winter bar exam, or by March 1 for the subsequent Winter bar exam. If, however, an Applicant takes the MPRE in March and is sitting for that Summer's Iowa bar exam, the MPRE score may be accepted upon petition. MPRE scores are good for three years in Iowa.

Admission on Motion: (i.e., without having to sit for the bar exam)
To be admitted on motion, an attorney admitted elsewhere must have practiced law for at least five of the seven years immediately preceding his or her Iowa application, and must show a bona fide intention to practice law in Iowa.

Note: You may sit for the Iowa Bar Exam before your law school graduation if you receive your degree within 45 days from the first day of the bar exam.