The NextGen UBE is made up of three sections of three hours each, administered over one and a half days, with the second day occurring on the last Wednesday of February and July and the first day occurring on the Tuesday prior to that. The dates for the July 2026 and February 2027 administrations are July 28–29, 2026, and February 23–24, 2027.
The exam is 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.
Each NextGen exam section contains a combination of standalone multiple-choice questions, integrated question sets, and performance tasks.
For more information, review the Official NextGen UBE Examinees' Guide and the What Is the NextGen UBE? video.
From July 2026 to February 2028, the NextGen UBE will test the following Foundational Concepts and Principles and Foundational Lawyering Skills:
Other areas of legal knowledge will also appear on the NextGen UBE to provide the context for testing one or more foundational lawyering skills, but examinees are not expected or required to develop a base of knowledge in those areas. For those questions, examinees will be provided with the necessary legal resources (e.g. statutes, regulations, and case law) to demonstrate the skills being tested. From July 2026 through February 2028, family law and trusts and estates will appear in these skills-focused questions on every exam.
For further information on what will be tested on the NextGen UBE, visit the NextGen UBE Content Scope.
The Content Scope documents the breadth of material to be covered in the areas of legal knowledge and categories of practical skills and abilities that will be tested on the NextGen UBE. The Foundational Skills and Tasks section of the Content Scope also describes the way in which select American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct may be tested. The Content Scope designates not only the exam topics, but also the depth at which each topic will be tested.
The NextGen UBE Constructed Response Guide explains how the written components of the NextGen UBE work, how they are graded, and what skills they measure. Using clear examples, sample scoring guides, and screenshots of the digital platform, it helps candidates, legal educators, and preparation providers understand what effective responses to integrated question sets and performance tasks look like.
The NextGen UBE features three broad categories of question types:
Approximately 40% of the exam time will be devoted to standalone multiple-choice questions with between four and six answer options and one or more correct answers. Initially, many of these questions will closely resemble Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) questions; this will ensure stability between scores for the current and NextGen bar exams. In future administrations, the variety of multiple-choice question types will increase. Note that some multiple-choice questions may also appear in the integrated question sets and performance tasks, which are described below. Sample Multiple-Choice Questions
Just over a quarter of the exam time will be devoted to integrated question sets. Each of these sets is based on a common fact scenario and may include some legal resources (e.g., excerpts of statutes or judicial opinions) and/or supplemental documents (e.g., a police report or excerpt from a deposition) and include a multiple-choice, medium-answer, and/or short-answer questions. In addition to testing doctrinal law, some integrated question sets will be focused on drafting or editing a legal document; other sets will be focused on counseling and/or dispute resolution. Sample Integrated Question Sets
Approximately a third of the exam time will be devoted to performance tasks. These tasks, like current Multistate Performance Test (MPT) questions, will require examinees to demonstrate their ability to use fundamental lawyering skills in realistic situations, completing tasks that a beginning lawyer should be able to accomplish. These tasks may feature areas of doctrinal law, with accompanying legal resources, not included in the Foundational Concepts and Principles. These areas of doctrinal law might include, for example, Trusts and Estates, Intellectual Property, or Administrative Law. The two types of performance tasks include standard performance tasks (PTs) and legal research performance tasks (LRPTs). PTs include a client file of facts and a library of sources with one extended response writing assignment. LRPTs include a client file of facts and a library of sources, along with multiple-choice questions and short-answer questions focused on research and analysis skills, followed by a medium-length writing assignment. Sample Performance Tasks
Free sample questions are available at the link below.
The NextGen UBE is a digitally delivered examination administered through a secure testing browser. This means that the questions are given to you through the browser and your answers are also submitted through the browser.
Click here to access an interactive tutorial for the NextGen UBE.
This tutorial allows you to explore the question types, features, and functionality that will be experienced on exam day.
Please note: This tutorial is delivered in an unsecured environment. On exam day, examinees will access the exam through a secure browser, and the exam platform will be launched from within that browser, which prevents examinees from navigating away from the exam. As a result, the actual test-day experience may differ slightly from the tutorial.
All examinees have access to tools in the exam software that allow them to adjust the font size, change the color scheme, and toggle the timer display on or off.
Examinees with approved test accommodations may have access to additional tools in the software based on their approved accommodation. To experience select test accommodations in action, visit the links below:
Experience how you can pause the exam timer and take breaks based on your approved accommodation. Use the Pause button in the toolbar to try this feature. Experience Sample Questions with Stop-the-Clock Breaks.
Practice answering constructed response questions using voice dictation instead of typing. This feature uses your computer’s built-in microphone. Select the microphone icon in the constructed response toolbar to try this feature. Experience Sample Questions with Speech-to-Text.
Listen to questions and answer choices read aloud. Use the speech bubble icon in the toolbar to access and choose different voice options. Experience Sample Questions with Text-to-Speech.
Note: all applications for test accommodations on the bar exam must be made to the testing jurisdiction, and all accommodations decisions for the bar exam are made by the testing jurisdiction. The list above is not a complete list of available test accommodations for the NextGen UBE.
To learn about the subjects and skills tested on the NextGen UBE, see the NextGen UBE Content Scope.
Learn more about NextGen UBE question types and view sample questions, visit our NextGen sample questions page.
Learn more about NextGen's exam structure, timing, scoring, and portability with this all-encompassing resource.
Explore the features and layout of the NextGen testing platform with this online preview.
The NextGen Uniform Bar Examination (NextGen UBE) is owned by NCBE and is a secure exam protected by US copyright laws. NCBE strictly prohibits copying, reproducing, or disclosing any NextGen UBE questions or answers, whether via electronic, telephonic, written, oral, or other means, to any party or to any public forum during or after the exam. NCBE will use every legal means available to protect its copyrighted materials. Any unauthorized disclosure of NextGen UBE content could result in civil liability, criminal penalties, cancellation of test scores, denial of applications to sit for future exams, denial of bar applications on character and fitness grounds, and/or disciplinary action by bar authorities.
