Overview and Blueprint

Scope

This file explains what the NextGen bar exam is (NCBE/national), when it replaces the legacy Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) nationally and in New Jersey, how the exam is structured, and what its published "blueprint" and content scope say about tested subjects and skills. It does not cover registration, testing accommodations, test-day logistics, sample questions in detail, study aids, or jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction passing scores beyond New Jersey's status.

Legal Explanation

What the NextGen UBE is (NCBE/national). The NextGen Uniform Bar Examination (NextGen UBE) is the redesigned bar examination developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) that will replace the legacy UBE [S1][S2]. NCBE describes it as testing "a broad range of foundational lawyering skills, utilizing a focused set of clearly identified fundamental legal concepts and principles needed in today's practice of law" [S2]. It is designed to balance the skills and knowledge used in litigation and transactional practice and to reflect changes in legal education, including clinical, alternative dispute resolution, and legal writing programs [S2]. The official blueprint describes it as a summative exam assessing the competency in legal knowledge and skills expected of a newly licensed lawyer — defined as a lawyer within the first three years of practice [S6]. The written portions are administered, and graded, by the individual U.S. jurisdictions, just as with the legacy UBE [S2].

Transition timeline (NCBE/national). Between July 2026 and July 2028, most jurisdictions will transition from the legacy UBE to the NextGen UBE [S1][S2]. The first NextGen administrations occurred in July 2026, in ten jurisdictions: Connecticut, Guam, Idaho, Maryland, Missouri, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Palau, Virgin Islands, and Washington [S1]. NCBE describes the legacy UBE as administered through February 2028 [S1]. The NextGen UBE will replace the legacy UBE as the basis for score portability between participating jurisdictions; during the transition period, jurisdictions may accept both legacy UBE and NextGen scores for portability, with legacy scores remaining valid until the time limit each participating jurisdiction sets [S2].

New Jersey's adoption (NJ-specific). By notice dated November 17, 2025, the New Jersey Supreme Court adopted the NextGen UBE, with a first New Jersey administration in July 2028 [S5]. The legacy UBE continues in New Jersey through the February 2028 administration [S5]. NCBE's jurisdiction chart likewise lists New Jersey as having adopted the NextGen UBE with a first administration in July 2028 [S1]. New Jersey has not yet set a NextGen passing score; an Ad Hoc Committee will recommend one [S5].

Exam format (NCBE/national). The NextGen UBE is administered over one and a half days: two three-hour sessions on day one (Tuesday) and one three-hour session on day two (Wednesday), with day two falling on the last Wednesday of February or July and day one on the Tuesday prior [S2][S6]. The July 2026 and February 2027 administrations were scheduled for July 28–29, 2026, and February 23–24, 2027 [S6]. Jurisdictions that administer their own local law components may elect to extend day two for that purpose [S2]. The exam is taken on examinees' own laptops at in-person, proctored testing locations, using a secure online testing platform; examinees must download the secure testing browser before exam day and complete a pre-exam tutorial [S2][S6]. Each three-hour section contains a combination of standalone multiple-choice questions, integrated question sets, and performance tasks, and questions within a section may be answered in any order [S6].

Question types (NCBE/national). There are three item types [S1][S6]. Standalone multiple-choice questions: 40 per section, 120 total, in two formats (select one of four options, or select two of six options with partial credit); they test the foundational concepts in approximately equal numbers and make up 49% of the total exam score; 20 of the 120 are unscored pretest questions indistinguishable from scored ones [S6]. Integrated question sets (IQS): sets based on a common fact scenario that may include legal resources (e.g., statute excerpts or judicial opinions) and/or supplemental documents (e.g., a police report or deposition excerpt), with multiple-choice, medium-length, and/or short-answer questions; some sets focus on drafting or editing a legal document, others on counseling and/or dispute resolution [S4]. There are two IQS per section (six total), in two formats — drafting sets with medium-answer questions and counseling sets with multiple-choice and short-answer questions — expected to take about 24 minutes each, and they make up 21% of the total exam score; one of the six sets is an unscored pretest set [S4][S6]. Just over a quarter of total exam time is devoted to integrated question sets [S4]. Performance tasks (PTs): one per section (three total), expected to take about one hour each, with a case file and library of legal resources provided; they come in two formats — standard tasks requiring a single longer writing assignment, and legal research tasks combining multiple-choice and short-answer questions followed by a medium-answer writing assignment — and make up 30% of the total exam score [S6]. Partial credit is available, in full-point increments, for select-two multiple-choice, short-, medium-, and longer-answer responses [S6].

Blueprint and content scope (NCBE/national). NCBE publishes official exam specifications, including a blueprint and content scope outlines [S6]. The NextGen UBE Blueprint for the July 2026–February 2027 administrations (prepared June 2, 2025) states that any changes to the blueprint for future exams will be published at least one year before they take effect [S6]. From July 2026 through February 2028, the foundational concepts and principles tested are: business associations, civil procedure, constitutional law, contract law, criminal law (described by NCBE's content scope as criminal law and constitutional protections of accused persons), evidence, real property, and torts [S3][S6]. Starting with the July 2028 administration, family law is added to the foundational concepts list [S2][S3][S6]. The foundational lawyering skills tested are: legal research, legal writing, issue spotting and analysis, investigation and evaluation, client counseling and advising, negotiation and dispute resolution, and client relationship and management [S2][S3][S6]. Other areas of legal knowledge appear on the exam as context for testing one or more foundational skills, and examinees are provided the necessary legal resources (e.g., statutes, regulations, and case law) rather than being expected to build a base of knowledge in those areas [S3][S6]. From July 2026 through February 2028, family law and trusts and estates appear in these skills-focused questions on every exam — including in a performance task on every exam — and are tested with the provision of legal resources; family law is folded into the foundational concepts starting in July 2028 [S2][S3][S6]. Within the content scope outlines, topics followed by a star must be answered from recalled knowledge without provision of legal resources, while unstarred topics may be tested with or without legal resources [S6]. Select Model Rules of Professional Conduct are tested in the context of client counseling and advising, negotiation and dispute resolution, and client relationship and management, with the expectation of recalled knowledge [S6].

Scoring (NCBE/national; NJ passing score not yet set). Official NextGen UBE scores are reported as a single number on a scale from 500 to 750, and each jurisdiction establishes its own passing score within that range [S1][S2][S6]. The score weights are: standalone multiple-choice 49%, integrated question sets 21%, and performance tasks 30% [S6]. NCBE has published a Guidance Brief recommending a passing score range for jurisdictions to consider [S2]. Multiple-choice questions are scored by NCBE; the written responses (IQS and PTs) are graded by jurisdiction-appointed graders on a common grading platform using uniform rubrics provided by NCBE, with responses dual graded and reconciled by jurisdiction grading leads; NCBE performs all scaling and equating and calculates final scores, which are reported to examinees by their jurisdictions [S6]. Official NextGen UBE scores are portable, with transfers performed by NCBE [S6]. New Jersey's NextGen passing score has not yet been set [S5].

Currency note. NextGen exam details are still evolving. Every claim in this file was checked against the cited official NCBE and New Jersey Courts pages on August 20, 2026, and reflects those pages as of that date [S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6].

ELI-10: Explain It Like I'm 10

[HYPOTHETICAL — NOT A REAL CASE] Imagine a national bicycle-referee association that has certified bike-race referees the same way for forty years: a big two-day test with a hundred rules-memorization questions, six essays, and a written report. This year the association rolls out a brand-new certification — a "NextGen Referee License" — built around a new rulebook that lists exactly which skills matter (watching the pack, calling fouls, talking to riders calmly) and which rules you must know cold. For everything else, the rulebook says: don't memorize it — during the test you'll get the actual handbook pages to look up, just like a real referee carries the rulebook in their pocket on race day.

Not every town switches on the same day. In July 2026 the first ten towns start using the new license; most of the rest switch over the next two years; New Jersey's town announces it will switch in July 2028, and keeps using the old test until February 2028. The new test itself is shorter in calendar time — one and a half days instead of two — but it mixes three kinds of challenges: quick multiple-choice flags, "here's a whole race scenario, answer questions about it" sets, and one longer "referee this race" writing task. Your final grade is a single number between 500 and 750, and each town picks its own "you're certified!" number. New Jersey hasn't picked its number yet.

Translating back to the real rule: the "NextGen Referee License" is the NextGen UBE [S1]; the rulebook of skills and must-know rules is NCBE's blueprint and content scope, with starred topics tested from memory and unstarred topics allowed legal resources [S3][S6]; the staggered town switches are the July 2026–July 2028 jurisdictional transition, with New Jersey's first administration in July 2028 [S1][S5]; the three challenge types are standalone multiple-choice questions (49% of score), integrated question sets (21%), and performance tasks (30%) [S6]; and the 500–750 grade scale with town-chosen pass numbers is the official NextGen score scale with jurisdiction-set passing scores — New Jersey's still to be determined [S1][S5][S6].

Real Case Reference (if applicable)

No published judicial decision squarely addresses the NextGen UBE's design, blueprint, or adoption — these are administrative specifications and court orders, not litigated doctrine. The governing authority for the exam's content and structure is NCBE's official blueprint and content scope for the NextGen UBE [S3][S6], and for New Jersey the governing action is the New Jersey Supreme Court's November 17, 2025 notice adopting the NextGen UBE with a first administration in July 2028 [S5].

Key Takeaways

• The NextGen UBE is NCBE's redesigned bar exam that replaces the legacy UBE; most jurisdictions transition between July 2026 and July 2028, with the first administrations in July 2026 [S1][S2].
• New Jersey-specific: the Supreme Court adopted the NextGen UBE by notice dated November 17, 2025; first NJ administration is July 2028, and the legacy UBE continues in NJ through February 2028 [S5].
• Format (national): one and a half days — two 3-hour sessions on Tuesday and one 3-hour session on Wednesday; three item types: standalone multiple-choice (49% of score), integrated question sets (21%), and performance tasks (30%) [S2][S6].
• The blueprint (national): eight foundational concepts from July 2026 through February 2028 (family law added July 2028), seven foundational lawyering skills, starred topics tested from memory, and other subjects tested with legal resources provided [S3][S6].
• Scoring (national): a single score on a 500–750 scale; each jurisdiction sets its own passing score, and New Jersey has not yet set one [S1][S5][S6].
• Portability (national): the NextGen UBE replaces the legacy UBE as the basis for score portability, with NCBE performing score transfers [S2][S6].

Sources

• [S1] National Conference of Bar Examiners, "NextGen Bar Exam," https://www.ncbex.org/exams/nextgen (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S2] National Conference of Bar Examiners, "About the NextGen UBE," https://www.ncbex.org/exams/nextgen/about-nextgen (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S3] National Conference of Bar Examiners, "NextGen UBE Content Scope," https://www.ncbex.org/exams/nextgen/content-scope (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S4] National Conference of Bar Examiners, "Sample Integrated Question Sets," https://www.ncbex.org/exams/nextgen/sample-questions/integrated-question-sets (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S5] New Jersey Courts, "Notice - Supreme Court Adopts the 'NextGen' Uniform Bar Examination - First Administration in July 2028" (Nov. 17, 2025), https://www.njcourts.gov/notices/notice-supreme-court-adopts-nextgen-uniform-bar-examination-first-administration-july-2028 (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S6] National Conference of Bar Examiners, "NextGen UBE Blueprint, July 2026–February 2027" (PDF, prepared June 2, 2025), https://www.ncbex.org/sites/default/files/2025-07/NCBE-NextGen-UBE-Blueprint_5.pdf (verified 2026-08-20).

Not Legal Advice