What is the Florida bar exam?

The Florida bar exam assesses whether an examinee is competent to practice law in the State of Florida. Passing the bar exam is an essential step in becoming a lawyer in Florida.

Studying for the Florida bar exam is a full-time job that requires discipline, determination, and—for most people—a formal course structure. Quimbee Bar Review for Florida is expertly designed to help you prepare for the Florida bar examination in the most efficient and effective way possible. Our course includes 1,400+ real practice questions from past bar exams, detailed answer explanations, and comprehensive outlines of MBE subjects.

Read on to learn more about the Florida bar exam.

What is the Florida bar exam format?

The Florida bar exam consists of the MBE, three hours spent answering essay questions on Florida law, and three hours of 100 multiple-choice questions on Florida law.

Multistate Bar Examination (MBE)

The MBE is referred to as “Part B” of the Florida bar exam. The MBE is a six-hour, 200-question multiple-choice examination developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) and administered by participating jurisdictions, including Florida, on the last Wednesday in February and July of each year.

According to the NCBE, the purpose of the MBE is to assess the extent to which an examinee can apply fundamental legal principles and legal reasoning to analyze given fact patterns.

The MBE is divided into morning and afternoon testing sessions of three hours each, with 100 questions in each session. There are no scheduled breaks during either the morning or afternoon session, though test taskers typically may be excused from the exam room during the test. Be sure to check with your jurisdiction, however, as the rules regarding leaving the exam room may vary.

Of the 200 questions on the MBE, 175 questions are scored. The remaining unscored 25 questions are used by the NCBE to test potential future questions. The scored questions are distributed evenly, with 25 questions from each tested subject area. The Florida bar exam subjects include civil procedure, constitutional law, contracts, criminal law and procedure, evidence, real property, and torts. The MBE counts for 50 percent of the total Florida bar exam score.

Jurisdiction-Specific Component

The remainder of the Florida bar exam is referred to as “Part A.” Questions on Part A are designed to test your knowledge of both general law and Florida law. Florida Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure and the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration comprise one segment. Questions on the Florida Rules of Judicial Administration will address only the following areas: disqualification of trial judges; public access to judicial branch records; minimization of the filing of sensitive information; the qualifications, restrictions, and conditions pertaining to attorneys in their representation of clients in Florida Courts; and the signature of attorneys and parties on pleadings and other papers. The remaining segments are selected from the following subjects:

• Florida constitutional law,
• federal constitutional law,
• trusts,
• business entities,
• real property,
• evidence,
• torts,
• wills and administration of estates,
• criminal law, constitutional criminal procedure, and juvenile delinquency,
• contracts,
• Articles Three and Nine of the Uniform Commercial Code,
• family law and dependency
• Chapters Four and Five of the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar, and
• professionalism.

The Florida Board of Bar Examiners publishes a free study guide for Part A. Part A counts for 50 percent of the total Florida bar exam score. For more information on this aspect of the Florida bar exam, please visit the Florida Board of Bar Examiners’ website.     

Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE)

A passing score on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) is also required to become a licensed Florida attorney. The MPRE tests an examinee’s knowledge of the ethics rules related to the practice of law. According to the NCBE, the purpose of the MPRE is to “measure examinees' knowledge and understanding of established standards related to the professional conduct of lawyers.”

The MPRE’s questions are largely based on the American Bar Association (ABA) Model Rules of Professional Conduct and the ABA Model Code of Judicial Conduct, but the MPRE also covers relevant court decisions as well as procedural and evidentiary rules.

The MPRE consists of 60 multiple-choice questions—50 scored questions and 10 unscored questions. As with the MBE, each question on the MPRE is followed by four possible answer options. You’ll have two hours to complete the exam.

The MPRE is offered three times per year, typically in March, August, and November. Be sure to register early—the regular registration fee is $135, but the late registration fee is $220.

The MPRE is scored on a scale that ranges from 50 to 100. Florida requires a minimum-passing MPRE score of 80.

Florida bar exam information

Below is a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) that provides helpful information to Florida bar examinees.

What are the Florida bar exam dates?

The Florida bar exam is offered twice a year on the last Tuesday and Wednesday in February and July. The Florida bar exam is typically administered in Tampa. For more information on dates and locations, please see the Florida Board of Bar Examiners' website.

When do I need to register for the Florida bar exam?

The regular deadline for registering for the July 2023 bar exam in Florida is May 1, 2023. The regular deadline for the February 2024 exam is November 15, 2023. For the latest deadline updates, please see the Florida Board of Bar Examiners' website.

What are the fees for the Florida bar exam?

The regular application fee for the Florida bar exam is $1,000. For more details on fees, visit the  Florida Board of Bar Examiners' website.

When will I receive my Florida bar exam results?

Florida bar examination results are released approximately six to eight weeks after administration of the exam. Results are posted publicly on the Florida Supreme Court's website.

Pass rates

51% (July 2022)

What is the Florida bar exam contact information?

The Florida Board of Bar Examiners is the organization responsible for overseeing admission to the bar in Florida. It is through this board that you will register for the bar exam, receive exam information, and obtain your score.

Address:
1891 Eider Court
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1750

Phone: (850) 487-1292

Website: https://www.floridabarexam.org/

How do I get Florida bar exam news?

News and information about the Florida bar exam can be found on the Florida Board of Bar Examiners' website.

What is the best Florida bar exam prep course?

Quimbee's Florida Bar Review is your best option to prepare for the Florida bar exam. Quimbee Bar Review for Florida offers everything you need to succeed on the Florida bar exam, and all of the course material is available from your computer. 

Florida Bar Practice Tests

Quimbee’s course offers several full-length practice MBEs and thousands of MBE practice questions—many licensed directly from the NCBE. You’ll also get personalized feedback from a dedicated attorney grader on your practice essays for the Florida essay section, so you can check your understanding, learn what you need to work on, and feel confident that you’re ready by test day.

Florida Bar Study Guide

Quimbee Bar Review will walk you through bar prep from start to finish. You'll start with a high-level overview of every bar topic to refresh what you learned in law school. You'll watch Quimbee's beautifully designed video lessons, practice multiple-choice questions to test what you've learned, and read through Quimbee's expert-written outlines. And true understanding isn’t just answering a question correctly. You need to know why you got a question right or why you got a question wrong. That’s why Quimbee provides you with detailed explanations for every practice question, so you can understand the difference between the correct and incorrect answers. 

Quimbee’s outlines provide comprehensive coverage of all bar exam subjects. Quimbee Outlines are written by experts and are perfectly tailored to the NCBE’s subject-matter outlines, so you can be confident you’re studying only the material that’s tested on the bar exam.

So, if you’re wondering how to pass the Florida bar exam, check out Quimbee Bar Review for Florida, and you’ll see why Quimbee is the best Florida bar review course available.