In the United States, lawyers must be admitted to practice in a particular state. Among other admission requirements, lawyers usually must take a bar examination administered by a state board of bar examiners.

These bar examinations are administered twice a year, at the end of February and July. Usually, these exams consist of the Multistate Bar Examination ("MBE"), which is a multiple choice exam covering American law in six subjects: contracts, torts, criminal law and procedure, Constitutional law, evidence, and property. The MBE takes one day and is the same exam administered in all states which use it.

More information on the MBE can be found at the official website of the National Conference of Bar Examiners.

Each state usually then adds a portion to their exam requiring additional multiple choice questions on state law subjects, written essays, and sometimes a performance test aspect. This state portion usually takes another day. If required, the performance test may be a third day of examination (e.g., California).

Almost all jurisdictions also require candidates to pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam ("MPRE"), which is administered three times a year (March, August and November) and is a fifty question, two hour multiple choice exam.

Foreign candidates may be allowed to take an American bar examination if they have received their J.D. degree from an American Bar Association accredited law school , JSM or LLM degree from such school. Requirements will vary from state to state.  The two most popular bar jurisdictions for foreign lawyers are California and New York.

LawMasters provides information on state requirements for foreign candidates who sign up for individual bar tutoring.   For others, LawMasters provides this information for a fee. 

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