Since 2011, U.S. jurisdictions have used the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE®) to evaluate competency to practice law. Starting July 2026, 10 jurisdictions transition to the NextGen Uniform Bar Examination™ (NextGen UBE).
The remaining jurisdictions continue with the Legacy UBE through their announced NextGen transition date, with the final Legacy UBE administration scheduled for February 2028. Each jurisdiction sets its own minimum passing score on its current exam format. Review the requirements for the jurisdiction where you plan to apply or transfer your score.
What’s the Difference Between NextGen UBE and Legacy UBE Scoring?
NextGen UBE scores are reported on a 500-750 scale, whereas Legacy UBE scores are reported on a 400-point scale. The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE®) has established a concordance between the 2 with 610 on the NextGen scale maps to 260 on the Legacy scale, and 620 on the NextGen scale maps to 270 on the Legacy scale. The standard of minimum competence is the same; only the scale has changed.
Each jurisdiction sets its own minimum passing score within the NCBE’s recommended range of 610 to 620 for NextGen, or 260 to 270 for Legacy.
NextGen UBE Minimum Passing Scores by State
The NextGen UBE launches in July 2026 in 10 jurisdictions and rolls out to other jurisdictions through July 2028. Many jurisdictions have already published their NextGen UBE passing scores, including states that won’t administer the exam until 2027 or 2028. The table below shows announced NextGen passing scores across all adopting jurisdictions.
| Minimum Passing NextGen UBE Score | Jurisdiction (First NextGen Administration) |
|---|---|
| 610 | Iowa (July 2027), Missouri (July 2026), Washington (July 2026) |
| 612 | Guam (July 2026), Palau (July 2026) |
| 614 | Indiana (July 2028) |
| 615 | Northern Mariana Islands (July 2026), Oregon (July 2026 only*) |
| 616 | Connecticut (July 2026), District of Columbia (February 2028), Idaho (July 2026), Kentucky (July 2027), Maryland (July 2026), U.S. Virgin Islands (July 2026) |
| 620 | Maine (July 2028), Nebraska (July 2027), New Hampshire (July 2028), North Carolina (July 2028), Ohio (July 2028), Oregon (after July 2026)*, Pennsylvania (July 2028), Vermont (July 2027) |
| To be announced | Alabama (July 2028), Alaska (July 2028), Arizona (July 2027), Colorado (July 2028), Delaware (February 2028), Florida (July 2028), Georgia (July 2028), Hawaii (July 2028), Illinois (February 2028), Kansas (July 2028), Massachusetts (July 2028), Michigan (July 2028), Minnesota (July 2027), Mississippi (date TBA), New Jersey (July 2028), New Mexico (July 2027), New York (July 2028), North Dakota (July 2027), Oklahoma (July 2027), Rhode Island (July 2028), South Carolina (July 2028), South Dakota (July 2027), Tennessee (July 2027), Texas (July 2028), Utah (July 2028), Virginia (July 2028), West Virginia (July 2027), Wisconsin (July 2028), Wyoming (July 2027) |
*For Oregon, the pass score for the July 2026 NextGen UBE administration is 615; subsequent administrations will have the pass score set to 620. Visit the NCBE NextGen UBE Decisions by Jurisdiction page for the most current jurisdiction-specific announcements. The NCBE updates this page on a rolling basis as additional jurisdictions publish their NextGen passing scores.
Legacy UBE Minimum Passing Scores by State
The jurisdictions in the table below currently administer the Legacy UBE, composed of the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE®), Multistate Essay Examination (MEE®), and Multistate Performance Test (MPT®). Legacy UBE minimum passing scores range from 260 to 270 on the 400-point scale. Most of these jurisdictions have announced a NextGen UBE transition date between July 2027 and July 2028. The final Legacy UBE administration will be February 2028.
| Minimum Passing UBE Score | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|
| 260 | Alabama, Iowa*, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah |
| 264 | Indiana |
| 266 | Connecticut, District of Columbia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Washington, U.S. Virgin Islands |
| 268 | Michigan |
| 270 | Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming |
*Iowa lowered its Legacy UBE passing score from 266 to 260 starting with the July 2026 administration. Pre-July 2026 Iowa scores require 266 for admission via transfer. Arkansas and Montana have not announced their adoption of NextGen UBE. They will continue administering the Legacy UBE through the February 2028 Legacy UBE sunset, with future bar admission paths to be announced by each jurisdiction.
How Bar Exam Scoring Works
Both the NextGen UBE and the Legacy UBE use scaled scoring to ensure that scores across exam administrations are comparable. The 2 exams differ in their components, weighting, and total scale.
Scaled Scoring Explained
The total number of points a candidate earns based on correct answers is the raw score. The exam versions vary in difficulty; NCBE uses a process called equating to adjust scores accordingly. The adjustment produces a scaled score that fairly reflects performance across exam versions. If Jack takes a slightly harder version in July and answers 135 questions correctly, his score may be scaled up to account for the higher difficulty. If Jill takes an easier version in February and answers 135 questions correctly, her score may be scaled down.
NextGen UBE Scoring
The NextGen UBE is administered over 1.5 days in three 3-hour sections: 2 on Day 1 (Tuesday) and 1 on Day 2 (Wednesday). The exam is fully computer-based, delivered through NCBE’s secure testing browser on the candidate’s own laptop. Scores are reported on a 500-750 scale.
Components and their weightage:
- Standalone Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs): 49% of the total score
- Integrated question sets: 21% of the total score
- Performance tasks: 30% of the total score
The exam contains 120 standalone MCQs (40 per section), 6 integrated question sets (2 per section), and 3 performance tasks (1 per section). Some questions are pretest items that do not count toward the score: 20 of the 120 multiple-choice questions and 1 of the 6 integrated question sets are pretest items.
Grading Process
Multiple-choice questions are graded centrally by NCBE. Integrated question sets and performance tasks (written responses) are graded by jurisdiction-appointed graders using uniform NCBE-provided rubrics. Jurisdiction graders assess only the written responses from candidates within their own jurisdiction. NCBE performs all scaling and equating, then reports final scores to jurisdictions, which release them to candidates. Equating ensures that a NextGen UBE score earned in any jurisdiction and any administration has the same meaning as any other NextGen score, regardless of when or where the candidate sat.
How the Legacy UBE Is Scored
The Legacy UBE is administered over 2 days, totaling 12 hours, and consists of 3 components. NCBE administers and scores the MBE, and jurisdictions grade the MEE and MPT using NCBE-provided scaling.
Components and their weightage:
- MBE: 50% of the total score
- MEE: 30% of the total score
- MPT: 20% of the total score
Grading Process
The MBE includes 200 multiple-choice questions, of which 175 are scored. The remaining 25 are pilot questions that do not affect a candidate’s score. There are no penalties for incorrect answers. The MEE consists of 6 essay questions, each graded on a 6-point scale based on issue identification, legal reasoning, and clarity. The MPT consists of 2 tasks, each graded on a scale of up to 6 points based on organization, legal analysis, and adherence to instructions. NCBE combines the scaled MBE score with the scaled written section (MEE plus MPT) to produce a final Legacy UBE score on the 400-point scale.
NextGen UBE and UBE Score Transfer
Both NextGen UBE and Legacy UBE scores can be transferred between participating UBE jurisdictions, subject to each jurisdiction’s minimum score and score-age requirements. In most jurisdictions, qualifying scores from both exams are accepted for transfer during the transition period. Transfer to non-UBE jurisdictions is more complex and may require taking jurisdiction-specific components. Learn more about score transfer.
While most jurisdictions will accept NextGen UBE transfer scores from the first administration onward. The following exceptions apply:
- Florida and New York will not accept NextGen UBE transfer scores from any administration before July 2028.
- Texas plans to accept NextGen UBE transfer scores starting in July 2026 and will finalize its policy once a permanent decision is made.
- Virginia will begin accepting NextGen UBE transfer scores in 2028 at a passing standard yet to be announced.
Score Age by Jurisdiction
Score age refers to how long a NextGen/Legacy UBE score remains valid for transfer, typically 2 to 5 years. While the age limits are set to be the same for both Legacy and NextGen, please check with your respective jurisdiction. The table below shows the current Legacy UBE score age rules.
| Maximum Age of Transferred UBE Score | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|
| 2 years | North Dakota, Rhode Island |
| 2 years/5 years | Iowa |
| 25 months | Alabama |
| 30 months | Pennsylvania |
| 3 years | Arkansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Virgin Islands, West Virginia |
| 3 years/5 years | Colorado, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Wyoming |
| 37 months | Idaho |
| 40 months | Washington |
| 4 years | Illinois |
| 5 years | Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Texas |
Score Transfer Fees by Jurisdiction
Each UBE jurisdiction sets its own fee for transferring scores, and costs vary significantly. Some states charge a nominal fee, while others have higher rates to cover administrative processing. Review the chart below for score transfer fees across jurisdictions. Please refer to the respective jurisdiction for NextGen score transfer fees.
| UBE jurisdiction | Fee for admission by transferred UBE score |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $875 (plus C&F fee) |
| Alaska | $1,000 |
| Arizona | $875 |
| Arkansas | $1,500 |
| Colorado | $810 |
| Connecticut | $750 |
| District of Columbia | $405 (plus C&F fee) |
| Idaho | $600/$800 |
| Illinois | $1,500 |
| Indiana | $500 |
| Iowa | $900 |
| Kansas | $1,250 |
| Kentucky | $875/$1,200 |
| Maine | $900 (plus C&F fee) |
| Maryland | $750 |
| Massachusetts | $815 |
| Michigan | $400 |
| Minnesota | $1,150 |
| Missouri | $1,240 |
| Montana | $155 (plus C&F fee) / $410 (plus C&F fee) |
| Nebraska | $925 |
| New Hampshire | $725 |
| New Jersey | $675 |
| New Mexico | $1,700.00 |
| New York | $250/$750 |
| North Carolina | $1,275/$1,500 |
| North Dakota | $400 (plus C&F fee) |
| Ohio | $750 (plus C&F fee) |
| Oklahoma | $1,250 |
| Oregon | $750/$1,175 |
| Pennsylvania | $650 |
| Rhode Island | $975/$1,475 |
| South Carolina | $1,000/$1,750 |
| Tennessee | $625 (plus C&F fee) |
| Texas | $300/$490/$1,040/$1,140 |
| Utah | $550/$850 |
| Vermont | $525 |
| Washington | $585/$620 (plus C&F fee) |
| West Virginia | $750 (plus C&F fee) |
| Wyoming | $600 (plus C&F fee) |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | $1,100 (plus C&F fee) |
Concurrent Score Transfer
In some UBE jurisdictions, you can request a concurrent score transfer, which means you can transfer your MBE score to another jurisdiction at the same time you receive their results. This allows you to apply for admission in multiple jurisdictions without waiting for separate score releases.
To initiate a concurrent transfer, you submit a request and pay any applicable fees through your NCBE account, specifying the jurisdictions where you want your score sent. Not all jurisdictions allow concurrent transfers, so checking specific policies is essential.
| Allows Concurrent Application | UBE Jurisdictions |
|---|---|
| Yes | Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, U.S. Virgin Islands |
| No | Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, District of Columbia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wyoming |
MBE Score Transfer
MBE score transfer policies vary across UBE jurisdictions. Some authorize the NCBE to handle score transfers, while others manage the process independently or don’t allow for transfers at all. To request a transfer, submit your request through your NCBE account once your testing jurisdiction releases your results.
Learn more about MBE scoring.
How to Interpret Your UBE Score Report
Your bar exam score report shows your performance across all exam components and indicates whether you meet your jurisdiction’s minimum passing score. The format differs between NextGen UBE and Legacy UBE.
NextGen UBE Score Report
- Total Score: Single composite score on the 500-750 scale
- Section Performance: Performance indicators across standalone MCQs, integrated question sets, and performance tasks
- Pass/Fail Status: Based on the candidate’s jurisdiction-specific minimum passing score
Legacy UBE Score Report
- Total Score: Your combined score from all components out of a 400-point scale
- MBE Score: Your scaled score from the multiple-choice section out of 200
- MBE Subject Area Breakdown: Your scores on each MBE subject
- MEE and MPT Scores: Your scores on each essay question or task
- Written Score: Your combined MEE/MPT scaled score out of 200
- Pass/Fail Status: Shows whether you meet the passing threshold
Always refer to your jurisdiction’s bar admission guidelines for the most accurate interpretation.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can I transfer my Legacy UBE score to a non-UBE jurisdiction?
Can I transfer my MBE score separately?
How do I request a UBE or MBE score transfer?
Where can I find more information about the UBE score transfer in my jurisdiction?
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