MPT study guide
MPT · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Multistate Performance Test (MPT) is the performance-test component of the legacy Uniform Bar Examination, developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) and administered by user jurisdictions as part of their bar examinations. It is a skills exam rather than a memory exam: each item hands you a File and a Library and asks you to produce a practical lawyering document-such as a memorandum, brief, contract provision, or client letter-under a supervising attorney's instructions. The File contains the facts of the case, including interview, deposition, or hearing transcripts, pleadings, correspondence, client documents, contracts, newspaper articles, medical records, police reports, or lawyer's notes; the specific assignment appears in a memorandum from a supervising attorney. The MPT consists of two 90-minute items. Jurisdictions may select one or both items, and jurisdictions that administer the Uniform Bar Examination use both. The MPT is offered on the Tuesday before the last Wednesday in February and July each year, with scheduled administrations on February 23, 2027, July 27, 2027, and February 22, 2028. Topics on this exam: Performance test items (File and Library lawyering tasks). The MPT study guide has 1 section and about 428 words.
01MPT Performance Test Items: File and Library Lawyering Tasks
The MPT is a closed-universe lawyering simulation. Each 90-minute task hands you a File (client intake notes, correspondence, contracts, pleadings, deposition excerpts) and a Library (statutes, regulations, cases, court rules, sometimes a secondary source), plus a Task Memo from a supervising attorney. Nothing else exists. The exam tests whether you can read instructions, extract the controlling rule, apply it to messy facts, and produce the specific document requested - not whether you remember substantive law.
428 words, about 2 minMore study resources for MPT
- Practice questionsIn a performance test requiring you to draft a client letter, which file-naming convention best supports the grader's ability to locate and evaluate your work product?
- FlashcardsMPT File. The packet of case-specific materials in a performance test: client documents, correspondence, transcripts, contracts, and internal memos.
- Cheat sheetThe Multistate Performance Test (MPT) gives two 90-minute tasks; each task supplies a File (facts: transcripts, correspondence, memos, contracts, client documents) and a Library (authorities: statutes, regulations, cases, rules).
- Key termsPerformance Test. A closed-universe skills exercise in which you receive a client file and a task memo, then produce a practice document such as a memo, brief, contract, or letter within a set time.
- Study planDraft a closed-universe file-and-library task under a 90-minute timer using only the supplied library excerpts, then self-score against the MPT-style rubric dimensions of format compliance, legal accuracy, and file organization.
- Common mistakesCandidates trained on essay exams default to IRAC-style analysis and treat the 'deliverable' line in the task memo as background rather than as the controlling instruction, so they spend the hour explaining law rather than producing the requested work product.
- Exam-day guideBring the exact ID the Multistate Performance Test (MPT) jurisdiction or testing provider requires, and make sure the name matches your registration.