The information on these pages is largely collated from the webpages of the New Hampshire Supreme Court and the New Hampshire Bar Association. Follow those links for forms, checklists, and other helpful information.
New Hampshire Supreme Court Rule 42 governs admission to the New Hampshire bar. It provides four ways for a person to become a member of the bar: (I) by examination; (II) by motion without examination; (III) by transferred Uniform Bar Examination ("UBE") score; and (IV) after completion of the Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program.
New Hampshire Supreme Court Rule 42 governs admission to the New Hampshire bar. It provides four ways for a person to become a member of the bar: (I) by examination; (II) by motion without examination; (III) by transferred Uniform Bar Examination ("UBE") score; and (IV) after completion of the Daniel Webster Scholar Honors Program.
Lawyers from other states may be admitted to the New Hampshire Bar by admission on motion. Please consult the list of reciprocal jurisdictions.
Applicants may also be admitted by transferred Uniform Bar Exam, "UBE," score. Applicants seeking admission on motion who have earned a UBE scaled score of 270 or better on a scale of 400 may apply for admission under Supreme Court Rule 42 (X). Applicants applying by transferred UBE score must also pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination, "MPRE."
Other requirements for admission on motion can be found here.
The NH Bar Exam is administered twice annually. Once on the last Wednesday of February and the preceding day, and the other on the last Wednesday of July and the preceding day. The NH Bar Exam is often held at the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law in Concord, New Hampshire.
New Hampshire administers the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE), which is composed of three parts: the Multistate Performance Test (MPT), the Multistate Essay Examination (MEE), and the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE). All components of the examination (MPT, MEE, MBE) must be taken in New Hampshire.
The three-hour morning session on Tuesday consists of two 90-minute MPT questions. The MPT, which is developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), is designed to evaluate an applicant’s ability to use fundamental lawyering skills in a realistic situation. Each MPT question is designed to be answered in one and one-half hours. Answers to the MPT questions are graded by the members of the New Hampshire Board of Bar Examiners.
The three-hour afternoon session on Tuesday consists of six MEE essay questions, which are also prepared by the NCBE. Each question is designed to be answered in one-half hour. Areas of law that may be covered on the MEE include the following: Business Associations (Agency and Partnership; Corporations and Limited Liability Companies), Conflict of Laws, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Family Law, Federal Civil Procedure, Real Property, Torts, Trusts and Estates (Decedents’ Estates; Trusts and Future Interests), and Uniform Commercial Code (Secured Transactions).
Successful completion of the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) is a prerequisite for admission to the New Hampshire Bar. The New Hampshire Board of Bar Examiners has established a scaled score of 79 as the passing level of performance for the MPRE.
The MPRE is developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE). It is administered three times a year at many locations throughout the United States.
