The NextGen Uniform Bar ExaminationTM (NextGen UBE) overhauls the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE®) to better balance the skills and knowledge required in litigation and transactional legal practice. The update addresses concerns that the UBE focuses more on a candidate's ability to memorize doctrinal law than competently practice it. The NextGen UBE will debut in a limited number of states and jurisdictions in July 2026, then expand to others in 2027 and 2028.
NextGen UBE Content
The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE®) has shared content modifications in the NCBE's updated Bar Exam Content Scope, summarized below.
Foundational Concepts & Principles
The 8 NextGen UBE subjects have been labeled as Foundational Concepts & Principles. These subjects are not new, but rather an abbreviated and more relevant version of the 14 subjects currently appearing on the UBE. They include:
- Business Associations and Relationships
- Civil Procedure
- Constitutional Law
- Contracts
- Criminal Law and Constitutional Protections of Accused Persons
- Evidence
- Real Property
- Torts
Foundational Skills
The NextGen UBE assesses 4 Foundational Skills in the context of 1 or more Foundational Concepts and Principles, or other areas of doctrinal law. They're measured through a set of tasks defined in the NCBE's Bar Exam Content Scope. The Foundational Skills include the following.
- Group A: Issue Spotting and Analysis; Investigation and Evaluation
- Apply fundamental legal principles and legal reasoning to analyze given fact patterns.
- Group B: Client Counseling and Advising; Negotiation and Dispute Resolution; Client Relationship and Management
- Identify lawyering strategies within the lawyer-client relationship, based on the relevant rules and standards and consistent with a client's objectives, interests, and constraints.
- Group C: Legal Research
- Identify and implement effective legal research strategies, including preliminary issue-spotting, utilizing provided resources, developing and refining a theory of the case, and achieving closure on research questions.
- Group D: Legal Writing and Drafting
- Complete a legal writing or drafting task based on the relevant rules and standards and consistent with a client's objectives, interests, and constraints.
NextGen Bar Exam Testing Format
The NextGen UBE is administered over a 1.5-day period, consisting of two 3-hour sessions on day 1 and one 3-hour session on day 2. Jurisdictions have the option to include their own local law components on day 2. It is taken on examinees' own laptops at in-person, proctored testing locations using a secure online platform.
To better replicate the demands of real-world legal practice, the exam consists of standalone multiple-choice questions, integrated question sets, and performance tasks:
- Standalone multiple-choice questions account for 40% of the exam time. Each question has either 4 or 6 answer options. The questions with 4 options have 1 correct answer. The questions with 6 options have 2 correct answers. They will initially reflect Multistate Bar Examination (MBE®) questions before branching into new question types with future administrations.
- Integrated question sets account for 27% of the exam time. Each set is based on a common fact scenario and may include legal resources and/or documents. Expect a mix of multiple-choice, medium-answer, and short-answer questions. Some questions will focus on drafting or editing legal documents, or counseling and/or dispute resolution.
- Performance tasks account for 33% of the exam time. The drafting type tasks will be similar to Multistate Performance Test (MPT®) questions, which require you to use fundamental lawyering skills in realistic situations and complete tasks that a beginning lawyer should be able to accomplish. The research-type tasks are a combination of multiple-choice and short-answer questions, followed by a medium-length writing assignment.
The NCBE offers a NextGen UBE Tutorial to help you get familiar with the exam's software and question types.
NextGen Bar Exam Scoring
The NextGen UBE is scored on a scale from 500 to 750. While each jurisdiction establishes its own passing score within this range, the NCBE offers guidance on the recommended passing score range, with a mapped comparison to legacy UBE passing scores.
| Legacy UBE Passing Score Range | NextGen UBE Passing Score Range (Recommended) |
|---|---|
| 260 | 610 |
| 261 | 611 |
| 262 | 612 |
| 263 | 613 |
| 264 | 614 |
| 265 | 615 |
| 266 | 616 |
| 267 | 617 |
| 268 | 618 |
| 269 | 619 |
| 270 | 620 |
Source: NCBE
NextGen Bar Exam & UBE Similarities and Differences
While the NextGen bar exam will be markedly different from its predecessor, there are some notable similarities.
*Information regarding the NextGen bar exam is subject to change.
The most significant differences between the 2 bar exams are in content and item format. The UBE's current iteration consists of 14 subjects between the Multistate Essay Examination (MEE®) and MBE. In contrast, the NextGen bar exam will test 8 Foundational Concepts and Principles. The remaining subjects will not be as comprehensive.
It's important to recognize that you will be expected to have the law memorized for some of the topics within these subjects. For others, however, you will only need enough familiarity to be able to work with legal sources.
| Current UBE Subjects |
NextGen UBE Subjects |
|---|---|
| Business Associations | ✔ |
| Civil Procedure | ✔ |
| Conflict of Laws | |
| Constitutional Law | ✔ |
| Contracts | ✔ |
| Criminal Law/Procedure | ✔ |
| Evidence | ✔ |
| Family Law | |
| Real Property | ✔ |
| Secured Transactions | |
| Torts | ✔ |
| Trusts and Estates |
NextGen Bar Exam Implementation
The NextGen Uniform Bar Examination (NextGen UBE) will be administered for the first time in a limited number of jurisdictions in July 2026. Test dates are July 28-29, 2026, for the following states and territories: Connecticut, Guam, Idaho, Maryland, Missouri, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Palau, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington. In July 2027, 13 additional states will implement the NextGen UBE.
How Themis + UWorld Can Help
As soon as the NCBE announced plans for the NextGen bar exam, Themis and UWorld assembled a team of bar exam and educational experts to begin adapting, developing, and pilot testing skills-based content.
Themis Bar Review debuted the first bar exam course designed for online delivery. Themis was also the first to introduce segmented lectures and spaced-repetition technology, as well as the first to design separate study tracks to accommodate learning differences. Now we've adapted for the NextGen UBE.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Will states have a choice to implement the NextGen or the current bar exam?
Does the NCBE provide additional guidance for the new bar exam?
Yes, the NCBE has released a wealth of educational content and resources about the NextGen UBE.
When will the new bar exam start?
The NextGen UBE will be administered in select states and jurisdictions beginning in July 2026 before expanding to others in 2027 and 2028.
