Maine
Overview
- Admitting Entity (Supreme Court, Mandatory Bar, etc.)
- Maine Supreme Judicial Court
- Entity Managing Admissions Process
- [State] Application Materials
- Are law students required to register with jurisdiction while in law school?
- No
- If UBE, is there a Jurisdiction Component?
- No
- Multistate Bar Exam?
- Yes
- Multistate Essay Exam?
- Yes
- Is exam jurisdiction-drafted?
- No
- Multistate Performance Test?
- Yes
- Does the jurisdiction provide information on day of testing procedures?
Information is provided.
- What are the restroom use rules of the admitting entity?
Restrooms will be identified by posted signs. Applicants using the restroom must sign out an in in a log. No more than two applicants may be out of the exam room at a time and must use separate restrooms. No applicant is allowed to leave the examination room in the last 15 minutes.
General
- Phone Number
- 207-623-2464
- Email Address
- Diploma Privilege
No
- Prelegal education requirements
Yes; must have graduated with a bachelor’s degree
- Legal education requirements
Yes; Rule 10 provides several different options, including graduating with a JD or a bachelor of laws from a law school that had received its provision or final accreditation from the ABA at the time of graduation.
- Registration requirements, if applicable.
N/A
- Registration fee, if applicable.
- N/A
- Limit on attempts?
- No limit
- Fee(s)
Applicants Never Admitted in Any Jurisdiction or Admitted in Another Jurisdiction for Less Than One Year: $800; Applicants Admitted in Another Jurisdiction for One Year or More: $900 (plus NCBE Character and Fitness Application)
- Are laptops allowed/required?
- Yes - laptops can be used on the essay portion of the exam
- Laptop fee?
- Regular registration - $145; late registration - $195; manual registration - $290
- Is courtesy seating allowed?
- The Maine Board of Bar Examiners voted to temporarily suspend courtesy seating for the February 2025 and July 2025 bar exams. The Board will review the suspension's impact and may elect to make the suspension permanent after the July 2025 exam administration
- Transfer fee?
- Applicants not admitted in another jurisdiction for one year or more: $900; Applicants admitted in another jurisdiction for a year or more: $1,000, plus a fee of $105-$550 depending upon NCBE application required. MBAR 6(a)(3).
- Day-of Testing Procedures
An applicant testing at a Pearson VUE testing center must present a government-issued primary ID and a secondary ID. The primary ID must include a first and last name, recent recognizable photo, and signature. The secondary ID must include at least a first and last name and signature or first and last name and recent recognizable photo. The first and last name used to register must match exactly both IDs presented on test day. Any name corrections must be submitted through the NCBE Account Dashboard at least 48 hours before the first day of the test administration. Before entering the test room, Pearson VUE will collect a digital photograph and digital signature to verify identity. The applicant must consent to the NCBE Candidate Rules Agreement, which in part requires that if the applicant uses the restroom during testing, they must use “the restroom that is closest to the testing room” and pat themselves down (arms, legs, waistline) when leaving and re-entering the testing room. Applicants must also pat themselves down before entering the test room for the first time.
- What security measures can applicants expect? Metal detectors? Bag search?
Applicants must present photo identification to be admitted to the exam each day. Acceptable forms of identification are 1) a passport, or 2) a current driver’s license or other government issued form of identification with a photograph.
Eligibility
- Admission by Exam
- Yes
- Admission by Transfer
- Yes
- Admission by Motion
- Yes
- UBE Exam?
- Yes. Maine intends to first administer the NextGen bar exam in July 2028.
- Minimum passing score?
- 270
- Can exam score be transferred?
- Yes
- Can only UBE scores be transferred?
- Yes
- Is there a time limit for accepting transferred scores?
- 3 years
- Is MPRE required?
- An MPRE is no longer required in order for an applicant to apply and sit for the Maine bar exam
- Minimum passing score
- 80
- Is there a time period in which the MPRE score must be earned?
- Within 15 years prior to the date on which the applicant is admitted
- MPRE fee
- $160
Requirements
- Application Name and Gender Identification
The MPRE application requires the first and last name to match exactly as listed on valid government-issued photo identification. If the applicant indicates they have been known by a different name, they must list the first name and last name or surname and does not have the option to explain the reason for the name change. The demographic information section asks, “[w]which of the following questions best represents your gender identity?” and provides the following options: “man,” “woman,” “non-binary,” “gender not listed here (please specify),” and “I prefer not to have my response used for research purposes.”
- What identifying documents do applicants need on test days and what name is required to be on that ID (as related to the name on the application for admission)?
Applicants must present photo identification to be admitted to the exam each day. Acceptable forms of identification are 1) your passport, or 2) a current driver’s license or other government issued form of identification with a photograph.
- Is there assigned seating? If so, how do applicants identify their seat (i.e. name, application number, etc.) If it is by name, which name will be listed?
Applicants have an assigned seat and must maintain at their seat a photo identification, an applicant number card, a seating card, and an NCBE number card.