NextGen Uniform Bar Examination Beta Test Begins Tomorrow
Large-scale administration will run January 8–10, 2026, across select law schools in Boston, Dallas, New York City, and Miami
Media contact: communications@ncbex.org
Fact sheet and image: https://www.ncbex.org/media-resources
MADISON, WISCONSIN, January 7, 2026—The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) today announced that its NextGen Uniform Bar Examination (NextGen UBE) Beta Test begins tomorrow, January 8, 2026. As previously announced, the large-scale administration will take place January 8–10 across select law schools in Boston, Dallas, New York City, and Miami, representing one of the final operational milestones in NCBE’s multiyear initiative to design, develop, and validate the NextGen UBE ahead of its official July 2026 launch.
More than 1,600 examinees who sat for the July 2025 bar exam are expected to participate, providing a full-scale opportunity to evaluate exam delivery systems, scoring workflows, jurisdiction processes, and the candidate experience under live testing conditions.
“The Beta Test is the ultimate readiness test for the NextGen UBE,” said Judith A. Gundersen, President and CEO of NCBE. “It reflects years of research, collaboration, and innovation to ensure the new exam delivers the reliability, fairness, and confidence jurisdictions and examinees expect from NCBE.”
Purpose of the Beta Test
The January Beta Test will simulate a complete operational administration of the NextGen UBE—testing every system, safeguard, and workflow from candidate readiness through post-exam reporting. Key objectives include:
- Confirming the functionality of jurisdiction workflows through the new jurisdiction portal
- Validating candidate readiness steps through NCBE’s secure “Ready-to-Sit” process
- Testing end-to-end exam administration, including check-in, timing, and delivery
- Evaluating content performance and measurement quality for reliability and fairness
- Testing the newly constructed response scoring system and the process of double grading
- Verifying system security, data integrity, and controlled disruptions and redundancies processes
- Confirming post-exam scoring and reporting accuracy, including the new Bar Exam Transcript
Participating Locations
- Fordham University School of Law, New York, NY
- Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, Dallas, TX
- Suffolk University Law School, Boston, MA
- University of Massachusetts School of Law, Dartmouth, MA
- University of Miami School of Law, Miami, FL
Examinees approved for extended-time accommodations will begin testing January 8 at Suffolk University. All other examinees will test January 9–10.
Next Steps
Following the Beta Test, NCBE will release preliminary findings in March 2026, including metrics on system performance, candidate and jurisdiction feedback, and operational lessons learned. A comprehensive public report will follow in May 2026, with detailed psychometric analyses and end-to-end results.
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About the National Conference of Bar Examiners
The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, is a not-for-profit corporation founded in 1931. NCBE promotes fairness, integrity, and best practices in bar admissions for the benefit and protection of the public, in pursuit of its vision of a competent, ethical, and diverse legal profession. Best known for developing bar exam content used by 54 US jurisdictions, NCBE serves admission authorities, courts, the legal education community, and candidates by providing high-quality assessment products, services, and research; character investigations; and informational and educational resources and programs. In 2026, NCBE will launch the next generation of the bar examination, ensuring that the exam continues to test the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for competent entry-level legal practice in a changing profession. For more information, visit the NCBE website at https://www.ncbex.org.
About the NextGen Uniform Bar Exam
Set to debut in July 2026, the NextGen UBE will test a broad range of foundational legal doctrine and lawyering skills in the context of the current practice of law. The skills and concepts to be tested were developed through a nationwide legal practice analysis and reflect the most important knowledge and skills for newly licensed lawyers in both litigation and transactional practice. NCBE is committed to ensuring a systematic, transparent, and collaborative implementation process, informed by input from and participation by stakeholders, and guided by best practices and the professional standards for high-stakes testing. For more information, visit https://www.ncbex.org/exams/nextgen.