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Results - February 2025 Exam

February 2025 Results

The February 2025 Virginia Bar Exam results will be released April 25, 2025.

EXAM RESULTS

Notification of Results

After all exams have been graded and results tabulated, each applicant will be notified by email whether or not they passed the exam. No results will be given over the telephone. Exam results will be sent to the email address indicated on your exam Place Card. If there are any subsequent changes to your email address, you must notify the Office of the Secretary of the Virginia Board of Bar Examiners in writing as soon as possible using the Change of Address Form available here. If you do not see your exam results email, please check your junk/spam folders before contacting our office.

If you pass the exam and are licensed, time-sensitive admission ceremony and Virginia State Bar registration information will be provided with your results email.

Posting of Results

Names of the passing applicants will be posted in alphabetical order on the Board's website at barexam.virginia.gov/bar/barresults.html. Applicants, their families, friends and employers should not call the Office of the Secretary of the Virginia Board of Bar Examiners inquiring about when results will be released. No information will be given out over the telephone, and calls of this nature only impede the processing of the scores.

Name Changes

A certified copy of a marriage license or a name change order must accompany all requests for a name change. Click here to download the Name Change Form. Please note: No name changes will be made 2 weeks before the exam or 2 weeks before results are released.

Wall Certificates

A wall certificate suitable for framing will be mailed to those applicants licensed by the Board. These certificates are each done by hand and will take approximately six (6) months to complete. You must maintain a current mailing address with our office during that time. Change of Address forms are available here.

Procedures for Determining Scores for Option 1 Applicants

The Virginia Bar Exam consists of 9 essay questions and 10 multiple choice questions on Tuesday, and the MBE on Wednesday.

Essay Score: Each essay answer is graded on a 10-point scale, and each of the 10 multiple choice questions is graded right or wrong. Each correct multiple choice question is worth 1 point. Thus, the maximum essay "raw" score is 100 points: (10 points x 9 essay questions) + (1 point x 10 multiple choice questions).

MBE Score: The MBE consists of 200 multiple choice questions. Because questions at one administration of the MBE might be more or less difficult than those at another administration, the MBE score is scaled for each administration of the exam.

The Virginia Essay raw scores are converted to the same scale of measurement as that used to report the MBE scaled scores. As a result, the average essay scaled score in Virginia will be equal to the average MBE scaled score. This method is designed to permit the passing standard to remain as constant as possible from one exam to the next, so that an applicant is neither rewarded nor penalized for having taken one exam or another.

Minimum Passing Score: The score for Option 1 applicants will be based on both the Virginia Essay and the MBE. Both parts of the exam will be weighted and combined to determine if the applicant has achieved a minimum overall passing score of 140. Such weighting shall be made by combining 60% of the Virginia Essay exam scaled score and 40% of the MBE scaled score. Accordingly,

Total Scaled Score/CWT = (.60 x VA Essay scaled score) + (.40 x a MBE scaled score)

Procedures for Determining Scores for Option 2A & 2B Applicants

The Virginia Bar Exam consists of 9 essay questions and 10 multiple choice questions on Tuesday.

Essay Score: Each essay answer is graded on a 10-point scale, and each of the 10 multiple choice questions is graded right or wrong. Each correct multiple choice question is worth 1 point. Thus, the maximum essay "raw" score is 100 points: (10 points x 9 essay questions) + (1 point x 10 multiple choice questions).

The Virginia Essay raw scores are converted to the same scale of measurement as that used to report the MBE scaled scores. As a result, the average essay scaled score in Virginia will be equal to the average MBE scaled score. This method is designed to permit the passing standard to remain as constant as possible from one exam to the next, so that an applicant is neither rewarded nor penalized for having taken one exam or another.

Minimum Passing Score: The score for Option 2A & 2B applicants will be based on the Virginia Essay and the previous MBE score the applicant elected to use/transfer. Both parts of the exam will be weighted and combined to determine if the applicant has achieved a minimum overall passing score of 140. Such weighting shall be made by combining 60% of the Virginia Essay exam scaled score and 40% of the MBE scaled score. Accordingly,

Total Scaled Score/CWT = (.60 x VA Essay scaled score) + (.40 x a previous MBE scaled score)

Procedures for Determining Scores for Option 3 Applicants

The Virginia Bar Exam consists of 9 essay questions and 10 multiple choice questions on Tuesday.

Essay Score: Each essay answer is graded on a 10-point scale, and each of the 10 multiple choice questions is graded right or wrong. Each correct multiple choice question is worth 1 point. Thus, the maximum essay "raw" score is 100 points: (10 points x 9 essay questions) + (1 point x 10 multiple choice questions).

Minimum Passing Score: The passing score for Option 3 will be based solely on the raw points awarded on the Virginia Essay exam. A minimum score of 64 raw points, out of a possible 100 raw points, is a passing score.

Regrade Policy For All Options

Prior to the release of the results, the Board regrades the Virginia Essay papers of those applicants whose initial score is near but below the minimum passing score. The Board may determine that the overall quality of an applicant's answers may adequately demonstrate minimum competence, resulting in that applicant achieving the minimum passing score. After the regrading, all scores are final and not appealable. All grading is done anonymously.