Update:
- NYS BOLE released the July 2025 bar exam results on October 23, 2025. See the results here.
- Texas Board of Law Examiners have released the results of the July 2025 bar exam here.
- The Supreme Court of Florida has posted the results from the July 2025 bar exam here. The results are listed by each applicant’s anonymous Bar Applicant File Number. No names are released.
The July 2025 bar exam results will be coming out soon. Most states release the July exam results around October to November. However, some states release them earlier. In Florida, the July bar results are scheduled to be released on Monday, September 22, 2025. The New York State Board of Law Examiners (NY BOLE) releases their July bar exam results around late October to early November. An email is sent out to candidates with specific date and time announcements. Texas Bar Exam results for July are also released in mid-October. California Bar Exam results for the July 2025 bar exam will be released on November 7, 2025 at 6:00 p.m.
For candidates who do not pass the bar, interpreting the results to improve for next time can be challenging. The MBE scores can be confusing because one has to interpret the meaning of raw and scaled scores and the percentages for each subject. Here’s how to decode your MBE score report and use it to focus your preparation.
Raw Score
The MBE has 200 questions but only 175 questions are graded. The remaining 25 questions are experimental questions that the NCBE analyzes to determine which ones to use for future exams. The scores for those 25 questions are not counted in your total score. The raw score is simply the number of questions you answered correctly out of the 175 graded questions. Do not confuse your raw score to be out of 200.
Note that you cannot determine in advance of the exam how many questions you must answer correctly to achieve a specific scaled score. This is due to the process of equating explained below.
Scaled Score
The NCBE converts your raw score into a scaled score using a statistical process called equating. Equating exists to ensure that the scores from one exam are comparable to another exam. For example, if the July 2025 exam was more difficult than the July 2024 MBE, the equating process would adjust raw scores upward to compensate for the increased difficulty. This is done so that the scaled scores represent the same level of competence regardless of which exam one takes.
The scaled scores for the MBE range from 40 to 200.
Subject Area Percentages and Passing Scores
When you receive your MBE scores, you will notice something that reads like, ‘MBE Percent Below’. Each of the seven MBE subjects are listed below: Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Real Property, and Torts. There is a corresponding number next to each subject. That is the percentage of people who are below you in that specific subject for that particular bar exam. For example, if you see “Torts: 60.2,” it means that in Torts you scored more than 60.2% of the candidates who took the bar exam with you. Remember that your MBE scores reflect your performance as relative to other test takers who sat for the same exam with you.
This breakdown is important because it allows you to see your subject areas of strengths and weaknesses and plan your future study schedule accordingly.
The MBE is only one part of the bar exam. Your final score is a combined score of the MBE, essays (MEE or other state-specific essays) and the MPT. The MBE score you need to pass varies by state, depending on how much weight is given to the MBE.
In California, the bar exam is graded on a 2000-point scale. The passing score is 1390. The MBE and written portion are each weighted 50%. This means that you need a scaled MBE score of roughly 139 to pass if your written score is also 139.
In Florida, the MBE and the Florida-specific essay portion are each weighted 50%. An average scaled score of 136 is required to pass the exam.
In New York, which is a Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) jurisdiction, the passing score is 266 out of a possible 400. The MBE counts for 50% of the total UBE score. A scaled MBE score of 133 is considered a passing score if the written portion is also 133.
In Texas, which is also a UBE jurisdiction, the passing score is 270 out of 400. The MBE is weighted at 50% of the total score, so you would need a scaled MBE score of 135 to pass if your written score is also 135.
Most states do not require a minimum MBE score to pass. A high score on the written portion can often compensate for a lower MBE score but the specifics vary from state to state. Always check with your state’s bar for the most current guidelines on scores as these may change from year to year.