If you fail the bar exam, you can retake it at the next administration about six months later: the exam runs on the last Tuesday and Wednesday of February and July every year, and most states let you register for the next sitting with no waiting period. How many total attempts you get depends on your state, and if you came close to passing in a Uniform Bar Exam jurisdiction, you may be able to transfer your score to a state with a lower cutoff instead of sitting again.
When the Next Exam Is and When You’ll Know You Failed
The schedule is fixed. For 2026, the exam dates are February 24–25 and July 28–29.1National Conference of Bar Examiners. Uniform Bar Examination Fail July, you aim for February. Fail February, you aim for July.
You won’t know you failed right away. Most jurisdictions release results two to three months after the exam, so July results typically arrive in September or October and February results in April or May. California has historically taken longer, releasing July results in November.2National Conference of Bar Examiners. Bar Exam Results by Jurisdiction That delay compresses your prep window. A candidate who learns in November that they failed the July exam has barely three months before the February sitting.
The compressed timeline matters because retakers face steeper odds. In 2024, 75% of first-time takers passed nationwide, compared with 31% of repeat takers.3National Conference of Bar Examiners. 2024 Statistics Snapshot Knowing when results will arrive lets you plan a real study schedule rather than scramble.
How Many Times You Can Retake the Bar
Most states place no limit on the number of attempts. California, New York, Florida, Illinois, Georgia, and Wisconsin all allow unlimited sittings, and a clear majority of jurisdictions follow that approach.
A smaller group uses discretionary limits. You get a set number of attempts, and after that you need special permission from the state’s board of bar examiners to keep testing. The board generally wants to see a changed study approach or unusual circumstances behind earlier failures. South Carolina requires permission after three failures. West Virginia requires it after four, with documentation of extraordinary circumstances. Texas caps you at five attempts unless you demonstrate compelling reasons.
A handful of states impose hard caps with no path to additional attempts:
- New Hampshire: 4 attempts
- Vermont: 4 attempts
- Kentucky: 5 attempts
- Rhode Island: 5 attempts
- North Dakota: 6 attempts
In these states, once you exhaust your attempts, you cannot sit for that state’s exam again. Rules change, so confirm the current limit with your jurisdiction’s board of bar examiners before assuming any number applies to you. If you are approaching an attempt cap, the UBE transfer option below may still be available.
Transferring a UBE Score Instead of Retaking
Forty U.S. jurisdictions have adopted the Uniform Bar Exam, and a UBE score earned in one state can be transferred to another.1National Conference of Bar Examiners. Uniform Bar Examination This works even if your score didn’t clear the cutoff in the state where you sat. If it meets the receiving state’s minimum, you can be admitted there without taking the exam again.4National Conference of Bar Examiners. Transferring Your UBE Scores
Each UBE state sets its own passing threshold, and the spread is meaningful. The lowest minimums are 260, in states including Alabama, Minnesota, and Missouri. The highest are 270, in states including Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Texas. Several states sit at 264, 266, or 268.5National Conference of Bar Examiners. UBE Minimum Scores A 262 is a failing score in a 270 state but a passing score in a 260 state. For near-miss candidates willing to practice elsewhere, that gap is a real alternative to another six months of study.
Transferred scores expire, and the window varies. North Dakota and Rhode Island accept scores only up to two years old. The largest group, including New York, New Jersey, and Oregon, sets the limit at three years. Alaska, Arizona, Ohio, and Texas allow transfers up to five years.6National Conference of Bar Examiners. UBE Maximum Score Age You still need to satisfy the receiving state’s other admission requirements, including the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination and its character and fitness review.
Re-Applying for the Next Exam
Re-applying is shorter than your first application but just as deadline-driven. Each board of bar examiners posts a separate re-examination application on its website. The board already has your file, so the form is usually abbreviated, but a late submission is rejected outright. Re-application fees generally run several hundred dollars and in some states exceed $1,000. Some jurisdictions offer a reduced retaker rate; many charge the same as first-time applicants.
You also need to update your character and fitness disclosure. The board expects you to report anything new since your last application: job changes, address changes, and any conduct that could affect your fitness to practice, including traffic violations and arrests. Incomplete or dishonest updates can lead to denial, or to disbarment if discovered later.
Watch Your MPRE Score
If you are retaking the bar across multiple cycles, track your MPRE score age. Each jurisdiction sets its own maximum, and if yours expires between attempts, you will need to retake the MPRE before admission.7National Conference of Bar Examiners. MPRE Score Services The MPRE is offered three times a year on its own schedule, so plan around it rather than hitting the issue at the end.
Get Your Score Report Before You Study
Before buying a new study program, request whatever diagnostic information your jurisdiction provides. Some states release detailed breakdowns of your MBE performance, your essay scores, and your written answers. If you were only a few points short, targeted work on your weakest subjects may be enough. If the gap was wider, a fundamentally different study plan is in order.
The NextGen Bar Exam in 2026
One format change matters for anyone planning a 2026 retake. The NextGen Uniform Bar Examination will be administered for the first time in July 2026 in a limited number of jurisdictions.8National Conference of Bar Examiners. NextGen Bar Exam NextGen replaces the current UBE format with a skills-based exam emphasizing foundational lawyering abilities across litigation and transactional practice, and it uses a different scoring scale of 500 to 750.
If your state is among the early adopters, your prep materials and approach have to match. The exam’s content draws on clinical legal education, alternative dispute resolution, and legal writing in ways the current format does not. If your state is not launching NextGen in July 2026, you will sit the existing UBE. Confirm which version your jurisdiction is administering before you start studying.
Preparing Differently the Second Time
The 31% repeat-taker pass rate is a warning that doing the same thing again rarely works.3National Conference of Bar Examiners. 2024 Statistics Snapshot Retakers who pass tend to change something concrete about their preparation: a different course, a restructured schedule, or a different balance between memorization and practice questions.
If you are studying while working, start early. Candidates who begin several months out can cover the material at 15 to 25 hours per week. Those who start eight weeks out or less often need 40 to 50 hours per week, which is nearly impossible alongside a full-time job. The six-month gap between administrations works in your favor if you use it from the start rather than waiting until the final weeks.
Spend your time where the score report points. Many retakers re-study everything equally and spread themselves thin across subjects they already know. Disproportionate time on your weakest two or three subjects, paired with timed practice essays, is more likely to close the gap than a full comprehensive review.