NextGen UBE 2026: Exam Format, Subjects, Timing, and Jurisdiction Rollout
Publication date: August 30, 2026 at 4:00 PM America/Chicago
Last reviewed: August 29, 2026
Independent-publisher disclosure: King of the Curve is an independent test-prep publisher and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) or any jurisdiction.
Scope: This article is general exam-format information, not legal advice or individualized bar-admission advice. Eligibility, passing scores, transfer rules, local components, and other admission requirements are set by individual jurisdictions.
Direct answer
The NextGen Uniform Bar Examination launched July 28–29, 2026 and is a nine-hour, computer-based exam administered in three 3-hour sections over one and a half days. Each 3-hour section contains 40 standalone multiple-choice questions, two integrated question sets, and one performance task. Across the full exam, that produces 120 standalone multiple-choice questions, six integrated question sets, and three performance tasks. NCBE's current structure is documented in the Official Examinees' Guide and Preparing for the NextGen UBE.
The exam tests eight foundational legal concepts and principles plus seven foundational lawyering skills during the July 2026–February 2028 content period. Official scores use a 500–750 scale, but each jurisdiction sets its own passing score and determines its own admission requirements. A portable NextGen score can be transferred only to jurisdictions that accept NextGen UBE score transfers under their own rules. See NCBE's live jurisdiction decisions table before relying on any rollout date or portability assumption.
NextGen UBE format at a glance
| Feature | Current NCBE format |
|---|---|
| Total testing time | 9 hours over 1.5 days |
| Sections | Three sections, 3 hours each |
| Tuesday | Morning 3-hour section + afternoon 3-hour section |
| Wednesday | Morning 3-hour section |
| Per section | 40 standalone MCQs + 2 integrated question sets + 1 performance task |
| Full-exam totals | 120 standalone MCQs + 6 integrated question sets + 3 performance tasks |
| Delivery | Fully computer-based on examinees' own laptops at in-person, proctored locations |
| Score scale | 500–750; each jurisdiction sets its own passing score |
How each three-hour section is organized
NCBE uses the same broad structure in each of the three sections. The Official Examinees' Guide gives an expected pacing model of about 72 minutes for the 40 standalone multiple-choice questions, 48 minutes for two integrated question sets, and 60 minutes for one performance task. Those estimates add to the 180-minute section.
Standalone multiple-choice questions
There are 40 standalone multiple-choice questions per section, or 120 across the exam. NCBE uses both select-one questions with four options and select-two questions with six options. The questions test the foundational concepts and principles, and some can draw on more than one area. NCBE's official sample-question page says roughly 40% of exam time is devoted to standalone multiple-choice work.
Integrated question sets
Each section has two integrated question sets, for six total. A set is built around a shared fact scenario and may include legal resources or documents such as statutory excerpts, judicial opinions, a police report, or deposition material. Depending on the set, the responses can include multiple-choice, short-answer, or medium-answer work. The point is integration: a single scenario can require both legal knowledge and lawyering skills.
Performance tasks
Each section ends with one performance task, for three total. NCBE describes performance tasks as realistic client matters that require foundational lawyering skills. The task supplies a file and legal library. Current formats include standard performance tasks centered on a longer writing assignment and legal-research performance tasks that combine shorter responses with a medium-answer writing assignment.
What subjects are tested on the NextGen UBE?
For exams from July 2026 through February 2028, NCBE's live NextGen Content Scope identifies eight foundational concepts and principles:
- Business associations and relationships
- Civil procedure
- Constitutional law
- Contract law
- Criminal law and constitutional protections of accused persons
- Evidence
- Real property
- Torts
NCBE also states that other legal areas can appear when they provide context for testing skills. In those questions, necessary legal resources are provided rather than requiring a general base of memorized knowledge in the additional area. For the July 2026–February 2028 period, NCBE says family law and trusts and estates appear in skills-focused questions on every exam. Family law is scheduled to join the list of foundational concepts and principles beginning in July 2028.
The seven foundational lawyering skills
The NextGen UBE is designed to test legal knowledge together with the work a newly licensed lawyer should be able to perform. NCBE lists 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
Select Model Rules of Professional Conduct are also tested in the context of certain skills. The official content scope—not a third-party “high-yield” list—should be your source of record for the precise doctrine and skills expected on your administration.
NextGen UBE vs. the legacy UBE
The NextGen UBE is not simply the legacy UBE placed on a laptop. NCBE's official comparison shows the legacy UBE as a 12-hour, two-day exam built from the MBE, MEE, and MPT. The NextGen UBE is nine hours over 1.5 days and combines standalone multiple-choice questions, integrated question sets, and performance tasks inside every section. It is fully computer-based and emphasizes a defined set of foundational legal concepts together with lawyering skills. See NCBE's legacy UBE overview and NextGen overview for the official distinction.
Scoring and portability: national exam, jurisdiction-specific admission
Official NextGen UBE scores are reported as a single number from 500 to 750. NCBE scores the multiple-choice questions, jurisdiction-appointed graders score written responses using NCBE rubrics, and NCBE performs final scaling and equating. For the current blueprint, standalone multiple-choice questions account for 49% of the score, integrated question sets 21%, and performance tasks 30%. See the official Scores & Score Portability page.
A portable score does not create automatic admission everywhere. Each jurisdiction establishes its own passing score, transfer-score threshold, maximum score age or other transfer rules, eligibility standards, and any jurisdiction-specific admission prerequisite. A jurisdiction can also accept transferred NextGen scores before it begins administering the exam itself. NCBE therefore advises examinees to consult the jurisdiction directly. The current minimum-passing-score page and decisions table are the best starting points.
Jurisdiction rollout: current snapshot
The NextGen UBE debuted in ten jurisdictions in July 2026. NCBE's current decisions page shows 52 jurisdictions as having adopted the NextGen UBE; 51 have a scheduled first-administration date and Mississippi's date remains TBA. The table below is a dated rollout summary, not a substitute for a jurisdiction's current rule.
| First administration | Jurisdictions |
|---|---|
| July 2026 — 10 | Connecticut, Guam, Idaho, Maryland, Missouri, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Palau, Virgin Islands, Washington |
| July 2027 — 13 | Arizona, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia, Wyoming |
| February 2028 — 4 | Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Montana |
| July 2028 — 24 | Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin |
| TBA — 1 | Mississippi |
NCBE's jurisdiction page separately tracks each jurisdiction's first administration, minimum passing score, date it begins accepting transferred NextGen scores, transfer-score threshold, and whether a local admission prerequisite applies. Those columns should not be collapsed into one “adoption date.”
Candidate checklist
- Confirm whether your jurisdiction is administering the NextGen UBE or the legacy UBE for your exact exam date.
- Prepare for three 3-hour NextGen sections over one and a half days.
- Practice all three component types: standalone multiple choice, integrated question sets, and performance tasks.
- Use the current NCBE Content Scope for the tested legal concepts and lawyering skills.
- Check your jurisdiction's passing score instead of assuming one national cutoff.
- If you may transfer a score, verify the receiving jurisdiction's acceptance date, threshold, score-age rule, eligibility requirements, and local prerequisites.
- Recheck NCBE and the jurisdiction's official bar-admission authority before relying on any rollout or portability rule.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the NextGen UBE?
NCBE's current format is nine hours of testing in three 3-hour sections over one and a half days: two sections Tuesday and one section Wednesday.
How many multiple-choice questions are on the NextGen UBE?
There are 40 standalone multiple-choice questions in each section, for 120 total. Integrated question sets and performance tasks can also contain multiple-choice items.
How many integrated question sets and performance tasks are there?
Each section has two integrated question sets and one performance task, producing six integrated sets and three performance tasks across the exam.
What subjects does the NextGen UBE test in 2026?
The foundational concepts are business associations and relationships, civil procedure, constitutional law, contract law, criminal law and constitutional protections of accused persons, evidence, real property, and torts. Other legal areas can appear in skills-focused questions with legal resources provided.
Is there one national passing score?
No. NextGen scores use a 500–750 scale, but each jurisdiction sets its own passing score.
Can I transfer a NextGen UBE score?
Yes, if the receiving jurisdiction participates in NextGen score portability and your score satisfies that jurisdiction's current transfer rules. Acceptance dates and requirements differ by jurisdiction.
