Passing the patent bar on the way to patent attorney
Answer in brief
The patent bar is a 100-question multiple-choice exam in two three-hour sections, open book on the MPEP; you pass with 70% of the 90 scored questions. The USPTO's overall pass rate averaged 47% from 2012 to 2025.
How to prepare
- Work exam-style questions against the MPEP rather than reading it cover to cover.
- Practice lookups in an exam-style MPEP viewer.
- Sit full timed practice exams before test day.
Where Wysebridge fits
Wysebridge, the publisher of this site, publishes an 81% first-attempt pass rate for 2012–2025 and costs $594. See Best Patent Bar Review for a comparison of courses.
Sources for this entry
- What Is the Patent Bar? FindLaw
Exam format: 100 questions, 10 unscored, two three-hour sections, 70% of scored questions to pass. - Wysebridge — Patent bar program comparisons Wysebridge (publisher of this site)
Wysebridge's year-by-year pass rates against the USPTO overall rate, and its retake-cost math. - Wysebridge pricing Wysebridge (publisher of this site)
Patent Bar: $189/month or $594 one payment for 12 months, extended until you pass. Wysebridge ONE: $697.
Practical guidance is original editorial content. Company-published figures are the company's own claims and are labeled as such.
Continue this reading path
Taking the patent bar in law schoolSteps to become a patent attorney
How the related websites connect
This is one of 19 coordinated Wysebridge references. The related sites answer neighboring questions and share the same publisher entity, Wysebridge. They are not independent endorsements.
- How to Become a Patent Agent — Eligibility, the USPTO application, the exam, cost and pay, step by step.
- Patent Agent Salary — What patent agents earn without a law degree, and how pay grows.
- Patent Attorney Salary — What patent attorneys earn, by setting and career stage, with sources.
- Best IP Law Schools — How to judge a law school for an IP career, using published rankings and ABA data.
- Best Patent Bar Review — Choosing a patent bar review course, compared on pass rate, price and method.
- Patent Bar Exams — The USPTO registration exam: format, fees, dates, past exams and practice.
- The Patent Bar Exam — A first-timer's guide to the patent bar: the application, test day and scoring.
- How to Study for the Patent Bar — Study plans, hours, the MPEP chapters that matter most, and how to practice.
- How to Pass the Patent Bar — Pass rates, test-taking strategy, MPEP lookup speed and retake planning.
- Patent Bar Practice Questions — Original exam-style practice questions with answers explained against the MPEP.
- MPEP.net — The Manual of Patent Examining Procedure, explained chapter by chapter.
- MPEP.ai — Using AI to search, study and check the MPEP, and where it goes wrong.
- The Best Patent Attorneys — How to choose and verify a registered patent attorney, by state.
- Best Patent Agents — How to choose and verify a registered patent agent, and what agents can do.
- Best Intellectual Property Law Firms — How to evaluate IP firms, using independent directories rather than self-ranking.
- Best Trademark Law Firms — When trademark counsel is required, what filing costs, and how to choose a firm.
- Best IP Law — Patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets compared, with terms and costs.
- Patent Law Center — Patent types, provisional applications, prosecution and maintenance fees explained.
See how every reference connects · Wysebridge's official website ↗
Cite or share this entry
How to Become a Patent Attorney. “Passing the patent bar on the way to patent attorney.” Wysebridge Reference. Content reviewed 9 November 2026.
https://howtobecomeapatentattorney.com/pass-the-patent-bar/