NCBE Publishes NextGen UBE Blueprint for July 2026–February 2027, Legal Research Performance Task

Media contact: communications@ncbex.org 

Fact sheet and image: https://www.ncbex.org/media-resources

MADISON, WISCONSIN, June 3, 2025—The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) has published the NextGen UBE Blueprint: July 2026–February 2027. The Blueprint provides exam specifications for the July 2026 and February 2027 administrations of the NextGen Uniform Bar Exam (NextGen UBE). To date, 40 US jurisdictions have announced adoption of the new exam.

Key information found in the Blueprint includes

• the official NextGen UBE score scale of 500–750 (the score scale for the current UBE is 200–400);
• the exam structure, including the types of questions that appear in each section of the exam;
• additional details about each question type, including point values and weighting; and
• exam delivery platform features and tools.

The Blueprint is the first of several new resources that will help inform the work of legal educators as they prepare law students for the NextGen UBE. In early August, NCBE will publish the Official Examinees’ Guide to the NextGen UBE, which will further expand upon the content, format, and administration of the new exam, with a focus on the examinee experience, and the final July 2026–February 2027 Content Scope Outline.

The Blueprint is the result of an exam development program that began in 2021 following a multi-year study, and that has included multiple rounds of pretesting of the exam’s content, format, and computerized exam delivery platform. By the time the NextGen exam launches in 2026, over 10,000 examinees will have helped test NextGen content across structured pilot, field, and prototype tests, and every scored question that appears on the exam will have been pretested and statistically validated. In addition to the testing that has already taken place, the entire end-to-end delivery platform and scoring process will be tested live three times before launch, including a scaled beta test in early 2026.

“We are pleased to be able to share this new resource to help legal educators support their students as they prepare for the first administrations of the NextGen UBE,” said Kara McWilliams, NCBE’s Chief Product Officer. “The details found in the Blueprint are grounded in data we’ve gathered over thousands of hours of development and pretesting; they are designed to provide clear guidance for educators and candidates preparing for the NextGen exam.” 

NCBE has also published a new sample legal research performance task for the NextGen exam. NextGen performance 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. The NextGen UBE will include performance tasks in two formats: standard performance tasks, which focus on a single longer writing assignment, and legal research performance tasks, which include several multiple-choice and short-answer questions followed by a medium-answer writing assignment. Performance tasks will make up 30% of an examinee’s total NextGen UBE score. Links to all sample NextGen questions are available on the NCBE website.

The NextGen UBE is being developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), which currently develops bar exam content for 54 of 56 US jurisdictions. In the US, the highest court in each jurisdiction has authority over the admission of attorneys to practice in its courts, aided by its own bar admissions agency. The NextGen UBE will replace the current Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) and, like the current UBE, will serve as the basis for score portability between participating jurisdictions. 

Designed to reflect the work performed by newly licensed attorneys, the NextGen UBE will test eight areas of legal doctrine (civil procedure, contract law, evidence, torts, business associations, constitutional law, criminal law, real property) and seven foundational lawyering skills (legal research, legal writing, issue spotting and analysis, investigation and evaluation, client counseling and advising, negotiation and dispute resolution, client relationship and management). Tenets of attorney ethics will also be tested in conjunction with other topics and skills. Family law will be added to the exam in July 2028.

The new exam will balance the skills and knowledge needed in litigation and transactional legal practice and will reflect many of the key changes affecting legal practice. Visit https://www.ncbex.org/exams/nextgen/content-scope for detailed outlines of the legal doctrine and skills that will be tested on the exam.

The subjects and skills to be tested were developed through a multi-year, nationwide legal practice analysis focused on the most important knowledge and skills for newly licensed lawyers (defined as lawyers within their first three years in practice). NCBE recently convened a nationwide standard-setting study; data from that study will help inform jurisdictions’ independent policy decisions surrounding required passing scores.

Like the current bar exam, the NextGen UBE will be administered, and the written portions graded, by the individual US jurisdictions. The exam will be administered over one and a half days, with six hours of testing time on day one and three hours on day two. The current bar exam is typically administered in 12 hours over two full days. 

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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.