This MPRE cheat sheet boils the National Conference of Bar Examiners' legal-ethics exam down to the Model Rules examiners test most, organized by NCBE subject weight. It's a premium cheat sheet built by Capital Prep — the one premium prep we trust — and it's yours free. Back it up with the rest of your free MPRE toolkit: the practice test, study guide, and flashcards.
MPRE exam at a glance
- Questions: 60 multiple-choice (50 scored + 10 unscored pretest)
- Time: 2 hours
- Score scale: Scaled score from 50 to 150; each jurisdiction sets its own passing score (commonly 75–86)
- Cost & administration: Registration fee set by NCBE (verify current amount at NCBE.org); delivered by computer at Pearson VUE, offered three times a year
What’s on the MPRE cheat sheet
- Conflicts of interest (12–18%) — the heaviest subject — current-client (1.7) and former-client (1.9) conflicts, imputation and screening (1.10), and the bright-line 1.8 rules.
- Litigation & advocacy (10–16%) — candor to the tribunal (3.3), fairness to opposing party (3.4), meritorious claims (3.1), and prosecutor duties (3.8).
- Client-lawyer relationship (10–16%) — forming and scoping representation, client-vs-lawyer authority (1.2), fees (1.5), and withdrawal (1.16).
- Confidentiality, competence & regulation (6–12% each) — the Rule 1.6 duty and its permissive exceptions, competence and malpractice (1.1, 1.3, 1.8(h)), and the disciplinary process (Rules 5.5, 8.1–8.5).
- Roles, safekeeping & judicial conduct (2–10%) — trust-account handling (1.15), advertising and solicitation (7.1–7.3), duties to the public (6.1), and the Model Code of Judicial Conduct.
How to use it in your final week
- Drill the confidentiality block first — Rule 1.6 shows up on nearly every form. Memorize that 1.6(b) exceptions are permissive ('may') and that death or bodily harm needs no future crime, while financial-harm exceptions require the client to have used your services.
- Front-load conflicts (12–18%, the heaviest subject). Lock in the 1.7 waiver test: reasonable-lawyer belief + a consentable conflict + informed consent confirmed in writing, plus what makes a conflict nonconsentable.
- Read the sheet the morning of the test for a final pass on trigger words — Rule 8.3 reporting requires a 'substantial question of honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness,' and Rule 3.3 candor overrides confidentiality.
- Pair each review pass with a short timed set — 60 questions in 2 hours is 2 minutes each — so your pacing and answer-elimination stay sharp under the clock.
The cheat sheet is your review layer — your MPRE practice test drives the exam-readiness ring at the top of this page. Download it, review, then take a full practice exam (or drill with the study guide and flashcards) to see where you stand.
MPRE cheat sheet FAQ
Yes — the MPRE cheat sheet downloads as a PDF with no sign-up and no payment. It's part of Career Employer's free MPRE toolkit alongside the practice test, study guide, and flashcards, so you can cram from one condensed page and then test yourself.
It compresses the heaviest-tested ABA Model Rules into a fast reference: the Rule 1.6 confidentiality duty and its permissive exceptions, the conflicts analysis under Rules 1.7 to 1.11, candor to the tribunal (Rule 3.3), fee rules, trust-account handling (Rule 1.15), and the judicial-conduct basics — organized by NCBE subject weight.
It shows the 50-to-150 scaled-score range and reminds you that there is no national passing score. Each jurisdiction sets its own required score, most commonly between 75 and 86, so the sheet points you to confirm your target jurisdiction's number at NCBE.org before you book.
No — the MPRE tests how the Model Rules apply to nuanced fact patterns, not rote recall, so the sheet is a review and final-week cram layer, not a substitute for timed practice. Use it to lock in the rules, then work full practice sets to sharpen how you eliminate close answer choices.
Click the download button or the preview card at the top of this page to open the PDF instantly. Bookmark the page so you can pull it up again the morning of your exam for one last high-yield pass.
References
- 1.National Conference of Bar Examiners. “MPRE — Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination.” NCBE.org, 2026. ↑
- 2.National Conference of Bar Examiners. “MPRE Subject Matter Outline.” NCBE.org, 2026. ↑
- 3.National Conference of Bar Examiners. “MPRE Scores.” NCBE.org, 2026. ↑
- 4.American Bar Association. “Model Rules of Professional Conduct — Table of Contents.” ABA, 2026. ↑
- 5.American Bar Association. “Model Code of Judicial Conduct — Table of Contents.” ABA, 2026. ↑
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