Beginning with the February 2012 exam, the Tennessee Bar Examination will be made up of the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), the Multistate Performance Test (MPT) and 9 state essay questions.

The examination will be given on the last Tuesday and Wednesday of February and July each year, with the MPT and State essays given on Tuesday and the MBE on Wednesday.

The dates of the February 2012 Tennessee bar examination will be Tuesday, February 28, 2012 and Wednesday, February 29, 2012. The dates of the July 2012 Tennessee bar examination will
be Tuesday, July 24, 2012 and Wednesday, July 25, 2012. Because of the change in the testing schedule applicants will no longer be able to take two state bar exams concurrently.

Grading of the Tennessee Bar Exam: The Tennessee Board of Law Examiners announces a change in its grading policy. Beginning with the February 2011 Tennessee Bar Examination all essay scores will be scaled to the
Multistate Bar Examination (MBE). A combined total of 270 points will be needed to pass the Tennessee Bar Examination. The Board of Law Examiners will no longer perform a regrading process and the practice of sending requested copies of an applicant’s unsuccessful essays will be discontinued. Consistent with current practice successful examinees will be notified that they have passed the bar examination. For unsuccessful examinees only, the Board will report three scores: the overall total Tennessee Bar examination score, the MBE scaled score and the total scaled essay score. The overall total Tennessee Bar examination score is the sum of the MBE scaled score and the total scaled essay score.

Tennessee generally releases the results of the Summer exam in mid-October and the results of the Winter exam in mid-April.

If you take two bar exams at the same time (e.g., local in the other jurisdiction on Tuesday, local in Tennessee on Thursday, MBE in either state on Wednesday), Tennessee will accept the score of the MBE taken in either state. If you decide to take the MBE in the other state, you must make a written request for permission by Tennessee.

Tennessee will not accept an MBE score from any time other than a concurrent administration.

*MPRE -- You must receive a scaled score of at least 75 on an MPRE taken within two years of sitting for the Tennessee Bar Exam.

Admission on Motion:
1. You must be a graduate of an ABA-accredited law school.
2. You must have taken and passed an "equivalent" bar exam in another jurisdiction.
3. You must be admitted to the bar of another jurisdiction and must have practiced law for at least five years.
4. You must have a present intent to practice law in Tennessee.