The Delaware bar exam is a two-day test given each February and July, and every applicant must pass it, complete a 12-week Delaware clerkship, achieve a qualifying MPRE score, and clear a character and fitness review before being admitted. Delaware does not offer reciprocity or admission by motion, so a 30-year attorney from another state faces the same requirements as a new law graduate. The Board of Bar Examiners of the Delaware Supreme Court administers the entire process.
Who Qualifies to Sit
You need a Juris Doctor from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association. No work experience, foreign degree, or prior licensure substitutes for the ABA-accredited JD. Delaware Supreme Court Rule 52 sets that baseline, along with the additional requirements that make Delaware one of the more demanding jurisdictions to enter.1Delaware Courts. Board of Bar Examiners
Attorneys already licensed elsewhere get no shortcut. There is no waive-in, no motion practice admission, and no reciprocity with other states. The only acknowledgment of prior licensure is a slightly higher application fee.
Delaware’s 12-Week Clerkship
Every applicant must complete a 12-week, full-time clerkship supervised by a qualifying member of the Delaware bar, called a preceptor.2Delaware Courts. Clerkship Requirements The weeks don’t have to run consecutively, but each must total 40 hours, and the clerkship has to take place after you started law school.1Delaware Courts. Board of Bar Examiners
The clerkship follows a prescribed checklist. You observe proceedings in Delaware courts, including the Court of Chancery and Superior Court, review filings, and work through practical assignments under your preceptor’s direct supervision. The preceptor certifies satisfactory completion of every checklist item before the Board will clear you for admission.
This is the requirement that trips up experienced out-of-state lawyers. You have to find a Delaware preceptor and log the hours, no matter how long you’ve practiced. Both the clerkship certificate and the preceptor’s final certification must reach the Board by cycle-specific deadlines, so planning ahead matters.
Application Deadlines and Fees
The February 2026 exam runs February 24–25, and the July 2026 exam runs July 28–29.1Delaware Courts. Board of Bar Examiners Applications go through the Board’s online portal and include the Petition for Admission plus an extensive character and fitness questionnaire.
For the July 2026 exam, the deadlines and fees are:
- Early filing deadline of April 1, 2026: $700 for law school graduates, $800 for attorneys admitted in another jurisdiction.
- Final filing deadline of May 5, 2026: $900 for law school graduates, $1,000 for attorneys.
Missing the early date adds $200. No applications are accepted after the final deadline.3Delaware Courts. Board of Bar Examiners of the Supreme Court of Delaware February exam deadlines follow the same pattern, generally falling in early November (early) and early December (final) of the preceding year.1Delaware Courts. Board of Bar Examiners After you file, the Board confirms receipt and does an initial completeness review; if anything is missing, you’ll get a notice to supplement.
Character and Fitness Review
The character and fitness questionnaire calls for full disclosure of your background: criminal history, credit problems, school or licensing board discipline, and anything else that could bear on fitness to practice.4Delaware Courts. Board of Bar Examiners – Character and Fitness Guidelines You’ll also list professional and personal references who can speak to your integrity.
Fingerprints go through both state and federal criminal databases.5Delaware Courts. Board of Bar Examiners If you’re already licensed, you must submit certificates of good standing from every jurisdiction where you hold or have held a license. Board investigators dig, and incomplete or evasive answers cause more trouble than the underlying issue would have. Disclose fully.
What’s on the Exam
The exam runs two days and combines national standardized components with Delaware-specific essays. The 2026 sittings use the traditional format; Delaware has adopted the NextGen Uniform Bar Examination but won’t begin administering it until February 2028.6National Conference of Bar Examiners. NextGen UBE Decisions by Jurisdiction
Day One: Delaware Essays and the MPT
Day one is Delaware-drafted essays and the Multistate Performance Test. Essay subjects are drawn from a list the Board publishes each year:
- Business entities (Delaware corporations, LLCs, and limited partnerships)
- Civil procedure in Delaware state and federal courts
- Constitutional law
- Contracts
- Criminal law and procedure
- Equity
- Evidence
- Property
- Torts
- Wills and trusts
Business entities and equity carry heavy weight, a reflection of Delaware’s corporate docket and the Court of Chancery. The MPT hands you a simulated client file and a library of authorities and asks you to produce a practical document, usually a memo or a brief.
Day Two: The Multistate Bar Examination
Day two is the MBE, 200 multiple-choice questions covering civil procedure, constitutional law, contracts, criminal law and procedure, evidence, real property, and torts. It’s the same test given in most U.S. jurisdictions, and your MBE result combines with the essays and MPT to produce a single scaled score.
The MPRE
Separate from the two-day exam, you need a scaled score of at least 85 on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination. The MPRE runs multiple times a year at independent testing centers. Delaware accepts a passing MPRE score taken no earlier than January 1 of the calendar year four years before, and no later than December 31 of the year after, you pass the bar exam.1Delaware Courts. Board of Bar Examiners
The Board sets a submission deadline within each admission cycle. For February 2026 exam takers, the MPRE score must reach the Board by June 1, 2026. Miss that and your admission stalls even if you passed the bar exam.
Passing Score and Recent Pass Rates
The Board combines all components into one scaled score, and passing takes roughly 143. Results come out about two to three months after the exam. February 2026 results are scheduled for April 23, 2026, and July results have historically landed in mid-to-late October.7Delaware Courts. Bar Exam Results
Recent numbers show what you’re up against. The July 2025 exam passed 72.43% overall, with first-time takers at 81.46% and repeaters at 27.78%. July 2024 came in at 67.33% overall and 75.15% for first-timers.7Delaware Courts. Bar Exam Results The drop-off for repeat takers is steep. Odds get worse, not better, with each subsequent attempt.
From Passing to Sworn In
Passing the exam doesn’t make you a Delaware lawyer on its own. The Board on Character and Fitness has to finish its review and confirm nothing new has surfaced. You need the clerkship checklist done, the preceptor’s final certificate submitted, and a qualifying MPRE score on file.
Once you’re cleared, you attend a mandatory Pre-Admission Conference for roll signing and photographs.1Delaware Courts. Board of Bar Examiners The formal admission ceremony follows, presided over by the Delaware Supreme Court, where you take the oath of office and are enrolled as a member of the bar.
Planning Around the 2028 NextGen Switch
If you’re sitting in 2026 or 2027, prepare for the traditional format described above. Delaware begins administering the NextGen Uniform Bar Examination in February 2028.6National Conference of Bar Examiners. NextGen UBE Decisions by Jurisdiction The NextGen replaces the MBE, essay, and MPT combination with multiple-choice questions, integrated question sets, and performance tasks, reported on a 500–750 scale with each jurisdiction setting its own cut score.8National Conference of Bar Examiners. NextGen Bar Exam Anyone targeting 2028 or later should watch the Board’s site for study, scoring, and possible clerkship-timing changes as the transition approaches.