The South Dakota Unified Judicial System is responsible for the bar exam. There is no local content on this bar examination.
The South Dakota bar exam, a 2-day exam, consists of
- the six-hour multiple-choice Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), weighted 50%;
- five 30-minute Multistate Essay Examination (MEE) questions, plus one 30-minute Indian Law question, weighted 25%; and
- two 90-minute Multistate Performance Test (MPT) problems, weighted 25%.
Applicants also must pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) with a scaled score of 75.
The following subjects may be tested on the South Dakota bar exam:
- business associations (agency, partnership, corporations, and LLCs)
- civil procedure
- conflict of laws
- constitutional law
- contracts, including UCC Article 2 sales
- criminal law and procedure
- evidence
- family law
- federal Indian law, including civil and criminal jurisdiction, the Indian Civil Rights Act, the Indian Child Welfare Act, and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
- real property, including real estate finance
- torts
- trusts and estates (wills)
- UCC Articles 1 (general provisions), 2 (sales), 3 (negotiable instruments), and 9 (secured transactions).