AL Bar cheat sheet

Alabama administers the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE): the MBE (200 scored questions, 50% of score), two Multistate Performance Test tasks, and six Multistate Essay Exam questions (MEE plus MPT together = 50%).

UBE scoring: MBE scaled to 200 points; written component scaled to 200 points; total UBE score is the sum, on a 400-point scale; Alabama's passing score is 260.

Alabama-specific component: applicants must also pass the Alabama State Bar Exam, a separate multiple-choice test on Alabama law and procedure, scored separately from the UBE.

The MPRE is a separate requirement: a scaled score of 75 or higher is required; it is not part of the UBE total and may be taken before or after the bar exam.

Eligibility to sit: graduation from an ABA-approved law school (or qualifying foreign/LLM route) plus character and fitness clearance through the Alabama State Bar's admissions office.

Standard UBE testing schedule: MBE on the Wednesday of the exam period; MPT and MEE on the Tuesday; the Alabama component is administered on a schedule set by the State Bar.

MBE subject coverage: Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Real Property, and Torts.

MEE coverage adds Business Associations, Conflict of Laws, Family Law, and Trusts and Estates (plus Wills) to the MBE subjects; the MPT tests lawyering skills, not substantive law.

Failing applicants may reapply for a later administration; Alabama's rules govern the number of attempts and any required waiting period between sittings.

UBE score transfer: an applicant may transfer a UBE score earned in another jurisdiction to Alabama; the transferred score must meet Alabama's passing score (260) and satisfy the score's age/recency limit set by Alabama rules.

Transfer mechanics: scores are requested through the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) score services; the transferring jurisdiction must release the score to Alabama.

Admission on motion (reciprocity): available to attorneys already admitted in another U.S. jurisdiction who meet Alabama's practice-duration and good-standing requirements, without sitting for the bar exam.

Typical motion requirements: active admission and good standing in the transferring jurisdiction, a minimum period of actual practice (commonly five of the preceding seven years), and no pending discipline.

The Alabama State Bar Exam (Alabama-law component) is generally still required for applicants admitted on motion unless waived under Alabama rules for qualifying applicants.

The MPRE requirement (score of 75) applies to reciprocity applicants unless they qualify for a waiver based on prior admission and standing.

Character and fitness review is required for every route to admission; a prior bar admission does not exempt an applicant from Alabama's character and fitness investigation.

Foreign-educated applicants: admission without examination is generally unavailable; eligibility runs through the bar exam route (often via an LLM) subject to Alabama's rules.

Reciprocity is jurisdiction-specific: Alabama grants motion admission only to attorneys from jurisdictions that extend comparable treatment or as Alabama's rules otherwise permit, so the applicant's home-state rules must be checked.