The NextGen/UBE Testing Format

Although the current California GBX and other states UBE formats are similar, the next NextGen format presents definitive differences.

In general, the NextGen/UBE will be administered like the current UBE legacy bar exams – with each state establishing its own review and pass rate standards.

It will be administered over 1½ days with two 3-hour sessions on Day 1 and 1 3-hour session on Day 2. The 2-session may be extended by some states that choose to add a local law component.

The exam is taken in-person on examinee’s own laptops. An as-advertised “secure” online assessment platform is presumably used to present the exam and to record examinee’s responses. As noted, each jurisdiction will establish its own passing score.

49% of the NextGen/UBE score will be based on 120 multiple choice questions – consisting of traditional 4-choice options (with one correct answer) and new 6-choice options (with two correct answers and partial credit awarded for one correct answer).

21% of the NextGen score will consist of six total sets of questions connected to a single extended fact pattern – with short answer essay questions and some multiple-choice questions.

30% of the NextGen/UBE score consists of three practical 60-minute performance test tasks testing core lawyering capabilities – including analysis, counseling, and writing skills.

Core subjects that must be mastered include Business Associations (including Agency and Partnership), Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts (including Article 2 of the UCC), Torts, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Evidence, Real Property, Family Law, and implicitly Remedies (as a part of Torts and Contracts).

Issue-Spotting, Legal Analysis & Research, Writing Skills, Deductive Reasoning are among the foundational skills necessary to succeed. Having reviewed existing examples from the different sections of the NextGen/UBE that are currently available, it is also clear that memorization remains a critical skill – despite the reported suggestion that memorization is minimized with the new NextGen/UBE format.

Six states currently administer the NextGen/UBE format. The balance of states will transition to the NextGen/UBE bar in 2027 and 2028. The current California and UBE formats using the MBE, the multi-state essay exam (MEE) and the multi-state performance test (MPTE) will be phased out in February 2028.