NextGen UBE

Legacy UBE vs. NextGen UBE

Key Differences:

Duration: Legacy UBE is 12 hours over two days; NextGen UBE is 9 hours over 1.5 days.
Delivery: Legacy UBE uses printed materials, Scantrons, and examinees’ laptops; NextGen UBE is administered entirely on examinees’ laptops.
Content Focus: Both cover core legal knowledge, but the NextGen UBE expands on the legal skills tested on the legacy UBE, emphasizing issue spotting, research, writing, client counseling, and negotiation.
Question Structure: Legacy UBE includes multiple-choice questions, essays, and performance tests; NextGen UBE includes multiple-choice questions, integrated question sets, and performance tasks.

The NextGen UBE will be administered by select jurisdictions starting in July 2026, with more to follow during each successive administration.

Exam Details:

Administration: Twice annually (February and July). First administration is July 2026 (select jurisdictions).
Format: 9 hours over 1.5 days.
Delivery: Computer-based, using NCBE’s secure testing browser on examinee laptops at jurisdiction-managed sites.
Subjects Tested: Business associations, civil procedure, constitutional law, contract law, criminal law, evidence, real property, and torts.
Skills Assessed: Legal research, legal writing, issue spotting and analysis, investigation and evaluation, client counseling and advising, negotiation and dispute resolution, and client relationship and management.
Question Formats: Multiple-choice questions, integrated question sets (simulating real-world legal tasks), and performance tasks.
Scoring: NCBE scores multiple-choice; jurisdictions score written portions.
Portability: NextGen UBE scores earned in any jurisdiction may be transferred for admission to any other jurisdiction that accepts portable scores.