Skip to Main Content

Bar Exam Resources

The NextGen Uniform Bar Exam

 Coming to New York in July 2028!

The NextGen Uniform Bar Examination (NextGen UBE) is currently under development. It will first be administered in a limited number of jurisdictions in July 2026.

 

Map of United States showing jurisdictions that have adopted the NextGen Bar Exam (shaded in blue)

July 2026:

Connecticut, Guam, Idaho, Maryland, Missouri, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Palau, Virgin Islands, Washington

July 2027:

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

February 2028:

Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois

July 2028:

Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Virginia

Date TBD:

Mississippi

A chart showing additional adoption information is available in the Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements. 

NextGen UBE logo. UBE stands for Uniform Bar Examination. Logo is in two shades of blue and includes a circle with a checkmark inside it. Set to debut in a limited number of US jurisdictions in July 2026, the NextGen UBE will test a broad range of foundational lawyering skills, utilizing a focused set of clearly identified fundamental legal concepts and principles needed in today’s practice of law. Designed to balance the skills and knowledge needed in litigation and transactional legal practice, the exam will reflect many of the key changes that law schools are making today, building on the successes of clinical legal education programs, alternative dispute resolution programs, and legal writing and analysis programs.

  • Foundational concepts and principles: business associations, civil procedure, constitutional law, contract law, criminal law, evidence, real property, torts
    • Family Law: From July 2026 through February 2028, family law concepts will appear on every NextGen exam in a performance task and may also be included in integrated question sets. During this period, family law concepts will be tested with the provision of legal resources. Starting in July 2028, family law will be included in the foundational concepts and principles tested on the NextGen UBE and will be tested in the same manner as the other foundational concepts and principles.
    • Trusts and Estates: From July 2026 through at least February 2028, trusts and estates concepts will appear on every NextGen exam in a performance task and may also be included in integrated question sets. During this period, trusts and estates concepts will be tested with the provision of legal resources.
  • Foundational lawyering skills: legal research, legal writing, issue spotting and analysis, investigation and evaluation, client counseling and advising, negotiation and dispute resolution, client relationship and management

The NextGen UBE will be administered over one and a half days, with two three-hour sessions on day one and one three-hour session on day two.

The exam will be taken on examinees’ own laptops at in-person, proctored testing locations. As with the current Uniform Bar Exam, examinees may transfer their NextGen UBE scores between jurisdictions that participate in the UBE portability program.