The bar exam is held on the last Tuesday and Wednesday of February and July each year. In 2026, that means February 24–25 for the winter administration and July 28–29 for the summer one. July is the larger session because most law students graduate in May; February serves December graduates and anyone retaking the test.
2026 Bar Exam Dates
The February 2026 exam runs Tuesday, February 24 through Wednesday, February 25. It is the smaller of the two sessions but matters for candidates who finished law school in December or who need another attempt after a previous cycle. Passing in February generally means results by late spring and a summer start at a firm or agency.
The July 2026 exam runs Tuesday, July 28 through Wednesday, July 29. This is the session most first-time test-takers choose because it follows May graduation and allows roughly two months of dedicated study. Both administrations use the same Tuesday-Wednesday pattern and both fall in the last full week of the month.
What Each Day Covers
Most jurisdictions in 2026 still use the Uniform Bar Examination, which runs 12 hours across the two days, split into three-hour morning and afternoon sessions.
Tuesday is the written portion. You complete the Multistate Performance Test, which asks you to draft a document like a memo or brief from provided materials, and the Multistate Essay Examination, a set of six essay questions covering core subjects.
Wednesday is the Multistate Bar Examination, a 200-question multiple-choice test covering civil procedure, constitutional law, contracts, criminal law and procedure, evidence, real property, and torts. The questions are divided into two three-hour sessions of 100 each. Because the MBE is scored nationally, UBE scores transfer between UBE jurisdictions, subject to the receiving state’s minimum score and time limit.1National Conference of Bar Examiners. Transferring Your UBE Scores
The NextGen Exam Starting July 2026
The July 2026 administration is also the launch of the NextGen Uniform Bar Examination, which replaces the current UBE in a staggered rollout.2National Conference of Bar Examiners. NextGen Bar Exam If you are sitting in one of the first NextGen jurisdictions, your exam dates are the same, but your schedule on those dates is different.
Ten jurisdictions administer the NextGen exam for the first time in July 2026: Connecticut, Idaho, Maryland, Missouri, Oregon, Washington, and several U.S. territories. More jurisdictions join in July 2027 and February 2028. The current MBE, MEE, and MPT will no longer be offered after February 2028.3National Conference of Bar Examiners. NextGen Uniform Bar Exam Fact Sheet
The NextGen exam is shorter: one and a half days instead of two full days, with three three-hour sections totaling nine testing hours. It still falls on the last Tuesday and Wednesday of February and July, but Wednesday is a single morning session rather than a full day.4National Conference of Bar Examiners. NextGen UBE Blueprint, July 2026-February 2027
Application Deadlines Before Each Exam
Registration closes months ahead of exam day. For the February exam, most jurisdictions set initial filing deadlines around the preceding November. For the July exam, expect deadlines in March or April. These timelines account for the character and fitness investigation every applicant undergoes before being cleared to sit, which can take anywhere from a few weeks to over a year depending on the complexity of your background.
Fees generally run $500 to $1,500 for the combined application and character review. Late registration windows exist in most states, but late fees can add several hundred dollars and in some places effectively double the cost. If you plan to type your answers, budget roughly $100 to $125 more for software licensing.
Jurisdictions That Don’t Follow the Standard Schedule
Not every state uses the standard two-day UBE format. Roughly a dozen jurisdictions give their own bar exam, though many still incorporate nationally developed components like the MBE. A few spread testing across three non-consecutive days to cover state-specific law alongside the national material, which adds several hours to the overall commitment.
Even in jurisdictions on the Tuesday-Wednesday pattern, start times differ. Some boards begin check-in as early as 7:20 a.m., with the first session starting at 8:00 or 8:30. Verify the exact schedule, reporting location, and permitted materials with your jurisdiction’s board of bar examiners well before exam day. Holiday conflicts occasionally force date adjustments, though this is rare.
When Results Arrive
February results are typically released between April and June. July results come out between September and November. Turnaround varies significantly by jurisdiction: some states post results within four to six weeks, while others take closer to three months, and larger states with more examinees tend to take longer.
Passing the exam is not the final step. You still need to clear character and fitness review, which may not conclude until after scores are released. Once both are complete, your state’s admitting authority certifies you to the court, and you attend an admission ceremony to take the oath. The gap between results and the swearing-in is usually weeks rather than months.
If you do not pass, most jurisdictions let you retake at the next administration, though a few cap the number of attempts or add requirements after repeated failures. Retakers face the same application deadlines as first-time candidates, so the November and March-April filing windows apply to you as well.