Bar examinations are administed by state owned agencies.  A state bar licensing agency is associated with the judicial branch of government.  This bar licensing agency may be an office or committee.  The state’s highest court or intermediate appellate court forms such a licensing agency.  In some states, the bar licensing agency is part of the state bar association or its subunit.

The structure of Bar Examination is different in every state.  However, there are some similarities.  Normally the examination is broken into two to three days.  There are two sessions daily.

The ethics exam, Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE), designed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) is part of the Bar Examination in 47 states of the U.S.  This examination is a prerequisite or co requisite to the Bar Examination.  This is a multiple choice examination designed to evaluate the knowledge and understanding of professional conduct of lawyers.

The Multistate Bar Exam (MBE)  is also developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) and is administered by participating jurisdictions. The MBE consists of 200 multiple choice questions  covering contracts, torts, constitutional law, criminal law and procedure, evidence, and real property.

States also test applicants through essay questions relating to state law on a variety of legal topics. The essay exam topics vary from state to state.