GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE COLORADO BAR EXAM

 

NOTICE:  The following information is provided as a summary of commonly asked questions regarding the Colorado Bar Exam.  It is not intended to fully address all application/admission policies and requirements.  Please refer to both the “Instructions for Filing an Application to Take the Colorado Bar Exam,” as well as, Rule 201, C.R.C.P. for complete details, both of which are available from this web site.

 

Our Mailing Address

 

Colorado Supreme Court

Board of Law Examiners

1560 Broadway, Suite 1820

Denver Colorado 80202-5451

 

Telephone Number:  303-866-6626

 

Exam Dates and Location

 

The bar exam is held twice yearly, on the last Tuesday and Wednesday of February and July.

 

The examination consists of the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) and a written essay and performance test.

 

All Class B (exam) applicants are required to take both the MBE and Essay/PT portions of the examination.  The Essay/PT exam is administered on the last Tuesday of February and July followed by the MBE on the last Wednesday of the month.

 

            The exam is administered in the Denver Metro Area at one location only.

 

Filing Deadlines

 

Applications, including Update Applications, must be filed using the most recent version of the Boards forms.

 

Application forms and applicable fees must be filed on or *postmarked no later than December 1 for the February exam and May 1 for the July exam.  Applications filed after these dates will be assessed applicable late penalty fees. 

 

Updating a Previous Application for the exam

 

Applicants who have previously filed an application to sit for the examination may be eligible to file update application forms.  Applications filed more than 2 years ago may not be renewed and new application forms must be filed.

 

Update application forms may be filed by those who withdrew or were absent from the exam and by those who are repeating the exam.  Applications may be updated and fees not previously refunded will be applied to the current fee for a period of 2 years from the date the original or last update application was filed.  Any difference between the previous fee and the current fee shall be borne by the applicant in addition to a $250 update fee. If an update application is filed after having previously withdrawn from the exam, a $250 update fee will be assessed in addition to any of the above referenced fee differences or refunds.  The total amount due must be submitted at the time the application is filed.  All update materials must be filed by December 1 for the February exam or May 1 for the July exam.  Update materials filed after the official deadline are subject to the late filing penalties referenced above.

 

Withdrawing an Application

 

An application for the exam may be filed and subsequently withdrawn by submitting written notification to the Board.  Applicants who are absent from the exam, but who fail to withdraw by written notification, at least one business day prior to the exam will be assessed the full application fee.  See “Instructions for Filing an Application to Take the Colorado Bar Exam” for policies regarding partial fee refunds and updating a previously filed application. 

 

Application Filing fees

 

Exam (Class B):

Non Attorney               $475.00*

                        Attorney                       $500.00*

           

            *Computer test takers add $100

                       

See Exam Filing Deadlines and Late Filing Penalty Fees.

 

See Application Instructions for information regarding polices on method of payment, returned checks, and refunds.

 

Late Penalty Filing Fees

 

            Late applications will be accepted through - 

 

December 31 for the February exam and

May 31 for the July exam

 

Late applications must be must be accompanied by all applicable fees and filed or *Postmarked no later than the last applicable late filing deadline.

 

Late Fee Penalty Fee: $200

 

*Postage meter tapes are not recognized when determining whether a filing deadline has been met.  Late applications postmarked by applicable deadlines but received more than 7 days following postmark date will be rejected as not timely filed.

 

Applications filed without the appropriate fees or not substantially completed will not be deemed timely filed and will not be accepted for processing.

 

 

About the Colorado Bar Exam

 

The Colorado Bar Examination consists of three parts:  The Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), essay, and the performance test (PT).  In order to pass the Colorado Bar Exam, an examinee must score 276 scale points (of a possible 400).  The formula for determining the total bar exam score is:

 

MBE Scale Score + (Essay Scale Score + PT Scale Score) = Bar Exam Score

 

Essay Format (Day 1)

 

The essay portion of the Colorado Bar Examination consists of nine short questions. Examinees are required to answer five questions in the morning session and four in the afternoon.  A total of three hours, forty-five minutes is allotted to answer the nine questions (an average of twenty-five minutes per question).  Examinees are to answer each question utilizing no more than the front and back of an 8 1/2 x 11 answer sheet.  The following substantive subjects may be tested on the essay exam:  Business Associations (including Agency, Partnership, and Corporations); Civil Procedure1; Commercial Transactions (including Secured Transactions, Sales, and Negotiable Instruments); *Contracts; *Criminal Law and Procedure; *Evidence; Family Law1; Public Law (including *Constitutional Law and Administrative Law); *Real Property; *Torts; Wills, Estates, and Trusts.

 

*MBE SUBJECTS.  There will be an effort to increase the number of essay questions in non-MBE subject areas, thus the number of essays in MBE subject areas will consequently decrease.

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1Family Law and Civil Procedure may include issues specific to Colorado principles, statutory construct and precedent.  Scroll to the end of the web page for further information on these subject areas.

 

Colorado Performance Test Format (Day 1)

 

The Colorado Performance Test consists of two, ninety-minute questions.  One PT question is given in the morning and one in the afternoon.  The performance test questions are designed to test skills commonly used by lawyers practicing law competently.  These skills generally include, but are not limited to, the following:  Legal Analysis, Fact Analysis, Awareness of Professional Responsibility, Problem Solving, Rese­arch Skills, and Writing Skills.

 

MBE Format (Day 2)

 

The MBE is a 6-hour multiple-choice test consisting of 200 questions.  It is divided into a 3-hour morning session and a 3-hour afternoon session.  The following subjects are tested:  Contracts, Criminal Law, Evidence, Real Property, Torts, and Constitutional Law.

 

Colorado DOES NOT ACCEPT MBE SCORES from other jurisdictions or from previous examinations for purposes of waiving the MBE portion of the exam.

 

Scoring the Bar Examination

 

1.         Scoring-MBE:  Raw MBE scores (the number of questions correctly answered) are converted to scale scores by the American College of Testing by use of a statistical formula designed to make scores comparable from exam to exam.

 

2.         Scoring-Essay:  Essay questions may vary in the number of points each is worth.  Questions, however, are subjected to a formula, which equates them.  Therefore, no one essay question carries more weight, or is more important, than another.

 

3.         Scoring-Performance Test:  The performance test will be scored as are the essay questions.  Scores will be formulated so that the performance test score equals approximately 40% of the total combined essay/PT score (one PT question is worth the same as about three essays).

 

4.         After essays and the PT have been graded and equated, the individual point totals are then added to arrive at a raw total.  Next, the raw score total is converted to a corresponding score on a two hundred point scoring range and scaled to the MBE.  It is then added to the MBE scale score to arrive at a total bar exam scale score.

 

5.         After the total bar exam scale score has been calculated, persons whose scores fall within a specified range of the pass line will have their essay and PT answers regraded.  This is to help assure that persons close to the pass line have been fairly and correctly assessed.  After this regrade, the scores from the two gradings will be averaged and rounded up to the next whole number.   Essay and PT scores will then be added, formulated and totaled with the scale MBE score in the manner previously described.  This will be the final bar exam scale score for those persons falling within this "reassessment" category.

 

6.         Review for Failing Examinees:  If the bar examination is failed by three or fewer points (a score of 273, 274 or 275 total points is achieved), the examinee may request that some of his/her answers be regraded.  Also, persons scoring 276 or above on the first grading, but who did not achieve a passing score after regrade may request that some of his/her answers be regraded. This review is initiated by the examinee filing a petition with this office in accordance with deadlines and procedures, which will be announced with the exam results.

 

Copies of past essay and performance test questions along with discussions and ungraded scoresheets for these questions are available by written request from the Colorado Board of Law Examiners. Include payment of  $10.

 

Copies of sample questions for the Multistate Bar Examination may be ordered from the National Conference of Bar Examiners, 402 W. Wilson Street, Madison, WI 53703-3614, telephone: (608) 280-8550.

 

NOTICE: Certain aspects of Colorado civil procedure and the law of domestic relations may be tested on the Colorado Bar Examination.  Questions may be based on the following specific areas within those two subjects.

 

A.       Civil Procedure

 

1.     The jurisdictional requirements and limits for Colorado’s small claims court, county court, and district court.

2.     Colorado’s venue provisions.

3.     Colorado’s pre-trial disclosure and case preparation procedures, to the extent they are different from their federal equivalent. 

4.     The fact pattern of all civil procedure questions will be set in Colorado courts, either state or federal.

 

B.    Domestic Relations

 

1.     The validity of common law marriages.

2.     Recognition that Colorado has a single, “no-fault” divorce standard.

3.     The availability and role of a “guardian ad litem” or “child’s legal representative” in Colorado.

4.     Familiarity with Colorado’s statutory concepts such as parenting time as opposed to visitation, spousal maintenance versus alimony, the allocation of parental responsibilities, and the requirements of a parenting plan.

5.     Colorado statutory provisions regarding the separation of property, and, especially, the difference between standards of a “fair and equitable” division versus an “equal” division.

6.     Colorado laws which make it a felony for a non-custodial parent to take a child from the authorized custodial parent.

7.     Colorado’s statutory provisions regarding automatic restraining orders designed to preserve the status quo.

8.     Recognition of the existence of detailed statutory tables in Colorado, which aid in the calculation of child support.

9.     Recognition of the unique provision of higher education as it relates to child support.