What to Bring to the Massachusetts Bar Exam (July 2026)

If you're figuring out what to bring to the Massachusetts bar exam, the short answer is: less than you think, and exactly what the Board tells you to. Massachusetts gives the Uniform Bar Exam over two days, Tuesday July 28 and Wednesday July 29, 2026. Day 1 is the written portion (the MPT and the MEE). Day 2 is the MBE. The rules on items are strict and enforced at the door, so packing right the night before saves you a stressful morning. Here's the full checklist, broken down the way you'll actually use it.

The Official Massachusetts List: What You Must Bring

These are the non-negotiables. Forget one and you can be turned away or slowed down at check-in.

• A government-issued photo ID. This gets you in the door both days.
• Your printed seating-assignment notice. The Board emails this roughly one week before the exam. Print it. Your phone won't be allowed in the testing area, so a screenshot does you no good.
• Black ink pens (Tuesday). You supply your own for the written day. The Board does not provide them.
• Sharpened No. 2 pencils (Wednesday). Again, you bring these. The MBE is answered on paper, so pack several already sharpened, since sharpeners aren't allowed inside.
• Your laptop and its power cord (Tuesday only), if you registered to type. More on the software rules below.

Bring the pens and pencils even if you plan to type, because a technical problem on exam day means you handwrite with no extra time.

What Does Massachusetts Provide?

Some things you might instinctively pack are actually handed to you, and bringing your own version is against the rules.

• Scrap paper for the MEE and MPT sessions on Tuesday only. You may not bring your own, and none is allowed during the Wednesday MBE.
• Earplugs. The Board provides these. You cannot bring your own set.
• Menstrual products. Provided at the site, though you're also allowed to bring your own if you prefer.
• Answer books for handwriting.

So the picture for Day 1 is: you bring pens and a laptop, they give you scratch paper. For Day 2: you bring pencils, and you work entirely within the MBE materials.

What Can You Bring to the Massachusetts Bar Exam?

You're allowed one bag: a single one-gallon clear plastic zip bag. Inside it you can pack a lunch, your required items, and small personal items like keys and a wallet. Here's what else is permitted:

• A clear plastic water bottle with no labels, resealable, with a spill-proof lid. Opaque bottles (Stanleys, Yetis, Owalas) are out. Water fountains are available for refills, so peel any label off ahead of time.
• Your own menstrual products, if you'd rather not use the provided ones.
• A face mask. Recommended and permitted.
• Layers of clothing without a hood. The testing hall temperature can swing, so bring a layer you can add or remove.
• Medications. If you need to access medication during the exam, you're allowed to, and per the FAQ you do not need to complete the health-related conditions form for that.

If you need a lumbar support device or a similar arrangement, that requires prior approval through the Arrangements for Health-Related Conditions process, so handle that well before exam week.

What to Leave at Home

This list is long, and Massachusetts enforces it. Any items you bring, including coats and bags, may be searched, and prohibited items are confiscated. Leave these behind:

• Cell phones and any wireless device: personal electronics, activity trackers, smart glasses, anything with wireless internet. (The one exception is your laptop on Tuesday.)
• Watches, clocks, and timers of any kind. No analog exception. All of them are prohibited.
• All other bags: backpacks, briefcases, hand or tote bags, purses, luggage. Only the one clear zip bag is allowed.
• Notes, books, bar review materials, or study materials of any kind.
• Hats and hoods worn on the head (except religious or medical apparel) and outerwear.
• External battery packs for a phone or laptop. (A laptop power cord on Tuesday is fine.)
• Writing extras that seem harmless: mechanical pencils, highlighters, erasable ink, fountain or felt-tip pens, pencil cases, pencil sharpeners, sticky notes or flags, and correction fluid or tape like White Out.
• Noisy footwear or jewelry, noisy keyboards or mice, e-cigarettes, vaping devices, smokeless tobacco, and weapons of any kind.

In the room, laptop users may only access Examplify. No internet, email, notes, or other programs. Computers stay in the exam room during lunch. There's a designated bag storage area at the test site, but you won't be able to reach stored bags during the test day, and bags left elsewhere at the site get confiscated.

Laptop and Software

Massachusetts uses ExamSoft's Examplify. Typing is allowed only for the Tuesday written portion (MEE and MPT). The Wednesday MBE is on paper.

A few things you have to get right ahead of time:

• Register to type by submitting the Laptop Registration and Compliance Form with your bar petition.
• Install the bar-exam version of Examplify, not any law-school version you already have. Uninstall the old one first.
• Complete the mandatory mock exam. About six weeks before the exam, ExamSoft emails download and registration instructions (from laptop@bbe.state.ma.us). By the deadline you must download and install Examplify, register your account, and finish the mock. Miss it and you may lose the ability to type.

The exact registration window and mock-exam deadline aren't published as fixed calendar dates. Per the most recent official notice, confirm on your admission ticket and on the Board's ExamSoft page, since those dates are posted there and sent by email. Gaming, backlit, or noisy keyboards aren't permitted, and Bluetooth or wireless devices may be incompatible. If you plan to use any external equipment beyond a standard mouse or keyboard, you'll need a Computer Equipment Request Form and Board approval.

What Should You Wear?

There's no formal dress code, so comfort wins. The one real guidance: wear layers without a hood, because the testing hall temperature may fluctuate and you want to adjust without breaking focus. Hats and hoods on your head are prohibited (religious or medical apparel excepted), and outerwear isn't allowed in the room, so plan a middle layer you can leave on. Skip noisy footwear and jangly jewelry. A face mask is fine if you want one.

Key Deadlines and Report Times

Session times run approximately (all Eastern): Tuesday runs the MPT from 9:30 to 12:30 and the MEE from 2:00 to 5:00. Wednesday runs the MBE, questions 1-100 from 9:30 to 12:30 and 101-200 from 2:00 to 5:00.

The actual "doors open" and check-in times aren't published in advance. Per the most recent official notice, confirm on your admission ticket, since the Board says detailed scheduling is communicated closer to the exam. Your seating-assignment notice arrives by email about a week out, and you'll need to print it. For the fine print and any updates, check the official Massachusetts Board of Bar Examiners exam-day page. For a broader version of this list, here's the general exam day checklist.

One last thing for the final week: keep your essay writing sharp. The essay portion rewards tight, well-organized answers, and the fastest way to improve is timed practice with real feedback. You can paste a practice essay into BarScore, get a score plus detailed feedback in seconds, and use essays from whatever prep course you're studying with. The free trial lets you see where your writing stands before Day 1. It won't tell you what to pack, but BarScore will tell you where your essays need work.