Massachusetts bar exam results are released roughly eight to ten weeks after each administration: late October for the July exam and late April for the February exam.1Mass.gov. Admission by Examination You need a scaled score of 270 on the Uniform Bar Exam to pass.2Mass.gov. March 1 Bar Exam and Bar Admission Announcements The Board of Bar Examiners posts the names of everyone who passed on a public list and delivers individual scores through each applicant’s Bar Applicant Portal.3Mass.gov. Massachusetts Bar Exam Pass List
When Results Are Released
The Board follows a predictable schedule. July exam results come out in late October. February exam results come out in late April.1Mass.gov. Admission by Examination The eight-to-ten week grading window exists because the written components are scored locally in Massachusetts and then scaled against national MBE performance before final scores are set.
For the July 2025 administration, results were released in mid-October, with an in-person admission ceremony scheduled the week of November 17, 2025, and a virtual admission option on November 7, 2025.4Mass.gov. Formal Admission to the Massachusetts Bar Admission generally follows release by about a month, so if you’re still finishing other requirements, finish them before scores drop rather than after.
How You Receive Your Score
Two channels run in parallel. The Board publishes the names of everyone who passed on the Massachusetts Judicial Branch and Board of Bar Examiners websites. The list stays up for at least seven business days and is a public record, so employers and anyone else can confirm your status directly.3Mass.gov. Massachusetts Bar Exam Pass List
Individual results arrive through the Bar Applicant Portal, the secure account you’ve been using throughout the licensing process.5Mass.gov. Massachusetts Bar Exam Results If you passed, the portal shows your total scaled score. If you did not pass, the portal gives you a more detailed breakdown with component-level performance, which matters when you’re deciding how to prepare for the next attempt.
What Score You Needed
Massachusetts administers the Uniform Bar Exam. The minimum passing score is 270 on a 400-point scale.2Mass.gov. March 1 Bar Exam and Bar Admission Announcements That total comes from three weighted components:
- The Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), 200 multiple-choice questions, counts for 50% of the total. Of those 200, 175 are scored and 25 are unscored pretest questions.6National Conference of Bar Examiners. MBE Bar Exam
- The Multistate Essay Examination (MEE), six essays, counts for 30%.7National Conference of Bar Examiners. UBE Bar Exam Scores
- The Multistate Performance Test (MPT), two realistic lawyering tasks, counts for 20%.7National Conference of Bar Examiners. UBE Bar Exam Scores
You will not see a raw MBE score telling you how many questions you got right. The written components are graded by Massachusetts examiners, then scaled against national MBE performance so scores stay comparable across jurisdictions and administrations.
Recent Pass Rates
The July 2025 Massachusetts exam had an overall pass rate of 76%. First-time takers passed at 86%; repeat takers passed at 27%.8National Conference of Bar Examiners. Bar Exam Results by Jurisdiction A gap between first-time and repeat rates is normal nationally, but the size of the Massachusetts gap matters if you’re planning a retake.
Pass rates for first-time takers vary sharply by law school. Among Massachusetts schools on the July 2025 exam, Boston University was at 100%, Harvard at 99.2%, Boston College at 98.2%, and Western New England at 90.9%. Suffolk came in at 82.3% and Northeastern at 71.4%. Massachusetts School of Law posted a 51.9% first-time rate.9Mass.gov. July 2025 Massachusetts Law School Statistics The Board publishes a school-by-school breakdown after each administration.
If You Did Not Pass
Massachusetts does not cap retakes. You file a new petition for admission by re-take and pay the applicable fees again for each attempt.10Mass.gov. Guide to Filing a Petition for Admission by Examination Because the exam runs in February and July, you can sit again within a few months of a failing result.
Use the component-level data the portal gives you. With repeater pass rates at 27% in July 2025, repeating the same preparation rarely produces a different outcome.8National Conference of Bar Examiners. Bar Exam Results by Jurisdiction If your MBE scaled score sat near passing but written scores pulled you down, that points toward essay technique and MPT task management rather than more substantive memorization.
What Else Has To Be Done Before You’re Admitted
A passing score alone does not get you sworn in. The Board reports you to the Supreme Judicial Court as qualified only after several other pieces are complete.
MPRE
You must pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination with a scaled score of at least 85.11National Conference of Bar Examiners. Massachusetts It’s a separate 60-question, two-hour test on legal ethics, administered independently of the bar exam. Most applicants take it during law school, and it can be completed before or after the bar exam itself.
Massachusetts Law Component
The Massachusetts Law Component is a 50-question multiple-choice exam on Massachusetts-specific law across ten subject areas, accessed through the Bar Applicant Portal along with study outlines. You need 40 out of 50 to pass. Once you start, you have four days to finish. If you don’t pass, you can retake it as many times as you need to, with a 24-hour wait between attempts.12Mass.gov. The Massachusetts Law Component (MLC) The MLC targets areas where Massachusetts law diverges from general UBE principles, so the provided outlines are the right study material.
Character and Fitness
The Board conducts an internal character and fitness investigation based on the responses in your petition.13Mass.gov. Character and Fitness Process The Board defines good character as the honesty, integrity, and discretion the public and legal community expect of a lawyer. Expect questions about criminal history, financial responsibility, academic discipline, and employment.
Most applicants who run into trouble do so by leaving something out rather than by what they had to report. A prior arrest, a student loan default, or an academic misconduct finding is rarely disqualifying on its own. Failing to disclose it is a separate problem. Disclose fully, explain the context, and let the Board evaluate your current fitness.
Admission Follows About A Month Later
After the Board confirms you have passed the bar exam, cleared character and fitness, passed the MPRE, and completed the MLC, your name goes to the Clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court for the County of Suffolk as qualified for admission. The in-person ceremony is held at the Great Hall at Faneuil Hall in Boston before a Justice of the SJC, and a virtual admission option is also available.4Mass.gov. Formal Admission to the Massachusetts Bar For July takers, that falls in November; for February takers, a few weeks after April results. You cannot practice in Massachusetts until you have been formally admitted and signed the Roll of Attorneys, regardless of when your passing score was posted.