The North Carolina Bar Exam takes place over a 2 day period. They are one of the states that releases their results early, typicaly occurring approximately 1-month after the Bar Exam has taken place. You can find the latest results posted here: https://ncble.org/bar-examination/grading/results/
On average, approximately 1,700 people take the North Carolina bar every year, with an average of 1,000 people passing.
The Bar Exam is made up of the following exam segments:
- 12 North Carolina Essays
- 200 multiple choice questions (the MBE), taking place the Wednesday of the exam. Click here for a complete study guide.
The North Carolina Bar publishes a set of rules and grading guide which can be found here: https://ncble.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/rules.pdf
Recent Bar Pass Rates and Content Trends
On average over 1,700 people take the North bar exam each year with a 64% average pass rate. The majority of people take the Bar exam in July, having just graduated from law school. Those that do not pass the July bar will often retake in February.
The following charts show pass rates by year, and the number of students taking in both February and July.
February Bar Exam Pass Rates:
On average, the February bar has a lower number of students taking (as it is made up of primarily of people who graduated during December, or people who are retaking the bar. The February Exam maintains a 53% average pass rate.
July Bar Exam Pass Rates:
The July bar exam, while having a higher number of students taking the bar exam has a higher pass rate percentage than the February bar at 68%.
Topics Covered by the North Carolina Bar Exam
Per Rule .903 of the Rules governing admission in North Carolina,
“The examination may deal with the following subjects: Business Association (including agency, corporations, and partnerships), Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Family Law, Legal Ethics, Real Property, Secured Transactions including The Uniform Commercial Code, Taxation, Torts, Trusts, Wills, Decedents’ Estates and Equity.”
This information and more is published by the North Carolina bar, which provides grading information, retesting information and more https://ncble.org/rules
How have Various Types of Schools performed on the North Carolina bar?
You can check out the pass rates of individual schools by looking at the ABA’s accreditation performance tool here: https://www.barexamstats.com/tools-to-analyze-law-schools/aba-bar-pass-rate-tool/
