Pennsylvania bar exam results are released in mid-April for the February administration and in mid-October for the July administration.1Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners. PA Bar Exam Results Information The Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners posts a pass list of successful candidates by name on its website and delivers an individual score report to every applicant through the Online Bar Application portal, regardless of outcome. You need a Uniform Bar Examination score of at least 270 to pass.
When Results Come Out
Grading and administrative processing take roughly ten to twelve weeks after exam day. February results post in mid-April. July results post in mid-October. Those windows have held steady across multiple cycles, so you can plan around them.
The wait exists because Pennsylvania administers the UBE. Written answers (essays and performance tests) are graded locally by Pennsylvania examiners, then scaled against the nationally scored multiple-choice component under National Conference of Bar Examiners procedures. The scaling is what takes time.
How to Access Your Score
Results arrive through two channels. The Board publishes a pass list on its site naming every successful candidate. Separately, an official result packet lands in your Online Bar Application account whether you passed or not.2Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners. PA Bar Exam Results
The packet shows your total UBE score plus a breakdown of your performance on the written and multiple-choice portions. If you didn’t pass, that breakdown tells you where to focus next time.
What Score You Need
UBE scores run on a 400-point scale, with the written and multiple-choice halves each worth 50% of the total. Pennsylvania’s minimum passing score is 270.3Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners. UBE FAQs
Scores are final once released and not subject to judicial review.4Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners. Legacy UBE Grading Procedures and Score Requirement There is no regrading or rescoring. You can request copies of your written answers and sample responses to study, but the number won’t change.
What To Do If You Passed
A passing score doesn’t by itself make you a lawyer. Several steps have to line up before you’re admitted.
MPRE
You need a scaled score of at least 75 on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination.5Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners. Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination Information Most candidates take it during law school. If you haven’t, or if you fell short, you can sit for it before or after the bar exam. The passing score has to be on file with the Board before admission can be finalized.
Character and Fitness
The Board runs a background investigation covering criminal history, financial responsibility, academic conduct, and prior disciplinary matters. If something comes up, the Board may require a hearing. Admission can’t move forward until the review is complete and you’ve been certified.
Filing for Admission
Once you’ve passed the exam, cleared character and fitness, and have a qualifying MPRE score on file, the Board issues a Certificate Recommending Admission. You then file an Application for Admission with that certificate with the Prothonotary of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.6Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners. PA Bar Admission Certification Licensure and Ceremonies The filing fee is $50.7Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners. Rule 231 – Motions for Admission
Your application includes an Oath of Admission, which you must complete and sign in front of an authorized person who also signs it. That signed oath is the act that admits you to the bar. The Supreme Court holds optional public ceremonies for newly admitted attorneys, but those events are ceremonial and are not what makes you a lawyer.8Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania. Bar Admission Ceremonies
The Six-Month Deadline
Watch this one. Your admission application has to reach the Prothonotary within six months of the date on your certificate. Miss that window and the certificate lapses, which means a supplemental character and fitness application and an additional fee. Wait more than three years from the date of your exam results without filing and you’ll have to retake and pass a future bar exam.6Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners. PA Bar Admission Certification Licensure and Ceremonies
What To Do If You Didn’t Pass
Pennsylvania does not cap the number of times you can retake the exam. You can reapply for the next available cycle, February or July.
Fees are the same no matter how many times you’ve sat. A timely application costs $750. A late application runs $1,075. Filing at the final deadline costs $1,400. The timely deadline is October 30 for the February exam and March 31 for the July exam, so filing early saves meaningful money.9Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners. Bar Exam Fees and Deadlines
Before you reapply, request your written answers and the sample responses the Board provides. Compare them honestly against your own work. Your score breakdown shows whether the written or multiple-choice half pulled you down, and the materials show you what strong answers looked like on this specific exam.
If You’re Thinking About Practicing in Another State
Because Pennsylvania administers the UBE, a passing score can travel. Minimum passing scores in UBE jurisdictions range from 260 to 270, so a Pennsylvania pass may qualify you for admission elsewhere without retaking.
The window is strict. Pennsylvania accepts a UBE score transferred in from another jurisdiction only if no more than 30 months have passed since the first day of that exam administration, and the same 30-month cap applies when you try to transfer a Pennsylvania score out.3Pennsylvania Board of Law Examiners. UBE FAQs There are no exceptions for expired scores. If a move is on the table, don’t let your result sit.