Section 4 - Time and Place of ExaminationA.Regular Bar Examination. The Board shall conduct a bar examination twice each year on dates to be set by the Board in February and July for the purpose of examining the applicants for license to practice law. (Until further order by the Board, the examination shall be administered on Tuesday and Wednesday of the week containing the last Wednesday in February and July.) Each examination shall be administered over a period of two consecutive days. One day of the examination will be devoted to the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) prepared by the National Conference of Bar Examiners and one day of the examination will consist of essay-type questions and/or written performance tests prepared by or at the direction of the Board or through the services of the National Conference of Bar Examiners. Each applicant for admission under Rule IX at a particular administration of the Mississippi Bar Examination must take all portions of the essay and performance examination at that administration. Scores achieved on essay or performance-type questions at a previous administration may not be utilized or considered as part of an applicant's score on a subsequent administration.
B.Utilization of Previous MBE Scaled Score. An applicant who has taken the Multi-state Bar Examination (MBE) prepared by the National Conference of Bar Examiners, either in Mississippi or in another jurisdiction, within the immediately preceding 20-month period may elect to utilize the scaled score which he achieved on said previous administration of the MBE in lieu of retaking MBE during current Mississippi Bar Examination. Applicant's election to utilize MBE scaled score from a previous administration must be made in a written petition received by the Board not later than thirty (30) days before the Mississippi Bar Examination at which the applicant proposes to sit. Such petition shall state the date and place at which he took the MBE and the scaled score which he achieved. In the case of a request to utilize an MBE score from another administration of the MBE in a state other than Mississippi, the applicant must attach to his petition an authorization for the Board to obtain a certification of the MBE Scaled Score attained by the applicant from the Board of Bar Admissions (or equivalent agency) of the jurisdiction in which applicant sat for the subject MBE or from the National Conference of Bar Examiners. In the event that any change occurs in the procedure for preparation, grading or scaling of the MBE which, in the opinion of the Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions, renders impossible or inaccurate comparison of scaled scores between different administrations of the MBE, the Board may terminate or modify the utilization of previous MBE scores.C.Multi-state Professional Responsibility Examination. As a mandatory condition for admission to the Mississippi Bar by examination each applicant must achieve a scaled score of not less than 75 on the Multi-state Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) administered by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE). This score must be achieved on an administration of the MPRE within twenty-four (24) months before or within twelve (12) months after the date of administration of the Mississippi Bar Examination at which the applicant achieves a passing result. It shall be the responsibility of each applicant to register for and take the MPRE in the manner and at the time prescribed by the NCBE and to request that his scores be furnished by the NCBE to Mississippi Board of Bar Admissions. The MPRE may be taken before or after the administration of the Mississippi Bar Examination at which an applicant proposes to sit. However, applicants are strongly encouraged to take the MPRE before taking the Mississippi Bar Examination, since no applicant will receive a " certificate of eligibility for admission" until the Board receives the certification of the applicant's achieving the said minimum scaled score on the MPRE within the time period prescribed in this subpart.R. Gov. Admi. Miss. Bar. 4
Section 4A amended effective for Mississippi Bar Examinations administered in February 1992 and thereafter; Section 4B amended3/14/1995 effective from and after7/1/1995, but examinations administered February 1995 are to be scored according to existing rules and also by the rules in the3/14/1995 order; amended effective 4/24/1997. Section 4C was further amended 12/14/2000 to increase the required scaled score from 70 to 75 and require that it be achieved within a stated time span; amended effective 4/15/2004; amended 12/9/2004 to delete transitional provision; Section 4A amended effective 8/23/2011 for the Mississippi Bar examinations administered in February 2012 and thereafter.