The bar exam is the licensing test you have to pass before you can practice law in a U.S. state. It runs over two days in most jurisdictions and measures both your knowledge of core legal subjects and your ability to apply that knowledge to realistic client problems. Each state sets its own rules on who can sit, what score passes, and how many times you can try again, but the format is largely standardized through tests developed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners.1American Bar Association. Bar Examinations
A major change is coming. Starting in July 2026, a redesigned version called the NextGen Bar Exam begins replacing the current test in a group of jurisdictions, with more expected to follow.2National Conference of Bar Examiners. NextGen Bar Exam Which version you take depends on where and when you sit.
Who Can Take the Bar Exam
The baseline requirement in nearly every state is a Juris Doctor (JD) degree from a law school accredited by the American Bar Association.3American Bar Association. Bar Admissions That typically means three years of full-time study in subjects like contracts, constitutional law, civil procedure, and evidence. If your school lost ABA accreditation while you were enrolled, some jurisdictions will still accept your degree and others won’t.
Graduates of non-ABA-accredited law schools have a narrower path. A handful of states will let them sit only if they’ve already been licensed and actively practicing elsewhere for a set number of years, often five to ten.
Four states let you skip law school entirely and qualify through an apprenticeship sometimes called “reading the law”: California, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. Each has a structured program in which you study under a licensed attorney or judge for several years and document thousands of hours of work. Pass rates for apprenticeship candidates run significantly below those of JD graduates.
Because the rules shift from state to state, check with the board of law examiners in your target jurisdiction early.
What’s on the Current Exam
Forty-one jurisdictions administer the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE), which combines three separately developed components into one two-day test.4National Conference of Bar Examiners. UBE Jurisdictions The rest use their own formats, often incorporating one or two of the same components alongside state-specific essays.
Multistate Bar Examination (MBE)
The MBE is a six-hour, 200-question multiple-choice test covering seven subjects: contracts, torts, constitutional law, criminal law, evidence, real property, and civil procedure. Each question presents a fact pattern and asks you to pick the best answer. You get roughly 1.8 minutes per question.
Multistate Essay Examination (MEE)
The MEE is six essays, 30 minutes each.5National Conference of Bar Examiners. Multistate Essay Examination – Preparing for the MEE You read a fact pattern, spot the legal issues, and write out your analysis. The subject range runs broader than the MBE and can include family law, trusts, and business associations. Graders look for organized reasoning and correct identification of the rules, not polished writing.
Multistate Performance Test (MPT)
The MPT tests practical lawyering rather than memorized law.6National Conference of Bar Examiners. About the MPT You receive a simulated case file with facts, correspondence, and a legal library, then complete a task like a memorandum, persuasive brief, or client letter. Everything you need is in the materials.
Jurisdictions combine scores from the three components and set their own minimum passing thresholds, which is why the same UBE score may qualify you in one state but not another.
The NextGen Exam Starting July 2026
If you plan to take the bar in 2026 or later, confirm which version your jurisdiction is using before you start preparing. Ten jurisdictions have committed to administering the NextGen UBE at the July 2026 sitting: Connecticut, Idaho, Maryland, Missouri, Oregon, Washington, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, and the Virgin Islands.7National Conference of Bar Examiners. NextGen UBE Decisions by Jurisdiction More are expected to follow, and the current UBE will eventually be phased out.
The NextGen exam covers the same foundational subjects: civil procedure, constitutional law, contracts, criminal law, evidence, real property, torts, and business associations.8National Conference of Bar Examiners. NextGen UBE Content Scope It adds an explicit focus on lawyering skills, including legal research, legal writing, client counseling, and negotiation. Family law and trusts and estates appear in skills-focused questions on every exam through at least February 2028, but you won’t need deep subject-matter expertise in those areas because the relevant legal resources are provided in the question materials.
The format breaks into three question types:9National Conference of Bar Examiners. Preparing for the NextGen UBE
- Standalone multiple-choice questions, about 40% of exam time, with four to six answer options. Some questions have more than one correct answer, a departure from the single-answer MBE.
- Integrated question sets, about 25% of exam time. A shared fact scenario with accompanying legal resources is followed by a mix of multiple-choice, short-answer, and medium-length written questions.
- Performance tasks, about 35% of exam time. Standard performance tasks give you a client file and legal library with an extended writing assignment. Legal research performance tasks combine multiple-choice and short-answer questions on research skills with a medium-length writing assignment.
The integrated question sets and legal research tasks are entirely new, so generic MBE prep materials alone won’t cover you.
Applying and the Character and Fitness Review
The bar application is far more invasive than any job application. Beyond official transcripts from every college and law school you attended, you’ll document your residential history going back ten years or to your eighteenth birthday, whichever is shorter. Every address, every employer, every gap needs dates and contact information.
Character and fitness is where applications get derailed. You must disclose any criminal history, academic discipline, civil lawsuits, and financial problems like defaults or bankruptcies. The board runs your fingerprints through a criminal background database and contacts your references. The most common reason for denial isn’t a past mistake itself but dishonesty about it. An applicant who discloses a DUI and shows rehabilitation is in a much better position than one who omits a misdemeanor and gets caught. Incomplete or misleading information can result in permanent denial of admission.
Start compiling these materials months before the filing deadline. Tracking down old landlord contact information or an employer’s address from a decade ago takes longer than you’d expect, and late applications often carry penalty fees or outright rejection.
Testing Accommodations
If a physical or mental condition substantially limits your ability to take the exam under standard conditions, you can request accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Common ones include extended time, a separate testing room, assistive technology, and additional breaks, all at no extra cost. You’ll typically need to submit documentation establishing your diagnosis, explaining how it limits your access to the exam, and identifying the specific accommodations you need. Deadlines usually fall several months before the exam date, so get your documentation together well ahead of the application deadline.
Costs
Fees add up faster than most candidates expect. The application itself typically runs $500 to $1,000 for first-time takers, with some states charging more. On top of that, you’ll pay separate fees for the character and fitness investigation, NCBE exam fees, fingerprinting, and laptop software licensing. Late filing penalties can add several hundred dollars. A realistic budget for exam-related fees alone falls in the $1,000 to $1,500 range, before bar prep courses that commonly run $2,000 to $4,000.
Exam Day
Testing takes place over two days in a controlled environment. You’ll check in with a government-issued photo ID, and many sites use additional identity verification. Electronic devices, books, notes, and unauthorized materials are prohibited in the hall. Violating security protocols can result in disqualification and voided scores.
Most jurisdictions let you type essay answers on a personal laptop loaded with approved exam software. That usually requires a separate laptop fee and a mock exam to confirm your setup works. The software locks down your computer so you can’t access anything outside the exam interface.
Results, the MPRE, and Admission
Expect to wait roughly two to four months for results. Most jurisdictions release scores within 10 to 12 weeks.10American Bar Association. What to Expect After the Bar Exam The national overall pass rate in 2024 was 61%, including both first-time and repeat takers.11National Conference of Bar Examiners. 2024 Statistics First-time pass rates run significantly higher than repeat-taker rates.
Passing the bar exam alone doesn’t get you a license. You also need a passing score on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE), a separate two-hour test on the ethics rules that govern attorneys. Most people take the MPRE during law school since it’s offered three times a year. Required passing scores range from 75 to 86 on the scaled score depending on the jurisdiction. There’s no limit on how many times you can retake it.
Once your exam score, MPRE score, and character and fitness review are all cleared, you’ll receive a formal notification of eligibility, followed by a swearing-in ceremony and admission to the state’s roll of attorneys.
Transferring a UBE Score to Another State
One selling point of the UBE is that your score can transfer to other UBE jurisdictions without retaking the test. Each jurisdiction sets its own minimum score for admission and its own window for how long a score remains valid for transfer, typically three to five years from the date you sat. A score that qualifies you in a state with a lower minimum may not meet a more competitive jurisdiction’s threshold.
Transferring a score doesn’t exempt you from the receiving state’s character and fitness review or any jurisdiction-specific requirements like a state law component or additional coursework. You’ll still complete a separate application in the new state. If you’re thinking about practicing in multiple states, look up their minimum transfer scores early so you can aim high enough to clear all of them.
If You Don’t Pass
Most states let you retake the exam without restriction. A majority of jurisdictions, including California, New York, and Florida, place no cap on attempts. Roughly 20 jurisdictions set either hard limits or discretionary limits, ranging from as few as two attempts to as many as six, with most falling in the three-to-five range. In discretionary states, a board may require you to petition for permission to retake after reaching the cap, sometimes with a showing of additional study.
Some UBE states count attempts made in other UBE jurisdictions toward their local limits. If you failed in one UBE state and plan to try again in another, check whether your prior attempts follow you. Each retake requires a new application and full fees, so the cost of multiple sittings compounds quickly.