Tested Doctrine Map

Scope

This file maps which legal doctrines the NextGen Uniform Bar Examination (NextGen UBE) tests (NCBE/national): the eight foundational concepts and the subject-outline categories within each, the difference between subjects tested directly and subjects that appear only as context, and how doctrine is distributed across question types. It covers the New Jersey-specific implications of that map (NJ-specific), including the July 2028 transition. It does not restate the doctrines themselves, does not cover exam logistics or scoring (see the Overview and Blueprint topic), and discusses the legacy UBE only for contrast.

Legal Explanation

The tested subject list (NCBE/national). From July 2026 through February 2028, the NextGen UBE tests 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, and torts [S1][S2][S3]. NCBE's content scope states this list applies from July 2026 to February 2028, and the Blueprint prepared June 2, 2025 (covering the July 2026 and February 2027 administrations) lists the same eight concepts [S1][S2][S3]. Starting with the July 2028 administration, family law is added as a ninth foundational concept [S1][S4]. Every claim in this file reflects the cited NCBE and New Jersey Courts pages as checked on August 20, 2026.

How the list compares with the legacy UBE (NCBE/national). The legacy UBE, administered through February 2028, is composed of the Multistate Essay Examination (MEE), two Multistate Performance Test (MPT) tasks, and the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE) [S7]. NCBE's MEE page (checked August 20, 2026) lists the areas of law that may be covered on the MEE as: business associations (agency and partnership; corporations and limited liability companies), civil procedure, constitutional law, contracts (including UCC Article 2 sales), criminal law and procedure, evidence, real property, and torts — with the caveat that the particular areas covered vary from exam to exam [S6]. The NextGen foundational list thus largely carries over the legacy MEE's current subject areas, with the notable redesign that the exam now tests them through a single three-item-type format and designates additional subjects as context-only (below) [S1][S6].

Tested directly vs. context-only (NCBE/national). NCBE's content scope divides the law into two tiers [S1][S3]. Tier one: the foundational concepts, which are tested directly and for which examinees are expected to have a base of knowledge [S1][S3]. Within each subject outline, "starred" topics must be answered from recalled knowledge alone — they are tested without provision of legal resources — while unstarred topics may be tested with or without legal resources; when an unstarred topic is tested without resources, the examinee need only recall enough to recognize that the topic is at issue [S2][S3]. Tier two: "other areas of legal knowledge," which appear only to provide context for testing foundational lawyering skills; examinees are not expected or required to build a base of knowledge in those areas, and the necessary legal resources (e.g., statutes, regulations, and case law) are provided in the question [S1][S3]. From July 2026 through February 2028, family law and trusts and estates appear in these skills-focused questions on every exam and are tested with legal resources provided [S1][S2][S3]; NCBE's overview of the exam adds that family law and trusts and estates concepts will appear on every NextGen exam in a performance task [S8]. Family law's status changes in July 2028: NCBE has published a family law subject matter outline stating that family law becomes a foundational concept beginning with the July 2028 administration; where applicable law is noted in that outline it is controlling, and in all other cases, if specific statutory rights and remedies are tested, the applicable legal resources will be provided [S4].

Per-subject doctrine map (NCBE/national). NCBE's content scope outlines (August 1, 2025 edition, covering the July 2026 and February 2027 administrations) organize each foundational concept into top-level categories [S3]:

• Business associations and relationships: agency and authority; vicarious liability of a principal for acts of an agent; formation, management, and control of general partnerships; formation of corporations and limited liability companies; corporate promoters; management and control of corporations and LLCs; fiduciary duties within business associations; shareholder and member litigation; liability rules related to business associations [S3].
• Civil procedure: jurisdiction and venue; state law in federal court; pretrial procedures; preserving the right to a jury trial; dispositive motions; judgments; appealability and review. Examinees are to assume the application of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the sections of Title 28 of the U.S. Code pertaining to district court and appellate jurisdiction, venue, and transfer [S3].
• Constitutional law: federal judicial power; legislative powers; executive powers; the relation of nation and states in a federal system; individual rights (including state action, substantive and procedural due process, equal protection, takings, ex post facto laws, and the First Amendment religion and free-speech clauses) [S3].
• Contracts: identification of governing law; formation of contracts; defenses to enforceability; contract content and meaning; performance; breach and discharge; remedies; third-party rights and obligations [S3].
• Criminal law and constitutional protections of accused persons: general principles; statutory crimes (including homicide and felony murder, theft, burglary, robbery, assault and battery, possession and trafficking offenses, and operating a motor vehicle while impaired or under the influence); inchoate crimes and parties to a crime; constitutional protections of accused persons (Fourth Amendment arrest, search, and seizure; Fifth Amendment confession and privilege against self-incrimination; Sixth Amendment right to counsel; disclosure of exculpatory and impeachment evidence; due process implications of identification; right to trial by jury) [S3].
• Evidence: relevance and reasons for excluding relevant evidence; presentation of evidence; privileges and other policy exclusions; hearsay and circumstances of its admissibility; exceptions to the rule against hearsay; impeachment, contradiction, and rehabilitation [S3].
• Real property: ownership of real property; rights in real property; real estate sales contracts; mortgages and foreclosure; titles [S3].
• Torts: intentional torts; negligence; common-law strict liability for abnormally dangerous activities; products liability; nuisance; misrepresentation; defamation and privacy; damages [S3].

NCBE expressly cautions that the scope given to a topic in the outline does not indicate greater importance or testing frequency of that topic [S3].

Model Rules of Professional Conduct (NCBE/national). Select American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct (MRPC) are tested in the context of the Group B foundational skills (client counseling and advising, negotiation and dispute resolution, and client relationship and management) within integrated question sets only — not in the standalone multiple-choice sections — and require recalled knowledge without provision of legal resources [S3]. The tested rules are MRPC 1.0 (Terminology), 1.1 (Competence), 1.2(a) and (d) (Scope of Representation), 1.3 (Diligence), 1.4 (Communications), 1.6(a) and (c) (Confidentiality of Information), 1.7 (Conflict of Interest: Current Clients), 3.1 (Meritorious Claims and Contentions), 3.3(a)(1)–(2) (Candor Toward the Tribunal), 4.1 (Truthfulness in Statements to Others), 4.2 (Communication with Person Represented by Counsel), and 4.3 (Dealing with Unrepresented Persons); assessment is limited to application of these rules and does not include knowledge of their comments [S3]. The Blueprint confirms these rules are in the "starred" category [S2].

How doctrine is distributed across item types (NCBE/national). The 120 standalone multiple-choice questions test the eight foundational concepts "presented in approximately equal numbers," and some questions may test more than one foundational concept [S2]. Integrated question sets may test foundational concepts and/or non-foundational areas of doctrinal law (with legal resources); the foundational concepts are not equally distributed among the integrated question sets [S2]. Performance tasks provide legal resources in the form of a case file and library [S2].

No published per-subject weights (NCBE/national). NCBE publishes no percentage weight per subject [S2][S3]. The only quantitative subject-balance statement in the official materials is that the standalone multiple-choice questions test the eight foundational concepts in approximately equal numbers [S2]; the content scope explicitly disclaims any implication of importance or testing frequency from a topic's scope [S3]. The published weights (multiple-choice 49%, integrated question sets 21%, performance tasks 30%) attach to question types, not to subjects [S2]. Anyone asserting a per-subject percentage (e.g., "evidence is X% of the exam") is not reporting an NCBE-published figure.

New Jersey implications (NJ-specific). The New Jersey Supreme Court adopted the NextGen UBE as the bar admissions exam in New Jersey beginning in July 2028; New Jersey continues to administer the legacy UBE through the February 2028 administration, after which NCBE discontinues that format [S5]. The notice adopts the exam as administered nationally and announces no New Jersey-specific local-law component or New Jersey-specific doctrine list — the tested-doctrine map above is the map New Jersey candidates face [S5]. The notice does not address whether New Jersey will later add a local-law component; NCBE states that jurisdictions that administer their own local-law components may elect to extend day two for that purpose [S8]. Whether New Jersey will add such a component has not been announced [S5]. New Jersey's NextGen passing score has not yet been set; an Ad Hoc Committee will recommend one [S5].

Currency note. NCBE states that changes to the content scope are announced at least one year before the administration in which they first appear [S3]. As of August 20, 2026, the August 1, 2025 content scope edition (July 2026–February 2027) is the current published edition, and NCBE has already published the family law outline for the July 2028 administration [S3][S4].

ELI-10: Explain It Like I'm 10

[HYPOTHETICAL — NOT A REAL CASE] A national club of fancy restaurants certifies new chefs with a giant test. For fifty years the test made chefs memorize the whole cookbook — all fourteen chapters, including the dessert chapter and the "recipes from Grandma's family" chapter. This year the club announces a brand-new test. The new rule: you must know eight chapters cold — soups, salads, steaks, and so on. For a few special recipes inside those chapters, the test says "don't bother memorizing these — during the test we'll hand you the actual recipe card." And the dessert chapter and the Grandma chapter aren't on the must-know list at all anymore; they only show up inside bigger challenges where the recipe cards are sitting right there in the test packet. One twist: the club says that in a couple of years, the Grandma chapter will be promoted to the must-know list — they've already written the new chapter outline to prove it.

The club also refuses to say that any chapter is worth a specific percentage of your grade. "Our 120 basic question cards are split roughly evenly among the eight must-know chapters, and that's all we'll say." The new test's official percentages (half multiple-choice, a third long written tasks, the rest scenario sets) are about kinds of questions, not about chapters.

Translating back to the real rule: the eight must-know chapters are NCBE's eight foundational concepts — business associations, civil procedure, constitutional law, contracts, criminal law, evidence, real property, and torts [S1][S2][S3]; the special recipes you still must know from memory are the "starred" topics, while everything else may come with legal resources provided [S2][S3]; the dessert and Grandma chapters are family law and trusts and estates, which appear only as context with legal resources provided on every exam from July 2026 through February 2028 [S1][S2][S3]; the Grandma chapter's future promotion is family law joining the foundational concepts in July 2028 [S1][S4]; and the refusal to give chapter percentages is NCBE's actual position — no per-subject weights are published, only the approximately-equal distribution across the 120 multiple-choice questions and the question-type weights [S2][S3].

Real Case Reference (if applicable)

No published judicial decision addresses the NextGen UBE's tested-doctrine map — the exam's content is an administrative specification, not litigated doctrine [S2][S3][S5]. The governing authority for which doctrines are tested is NCBE's content scope and Blueprint for the NextGen UBE [S2][S3], 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 tests eight foundational concepts from July 2026 through February 2028 — business associations and relationships, civil procedure, constitutional law, contract law, criminal law and constitutional protections of accused persons, evidence, real property, and torts — with family law added as a ninth in July 2028 (NCBE/national) [S1][S2][S3][S4].
• Subjects tested directly (foundational concepts) are governed by NCBE's subject-matter outlines, in which starred topics must be answered from recalled knowledge and unstarred topics may be tested with or without legal resources (NCBE/national) [S2][S3].
• Family law and trusts and estates are not foundational through February 2028: they appear on every exam only as context for skills-focused questions, with legal resources provided (NCBE/national) [S1][S2][S3].
• Select Model Rules of Professional Conduct (MRPC 1.0, 1.1, 1.2(a),(d), 1.3, 1.4, 1.6(a),(c), 1.7, 3.1, 3.3(a)(1)–(2), 4.1, 4.2, 4.3) are tested from recalled knowledge within integrated question sets, not standalone multiple-choice questions (NCBE/national) [S3].
• NCBE publishes no per-subject percentage weights; the 120 standalone multiple-choice questions test the eight foundational concepts in approximately equal numbers, and the published 49/21/30 weights attach to question types (NCBE/national) [S2][S3].
• New Jersey-specific: the Supreme Court adopted the NextGen UBE with a first administration in July 2028 and no announced New Jersey-specific doctrine component; the legacy UBE continues in New Jersey through February 2028 [S5].

Sources

• [S1] National Conference of Bar Examiners, "NextGen UBE Content Scope" (web page), https://www.ncbex.org/exams/nextgen/content-scope (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S2] 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).
• [S3] National Conference of Bar Examiners, "Bar Exam Content Scope, July 2026–February 2027" (PDF, Aug. 1, 2025), https://www.ncbex.org/sites/default/files/2025-07/NCBE%20NextGen%20UBE%20Content%20Scope-Aug%202025.pdf (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S4] National Conference of Bar Examiners, "NextGen Bar Exam Foundational Concepts and Principles: Family Law — First Administration: July 2028" (PDF, Nov. 2024), https://www.ncbex.org/sites/default/files/2025-02/NextGen%20Family%20Law%20Subject%20Matter%20Outline%202028-2.pdf (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, "MEE (Multistate Essay Examination)" (web page), https://www.ncbex.org/exams/mee (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S7] National Conference of Bar Examiners, "UBE (Uniform Bar Examination)" (web page), https://www.ncbex.org/exams/ube (verified 2026-08-20).
• [S8] National Conference of Bar Examiners, "About the NextGen Bar Exam" (web page), https://www.ncbex.org/exams/nextgen/about-nextgen (verified 2026-08-20).

Not Legal Advice