NEXTGEN BAR EXAM PREP
New Bar Exam, Same Goal: Pass the First Time
With its new format and focus, the NextGen bar exam is a game-changer. Study with Kaplan and gain the knowledge, stamina, and confidence it takes to pass on exam day.
Exam Readiness
Handle the new exam format, content, and duration with confidence because you’re ready. As leaders in exam prep, we’ve broken down all aspects of the NextGen bar exam and adapted our prep course so you’re prepared to pass.
Realistic Practice
Build the legal knowledge and lawyering skills you’ll need to pass. Plus, simulate the exam day experience with timed practice tests and integrated question sets. You’ll know what to expect and how to succeed under pressure.
Innovative Support
Make your bar prep experience more efficient with our AI-powered resources and tools. They help you study efficiently, track your progress, and improve faster with immediate feedback that’s tailored to your needs.
Performance Mastery
Build confidence from the inside out. With our NextGen bar exam prep, you’ll learn to manage your time, think clearly in a high-stakes situation, and perform at your best when it matters the most.
Real-Time Assistance
Get instant, personalized feedback exactly when you need it. Our AI-powered tools help you rapidly improve your performance via short-answer questions, drafting exercises, and performance tasks. Each practice activity aligns directly with NextGen Bar Exam skills, ensuring your study time is targeted, efficient, and effective.
Personalized Learning Paths
Study smarter with a learning path that adjusts to your performance. Our adaptive technology shows you which legal concepts and skills you've mastered, and exactly where you need more practice. You’ll stay focused, productive, and fully aligned with the demands of the NextGen Bar Exam.
Scenario-Based Hypotheticals
Gain hands-on practice with a robust library of integrated question sets that replicate real-world scenarios. These exercises build essential skills like issue spotting, legal resource analysis, and response drafting, ensuring that you're fully prepared for your exam.
Performance Dashboard
With real-time insights, you’ll always know exactly how prepared you are for exam day. Our dashboard clearly highlights your progress on individual lawyering skills, readiness across subject areas, and overall confidence level—so you know precisely where to focus your efforts next.
Your NextGen Bar Exam Questions, Answered
Considering the NextGen Bar Exam? Find out everything you need to know, including the transition timeline, participating states, and what's changing.
Frequently Asked Questions/FAQs
What is the NextGen bar exam?
The NextGen bar exam is a new version of the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE®). The changes are in response to years of NCBE research and feedback from test-takers that the exam focused too much on memorization. While it still tests legal knowledge, this new version puts more emphasis on testing the practical skills that you’d use as a lawyer.
What is the difference between the NextGen bar exam and current bar exam?
The NextGen bar exam differs from the current exam in a number of ways:
Duration: The NextGen bar exam lasts 9 hours. That’s three hours shorter than the current exam. It will be administered over 1.5 days in three sessions that last 3 hours each.
Format: The current UBE exam is divided into three parts: the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE®), the Multistate Essay Examination (MEE®), and Multistate Performance Test (MPT®). The NextGen bar exam will instead feature an integrated testing format. Each session will include around 40 multiple-choice questions, one performance task, and two integrated question sets.
Question Types: The NextGen bar exam will include three broad categories of questions: multiple choice, integrated question sets, and writing tasks.
Almost half of the exam will be made up of multiple-choice questions. Many of them will be similar to the current MBE questions, but may have up to six answer choices and more than one correct answer.
One-third of the exam will consist of integrated questions sets. Each set will focus on a common fact scenario and may include supplemental references. The sets combine multiple-choice questions, short-answer questions, and lawyering skills such as editing legal documents, advising clients, and resolving disputes.
The last part of the exam includes three extended writing tasks, similar to the current MPT test.
Will the NextGen bar exam be easier?
Most test-takers will feel like the exam is easier, according to NCBE feedback and research. That’s because the NextGen bar exam focuses more on applying lawyering skills and places less emphasis on rote memorization. While the difficulty level of the exam questions will remain the same, the shorter, computer-based format likely results in a more natural test-taking experience. You can prepare for these changes and more with Kaplan's up-to-date prep, designed to ensure you're ready for the NextGen Bar Exam.
How long is the NextGen bar exam?
The NextGen bar exam will be only 9 hours, compared to 12 hours for the current exam. It will consist of three 3-hour sessions spread across 1.5 days.
Which states will adopt the NextGen bar exam?
Starting July 2026, eight jurisdictions will begin administering the NextGen bar exam: Connecticut, Guam, Idaho, Maryland, Missouri, Oregon, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington. The remaining jurisdictions will administer the exam over the following two years. See the latest rollout timeline for your jurisdiction.