NextGen Bar Exam: About the Exam Changes in 2026

The NextGen Uniform Bar Exam (NextGen UBE) officially launches in July 2026, marking the most significant change to bar licensure testing in decades. Developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), the NextGen Bar Exam is designed to better reflect real-world skills new layers need in practice. 

Unlike the current Uniform Bar Exam (UBE®), which places heavy emphasis on memorization, the NextGen UBE focuses on practical legal skills such as legal research, client counseling, legal writing, and issue analysis while still assessing foundational legal knowledge. 

This guide explains everything you need to know about the NextGen Bar Exam, including exam format, tested subjects, scoring, question types, participating jurisdictions, and how the new exam differs from the UBE.

NextGen Bar Exam: All About the New Exam

What is the Next Generation Bar Exam?

The NextGen UBE is the updated version of the UBE that will begin rolling out across participating jurisdictions in July 2026. Designed to reflect the realities of modern legal practice, the exam introduces new question formats and places greater emphasis on practical lawyering skills while continuing to assess foundational legal knowledge.

Video Workshop Series: Preparing for a New Bar Exam

In this video series, our Bar exam and law school experts discuss the latest news about the Bar exam changes.

Why is the Bar Exam Changing?

NextGen UBE’s goal is to provide a practical exam that focuses more on testing examinees’ skills and abilities than the UBE does. While testing legal knowledge is still a focus, the recalibration is a direct response to concerns and research that showed the UBE focused too heavily on pure memorization. 

NextGen Uniform Bar Exam’s Impact on Law School Curriculum

Many law schools have stuck with a heavily memorization-based doctrine to align with what’s tested on the UBE. There is a belief that all law schools will favor a more skills-based curriculum over time to better prepare students for the NextGen Uniform Bar exam.

When is the Transition to the NextGen Uniform Bar Exam?

The NextGen Uniform Bar exam will start being administered in July 2026. The final administration of the current Uniform Bar Exam will be in February 2028. The NCBE has announced a thorough rollout timeline between then and now, including when NextGen UBE resources will be available.

NextGen Uniform Bar Exam Rollout Timeline

• 2023 Bar Exam
  • New item type pilot testing
  • Publish content scope outlines
  • Begin assisting jurisdictions with changes
  • Begin operational field testing
  • Publish study guides featuring official sample items
• 2024 Bar Exam
  • Publish exam’s content and design specifics
  • Administer and analyze prototype NextGen Uniform Bar exam
• 2025 Bar Exam
  • Perform standard-setting exercise
  • Release recommended passing scores
• 2026: First Administration of the NextGen Uniform Bar exam in July
• 2028: Final Administration of the current UBE, and Family Law becomes a testable subject on the exam

Differences Between the Current and New Bar Exams

The NCBE believes that examinees will find the NextGen Uniform Bar exam more modern than the UBE due to changes to delivery, format, content, and duration. 

Delivery of the New NextGen Uniform Bar Exam

The NextGen Uniform Bar Exam will reduce the length of the bar exam from 12 hours to nine hours. The exam will be divided into three sessions of three hours each, administered over a day and a half. Each of the three exam sessions will consist of approximately 40 multiple-choice questions, one performance task, and two integrated question sets. 

Unlike the current UBE, the NextGen Uniform Bar Exam will be administered exclusively on a computer. The exam is designed to better reflect the way new attorneys work in practice by incorporating legal resources, fact patterns, and skills-based tasks into the testing experience. While the exam is shorter than the UBE, the NCBE has stated that the reduced testing time is intended to improve the testing experience rather than lower the exam’s difficulty. Examinees will still be expected to demonstrate both legal knowledge and practical lawyering skills throughout the exam. 

Integrated Format of the New NextGen Uniform Bar Exam

Currently, there are three separate components tested on the Uniform Bar Exam (the MBE®, MEE®, and MPT®). NextGen UBE will shift away from test components, electing to feature an integrated testing format.

NextGen Bar Exam Question Formats

The NextGen Uniform Bar Exam utilizes three distinct question categories to assess candidates. Standalone multiple-choice questions comprise nearly 50% of the testing time; while many resemble legacy MBE items, these updated versions may feature up to six options and multiple correct selections. Integrated item sets account for roughly one-third of the exam, presenting common fact patterns alongside legal resources or supplemental documentation. These sets employ a blend of short-answer and multiple-choice items, often focusing on dispute resolution, client counseling, or document drafting. Finally, the remaining quarter of the administration is dedicated to three extended writing assignments, which function similarly to the current MPT.

The NextGen Uniform Bar Exam will evaluate candidates using these three question categories:

1. Integrated question sets
2. Multiple-choice questions
3. Longer writing tasks

What’s Tested on the NextGen Uniform Bar Exam?

NextGen UBE’s goal of focusing more on skills and less on memorization is most apparent through the topics and principles that the new item types will test. Currently, the Uniform Bar Exam tests 14 separate subjects. The new exam will test just 8 subjects, but will now also test 7 foundational skills. The 7 skills are grouped into four broad skill areas.

NextGen Uniform Bar Exam Subjects

These 9 subjects, as well as select ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, will be tested on the NextGen Uniform Bar Exam:

1. Business Associations
2. Civil Procedure
3. Constitutional Law
4. Contract Law
5. Criminal Law
6. Evidence
7. Real Property
8. Torts
9. Family Law *

* Family law will be added as a testable subject on the NextGen Uniform Bar Exam as of July 2028

What Subjects Are Being Removed From the NextGen Bar Exam?

One of the biggest changes to the NextGen UBE is a reduction in the number of subjects tested. The current UBE includes several topics that will no longer appear as standalone subjects on the NextGen UBE.

Subjects that are being removed include:

• Conflict of Laws
• Trusts and Estates
• Secured Transactions
• Family Law (until July 2028)

In addition, some topics are being consolidated into broader subject areas. For example, concepts traditionally tested under Agency, Partnership, and Corporations are now covered within Business Associations. 

By narrowing the number of tested subjects, the NCBE has shifted greater attention toward the application of legal concepts within realistic scenarios rather than requiring examinees to study a wider range of doctrinal topics. 

NextGen Uniform Bar Exam Skill Areas

These are the 7 foundational skills, grouped into 4 broad skill areas, that will be tested on the NextGen Uniform Bar exam:

1. Issue spotting and analysis, investigation, and evaluation
2. Client counseling and advising, negotiation and dispute resolution, client relationship and management
3. Legal research
4. Legal writing and drafting

Nextgen Uniform Bar Exam: ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct

In addition to the core subject areas tested on the NextGen UBE, examinees will also be expected to demonstrate an understanding of select provisions of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct. Rather than appearing as a standalone subject, professional responsibility concepts may be incorporated throughout the exam’s multiple-choice questions, integrated question sets, and longer writing tasks. 

Candidates should be prepared to recognize and evaluate ethical issues that may arise in realistic legal scenarios, including matters related to attorney-client relationships, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, competence, communication, and other professional obligations. These issues may be presented alongside substantive legal questions, requiring examinees to apply both legal and ethical principles when analyzing a situation.

What is Staying the Same on the NextGen Uniform Bar Exam?

Amidst all of the changes to the Bar exam, much about the exam and testing process will remain the same. Most notably, the NextGen Uniform Bar’s annual testing schedule and scoring system will remain unchanged.

The NextGen Uniform Bar exam will still be administered…

• to law school graduates.
• twice per year.
• using a scaled scoring system.
• requiring the MPRE.

How Is the NexGen Bar Exam Scored?

While the format of the NextGen UBE differs significantly from the current UBE, jurisdictions will continue to establish their own passing scores. As with the current exam, scores will be reported on a scaled basis to support consistent scoring across administrations.

The NCBE has conducted extensive research and testing to ensure that the NextGen UBE maintains the same purpose as the current bar exam: assessing whether a candidate has demonstrated the minimum competency required for entry-level legal practice. Candidates should consult their jurisdiction’s board of bar examiners for information about passing score requirements and score transfer policies. 

Level of Difficulty: Is the New Bar Exam Easier or Harder?

If your preferred studying and testing style is memorization, then NextGen UBE’s shift away from memorization-based items may mean the new exam will be more difficult for you. However, memorization will still play a significant role in the new exam.

As per feedback and research, the NCBE does expect that most examinees will feel that the NextGen Uniform Bar exam is easier than the UBE. While the items’ level of difficulty is not actually decreasing, the shorter, computer-based, and skills-based exam should yield a much more natural testing experience for most.

The NextGen Uniform Bar Exam in Your State

As more information and specifics about the NextGen Uniform Bar exam are released, be sure to stay up-to-date so you best prepare for the Bar in your state. The first states and territories to officially adopt the NextGen Uniform Bar exam are:

• Maryland
• Missouri
• Oregon
• Wyoming
• Arizona
• Vermont
• Nebraska
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• New Mexico
• New York
• Utah
• Connecticut
• Colorado
• Minnesota
• Washington
• Guam
• Tennessee
• Illinois
• Oklahoma
• Florida
• Georgia
• Indiana
• North Dakota
• South Dakota
• West Virginia
• Alaska
• Virginia
• Mississippi

Jurisdictions to Begin Administering NextGen Bar Exam in July 2026:

• Connecticut
• Maryland
• Missouri
• Oregon
• Washington
• Guam
• Idaho
• U.S. Virgin Islands

Jurisdictions to Begin Administering NextGen Bar Exam in July 2027:

• Wyoming
• Arizona
• Kentucky
• Vermont
• Nebraska
• New Mexico
• Minnesota
• Tennessee
• Oklahoma
• North Dakota
• South Dakota
• West Virginia

Jurisdictions to Begin Administering NextGen Bar Exam in February 2028:

• Washington DC
• Delaware

Jurisdictions to Begin Administering NextGen Bar Exam in July 2028:

• Illinois
• Utah
• Kansas
• Colorado
• Florida
• Georgia
• Indiana
• Alaska
• Virginia
• New York
• Ohio
• Texas
• Massachusetts
• Rhode Island
• Alabama
• Pennsylvania
• New Hampshire
• Michigan
• New Jersey