The NextGen bar exam is live in ten jurisdictions as of its July 2026 debut, and NCBE's adoption schedule runs through July 2028, when twenty-five more — including California, Florida, New York and Texas — give it for the first time.
Four jurisdictions show no adoption as of October 2026.
Here is the state-by-state timeline: who has already switched, who switches next, and which exam each sitting uses.
Which states already use NextGen?
NCBE first administered the NextGen UBE in July 2026 in ten jurisdictions: Connecticut, Guam, Idaho, Maryland, Missouri, the Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Palau, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Washington.
Seven of the ten — Connecticut, Idaho, Maryland, Missouri, Oregon, Washington and the Virgin Islands — were legacy UBE jurisdictions that dropped that exam when they switched.
Out of the 42 jurisdictions that have adopted the legacy UBE since 2011, NCBE's UBE map showed 35 still administering it as of October 2026.
Our guide to UBE states covers which ones still give the legacy exam.
Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and Palau appear on NCBE's list of jurisdictions that never adopted the legacy UBE; July 2026 was their first NextGen administration.
One wrinkle in the first wave: NCBE confirms Washington's July 2026 exam was cancelled for some applicants after technology failures at the Yakima Convention Center.
A make-up administration was held September 1–2, 2026, in Tacoma, with scores due in early October 2026.
Who switches in 2027 and 2028?
Three more waves follow the debut.
NCBE has published NextGen test dates for February 23–24, 2027, July 27–28, 2027 and February 22–23, 2028; no July 2028 date is on that list yet.
July 2027 — twelve jurisdictions: Arizona, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont and Wyoming.
South Dakota has never adopted the legacy UBE; the other eleven are legacy UBE jurisdictions whose last legacy exam is the February 2027 sitting.
February 2028 — four jurisdictions: Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois and Montana.
Delaware never adopted the legacy UBE; the District of Columbia, Illinois and Montana give it one last time in July 2027.
July 2028 — twenty-five jurisdictions: Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Five of them — California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii and Virginia — never adopted the legacy UBE; the other twenty give it one final time in February 2028.
Mississippi has adopted the NextGen UBE too, with its first administration date still listed as to be determined.
The endpoint is fixed either way: NCBE schedules the final administration of the MBE, MEE and MPT — the components of the legacy UBE — for the February 2028 exam.
Added up, the scheduled waves plus Mississippi cover 52 of the jurisdictions on NCBE's adoption map; only four show no adoption.
Who has not decided?
Four jurisdictions show no NextGen adoption on NCBE's map as of October 2026: Arkansas, Louisiana, Nevada and Puerto Rico.
Arkansas is one of the 35 jurisdictions still giving the legacy UBE; Louisiana, Nevada and Puerto Rico are on NCBE's list of jurisdictions that never adopted it.
The map records adoption status, not an announced decision — NCBE's adoption table was last updated September 25, 2026, and Mississippi's "adopted, date to be determined" entry shows jurisdictions can land between the waves.
If you plan to test in one of the four, treat your exam's format and date as open questions until you confirm them.
For everything else admission involves, the bar admission by state guide covers each gate.
The timeline is a snapshot — verify before you plan around it
Which class year is affected?
The exam in front of you is set by where you test and which administration you sit for — not by your graduation year on its own.
Match your target jurisdiction's first NextGen administration against the sitting you plan:
- July 2026 switchers: every administration from July 2026 onward is the NextGen UBE, starting with the July 2026 exam itself.
- July 2027 states: July 2027 is the NextGen. In the eleven that give the legacy UBE, February 2027 is still the legacy exam, so a 2027 graduate there who waits for July takes the NextGen and one who sits in February takes the legacy UBE. South Dakota never adopted the legacy UBE.
- February 2028 states: February 2028 is the NextGen. In the District of Columbia, Illinois and Montana, July 2027 is the legacy UBE; Delaware never adopted it.
- July 2028 states: July 2028 is the first NextGen. In the twenty that give the legacy UBE, February 2028 is the final legacy UBE; California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii and Virginia never adopted it. Either way, the class of 2028 in those twenty-five jurisdictions faces a different exam depending on the sitting.
From July 2028 on, no administration of the legacy UBE exists: NCBE says it will run only through February 2028.
Every portable UBE score earned from the July 2028 administration onward is a NextGen score.
Two wrinkles matter if a transferred score is part of your plan.
NextGen scores are portable to jurisdictions that accept them, and some jurisdictions still giving the legacy UBE already accept NextGen transfer scores — but Florida and New York will not accept NextGen transfer scores from any administration before July 2028, and Hawaii is listed as not accepting transfers.
The exam itself also changes with the July 2028 NextGen UBE: family law joins the tested foundational subjects starting with that administration; until then it appears only in skills questions with legal resources provided.
The NextGen bar exam guide covers the full subject list, scoring and format.
Where a score can travel is a career question as much as an exam one — current openings are listed under attorney jobs.
NextGen adoption timeline by state
The table lists every jurisdiction on NCBE's NextGen adoption map as of October 2026, in wave order.
"Last legacy UBE exam" is the final legacy administration before that jurisdiction's switch — the February exam before a July switch, the July exam before a February one.
Jurisdictions NCBE marks as never having adopted the legacy UBE show "None."
The four with no adoption have no switch date to measure from: Arkansas is marked as still giving the legacy UBE, and Louisiana, Nevada and Puerto Rico, which never adopted it, show "None."
NCBE's own adoption table, last updated September 25, 2026, is the authoritative version.
| Jurisdiction | First NextGen administration | Last legacy UBE exam |
|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | July 2026 | February 2026 |
| Guam | July 2026 | None |
| Idaho | July 2026 | February 2026 |
| Maryland | July 2026 | February 2026 |
| Missouri | July 2026 | February 2026 |
| Northern Mariana Islands | July 2026 | None |
| Oregon | July 2026 | February 2026 |
| Palau | July 2026 | None |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | July 2026 | February 2026 |
| Washington | July 2026 | February 2026 |
| Arizona | July 2027 | February 2027 |
| Iowa | July 2027 | February 2027 |
| Kentucky | July 2027 | February 2027 |
| Minnesota | July 2027 | February 2027 |
| Nebraska | July 2027 | February 2027 |
| New Mexico | July 2027 | February 2027 |
| North Dakota | July 2027 | February 2027 |
| Oklahoma | July 2027 | February 2027 |
| South Dakota | July 2027 | None |
| Tennessee | July 2027 | February 2027 |
| Vermont | July 2027 | February 2027 |
| Wyoming | July 2027 | February 2027 |
| Delaware | February 2028 | None |
| District of Columbia | February 2028 | July 2027 |
| Illinois | February 2028 | July 2027 |
| Montana | February 2028 | July 2027 |
| Alabama | July 2028 | February 2028 |
| Alaska | July 2028 | February 2028 |
| California | July 2028 | None |
| Colorado | July 2028 | February 2028 |
| Florida | July 2028 | None |
| Georgia | July 2028 | None |
| Hawaii | July 2028 | None |
| Indiana | July 2028 | February 2028 |
| Kansas | July 2028 | February 2028 |
| Maine | July 2028 | February 2028 |
| Massachusetts | July 2028 | February 2028 |
| Michigan | July 2028 | February 2028 |
| New Hampshire | July 2028 | February 2028 |
| New Jersey | July 2028 | February 2028 |
| New York | July 2028 | February 2028 |
| North Carolina | July 2028 | February 2028 |
| Ohio | July 2028 | February 2028 |
| Pennsylvania | July 2028 | February 2028 |
| Rhode Island | July 2028 | February 2028 |
| South Carolina | July 2028 | February 2028 |
| Texas | July 2028 | February 2028 |
| Utah | July 2028 | February 2028 |
| Virginia | July 2028 | None |
| West Virginia | July 2028 | February 2028 |
| Wisconsin | July 2028 | February 2028 |
| Mississippi | Adopted; date to be determined | None |
| Arkansas | Not adopted (as of October 2026) | Legacy UBE as of October 2026 |
| Louisiana | Not adopted (as of October 2026) | None |
| Nevada | Not adopted (as of October 2026) | None |
| Puerto Rico | Not adopted (as of October 2026) | None |
Where passing scores are concerned, NCBE says most jurisdictions have set theirs between 610 and 620 on the 500–750 scale — and it cautions that legacy (400-scale) and NextGen scores should not be compared directly.
The adoption table also lists, per jurisdiction, the date it accepts transferred scores from and the minimum transferred score it takes.
Career information, not legal advice: exam schedules and adoption dates change. Confirm your jurisdiction's current requirements with the bar admission authority in your state and with NCBE's current adoption table before you register.