MEE Subjects for July 2026: What's Tested and What Got Dropped
The Multistate Essay Examination changed significantly for July 2026, and a lot of bar preppers are studying with outdated materials. The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) dropped four subjects from the MEE starting with the July 2026 administration, narrowing the tested subject list from fifteen to eleven. If you're prepping for the upcoming bar exam, this matters.
Here's the complete current list of MEE subjects, what got cut, and what the change means for your study plan.
The 11 MEE Subjects Tested in July 2026
The MEE now covers these eleven subjects:
- Business Associations: Agency
- Business Associations: Partnership
- Business Associations: Corporations
- Business Associations: Limited Liability Companies (LLCs)
- Civil Procedure
- Constitutional Law
- Contracts (including UCC Article 2 sales)
- Criminal Law and Procedure
- Evidence
- Real Property
- Torts
Each MEE administration consists of six 30-minute essays. Any of the eleven subjects above can show up, and essays often cross subjects (a single fact pattern testing both Agency and Torts, for example).
The 4 Subjects That Got Dropped
These subjects are no longer tested on the MEE as of July 2026:
- Conflict of Laws
- Family Law
- Trusts and Estates (Wills, Trusts, Estates)
- Secured Transactions (UCC Article 9)
If you're using study materials from before this change, you'll see significant content devoted to these subjects. That content is no longer relevant to the MEE. Some of these topics may still appear on state-specific portions of the bar exam in jurisdictions that test additional subjects beyond the UBE, but they're out of MEE scope nationwide.
Why the NCBE Made the Change
The NCBE has been streamlining the MEE in advance of the NextGen bar exam, which is rolling out in stages over the coming years. Trimming the subject list is part of a broader effort to focus on doctrines most relevant to early-career legal practice. Conflict of laws and secured transactions in particular were considered specialty areas that didn't reflect the foundational competencies the bar exam is meant to measure.
For July 2026 takers, the practical effect is clear: fewer subjects to study, but more depth expected on the ones that remain.
What This Means for Retakers
If you're a retaker who failed in 2024 or 2025, this change cuts both ways.
The good news: You don't need to relearn Conflict of Laws, Family Law, Trusts and Estates, or Secured Transactions. If those were weak subjects for you before, you can stop studying them entirely.
The bad news: Your old commercial bar prep materials are now partially obsolete. If you're reusing outlines, flashcards, or essay practice from a 2024 Themis or Barbri subscription, a meaningful chunk of that content is no longer relevant. Retakers who don't realize this often waste twenty to thirty hours studying material that won't be tested.
Action item: Audit your study materials before you start. Cut any practice essays, outline sections, or flashcards covering the four dropped subjects. Reallocate that time to depth on the eleven current subjects, especially the business associations group (Agency, Partnership, Corporations, LLCs), which many MBE-focused study plans underweight.
What This Means for First-Time Takers
If this is your first sit, you have a cleaner situation. Just make sure every resource you buy or use was updated for the July 2026 change. Specifically:
- Check the publication date of any printed materials
- Confirm with your bar prep course that their MEE content reflects the current subject list
- Be skeptical of free study guides on the internet, since many haven't been updated
The simplest test: if your MEE practice essays include a Family Law or Trusts and Estates fact pattern, the materials are out of date.
How the Change Affects Your Study Plan
With four fewer subjects, the math on study time looks different. Under the old fifteen-subject MEE, conventional advice was to spend roughly equal time on each subject in your initial review, then prioritize based on the score breakdown if you'd taken it before. With eleven subjects, you have more breathing room.
Here's a rough allocation framework for an eight-week MEE prep schedule:
- Tier 1 (heaviest tested historically): Civil Procedure, Evidence, Contracts, Torts. Spend the most time here.
- Tier 2: Constitutional Law, Real Property, Criminal Law and Procedure. Solid coverage required.
- Tier 3: Business Associations (Agency, Partnership, Corporations, LLCs). Don't shortchange these. They're tested less frequently than Tier 1 subjects but show up regularly enough that ignoring them is a serious mistake.
The most common retaker error is underweighting Tier 3. The MBE doesn't test any business associations subjects, so retakers who failed and then re-prepped using MBE-heavy tools often have real gaps here. We covered this in detail in The 4 MEE-Only Subjects That Tank Retakers.
What If You Already Bought Old Materials?
If you bought a bar prep course or supplemental materials before the change, contact the provider. Most major courses (Barbri, Themis, Kaplan) have updated their content. Some smaller providers and individual outline sellers haven't.
For your own benefit, mark or remove the dropped subject content so you don't accidentally study it during a tired evening. Wasted study time is the silent killer of retaker prep.
Frequency Patterns Within the 11 Current Subjects
Even within the eleven currently tested subjects, frequency varies. Civil Procedure and Evidence appear on nearly every administration. Contracts and Torts almost as often. Constitutional Law shows up regularly but with rotating focus areas. Business associations subjects rotate, with one or two showing up on a typical administration. For a deeper breakdown, see Most Frequently Tested MEE Subjects.
How BarReps Covers the Current MEE Scope
BarReps covers all 11 current MEE subjects. The platform includes 50 MEE-style essays across the full subject list, plus 1,700+ MBE practice questions, 1,450+ flashcards, and 70 subject outlines, all updated for the July 2026 changes. Pricing is $69.99 per month or $189.99 for 90 days of access as a one-time charge. The monthly plan includes a 7-day free trial.
If you're prepping for the July 2026 bar and want a budget-friendly supplement that reflects the current MEE scope, BarReps is built for exactly that use case.
Key Takeaways
- The MEE now tests 11 subjects, down from 15
- Conflict of Laws, Family Law, Trusts and Estates, and Secured Transactions are out
- Retakers using old materials should audit and trim before they start
- The four business associations subjects (Agency, Partnership, Corporations, LLCs) are easy to underweight and often hurt retakers
- Update your resources or confirm your provider has
Bar prep is hard enough without studying material that isn't on the test. Save yourself the time and start with the right scope.