Statement on the July 2026 NextGen Bar Exam Administration
UPDATED JULY 30, 2026 12:32 PM CT. The inaugural administration of the NextGen Uniform Bar Examination concluded yesterday, marking a historic milestone in legal licensure. Thousands of applicants across the country successfully completed either the legacy bar examination or the first operational administration of the NextGen UBE. We are proud of every applicant who reached this milestone after years of preparation.
At the same time, we are profoundly disappointed that applicants in Washington were unable to share in this moment. While we cannot undo the disruption and disappointment they experienced, NCBE is committed to working closely with the Washington State Bar Association to support affected applicants and help ensure they have a clear path forward.
Approximately 700 applicants were scheduled to test in Washington. Most applicants were affected by a venue-specific infrastructure issue that prevented the jurisdiction from completing testing. After extensive efforts to resolve the issue, the Washington State Bar Association determined it could not proceed with sufficient confidence that the site-specific issues had been fully resolved and canceled the July 2026 administration for affected applicants.
The Washington State Bar Association has announced several options for applicants who were scheduled to test at the Yakima Convention Center and were unable to, including:
- a make-up exam tentatively scheduled for September 1–2, 2026;
- transferring to the February 2027 administration; or
- withdrawing and receiving a refund of applicable jurisdiction fees.
Applicants with questions about their individual circumstances or available exam options should follow the instructions provided by the Washington State Bar Association. The jurisdiction will communicate directly with affected applicants regarding next steps. NCBE will contact affected Washington applicants directly with information regarding their technology fee.
In total, approximately 2,643 applicants participated in the first operational administration of the NextGen UBE across 10 jurisdictions and 16 testing locations.
The NextGen testing platform performed as designed throughout the administration. Most applicants completed the examination as scheduled, and most testing locations administered the examination without significant incident. Based on the information available, the issues experienced during the inaugural administration were limited to three testing locations in three jurisdictions.
In addition to the cancellation in Washington, Missouri experienced delayed starts that prevented some applicants from completing the full first day testing schedule. Those applicants completed the remaining testing sections yesterday. One Maryland testing location experienced a 45-minute delay before beginning the first testing section and successfully completed the administration as scheduled. NCBE is working closely with the affected jurisdictions, testing sites, and technology partners to understand exactly what occurred at each location. Rather than characterize the exact site-specific causes before that review is complete, we believe the responsible approach is to establish the facts, identify lessons learned, and determine whether additional operational safeguards are appropriate for future administrations.
The inaugural administration of the NextGen UBE marks a significant milestone in the evolution of legal licensure. As with any first operational administration of this scale, NCBE will work closely with jurisdictions and our testing partners to build on the insights gained from this historic launch, strengthen future administrations, and continue advancing the NextGen UBE for applicants, jurisdictions, and the legal profession.