he Delaware Bar Examination will now be given twice a year, require fewer essays and a lower score to pass, officials from Delaware’s Supreme Court just announced.

Delaware’s bar exam is considered to be one of the most difficult in the nation because it has a higher passing score than other states, more potential test topics to study, and is the only one in the country offered just once a year.

Aspects of the three-day exam’s setup are of questionable value in measuring minimum competency to practice law and have contributed to a diversity problem in the state’s legal industry, according to a recent report by a Delaware Supreme Court Committee that recommended the new reforms. The goal of the report was to diversify the local legal industry.

Historically,  half the people that take the Delaware Bar fail.

The exam will now be offered in both July and, starting next year, in February.

The passing score will be lowered from 145 to 143.

The essay portion of the exam will require applicants to write four essays instead of eight and the areas of law that applicants could be tested on will be reduced from fourteen to ten.

The total application fee for those applying late to take the bar exam will be reduced from $1,400 to $900 for law school graduates and from $1,600 to $1,000 for attorneys already admitted elsewhere.

“The bar exam is not supposed to be a barrier to entering the profession but is supposed to be a test of an applicant’s ability to successfully practice law in Delaware,” said Delaware Supreme Court Justice Collins J. Seitz Jr. “I believe these reforms will help better reflect that purpose.”

The Diversity Committee recommended offering the exam twice as the current setup may disadvantage applicants who do not have the luxury of waiting one year to retake the exam and start their legal career.

Multiple elements of the Delaware Bar Exam are tied to the Uniform Bar Exam used by most other states. The state-centric essay portion is the section that is regarded as making the actual test more difficult than other states, according to the Committee’s report.

You can read more about these changes here .

If you are retaking the Delaware Bar Exam or the bar exam in any other state, we will give you a completely free score evaluation from our bar exam experts to show you what went wrong and exactly what you need to do to pass on the next try. We are dedicated to helping retaker students pass and urge you to contact us right away, as the sooner we speak, the sooner we can help you set up a game plan for success on the upcoming exam. Just submit your score report to us here or email us at [email protected].