The NextGen bar exam runs on a fixed national rhythm — every February and July, 1.5 days each — but your dates depend on one more variable: whether your state has switched yet. This post lays out the calendar through 2028, the day-by-day schedule, and the registration mechanics that trip people up.
The administration calendar
Day 2 of each administration falls on the last Wednesday of February and July; Day 1 is the Tuesday before it.
| Administration | Day 1 (Tue) | Day 2 (Wed) | Who can sit |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 2026 | July 28 | July 29 | The first 10 jurisdictions |
| February 2027 | February 23 | February 24 | Those same 10 |
| July 2027 | July 27 | July 28 | 23 jurisdictions (the 2027 wave joins) |
| February 2028 | February 22 | February 23 | 26 jurisdictions (Delaware, DC, Illinois join) |
| July 2028 | July 25 | July 26 | Essentially nationwide (the 23-state big wave joins) |
The legacy UBE's final administration is February 2028 — from July 2028 there is no old exam to fall back on.
Which wave your state is in changes everything about this table's meaning for you: a New Yorker's "next administration" is July 2028 no matter how ready they are in 2026. Check your state's page on the jurisdictions hub — each one computes the state's actual next available date — or read the full adoption timeline.
The 1.5-day schedule
- Day 1: two 3-hour sessions (morning and afternoon).
- Day 2: one 3-hour session (morning), and you're done by midday.
Each session is the same shape — roughly 40 MCQs, 2 integrated question sets, 1 performance task (the full format guide breaks it down). Nine hours of total testing versus the legacy UBE's twelve, and you get half of day two back.
Two logistics facts with prep consequences:
- You test on your own laptop at an in-person, proctored site, using NCBE's exam software. The free software preview shows the interface — highlighting, notes, bookmarks, and an answer-review screen. Spend an hour in it before exam week; interface fumbling is the cheapest possible thing to eliminate. (Our practice players deliberately mirror the flag-and-review workflow.)
- The afternoon session is a stamina problem. Most candidates never practice two 3-hour blocks back to back. At least once before exam day, simulate a full Day 1.
Registration: your board of bar examiners runs the show
NCBE builds and scores the exam; admission belongs to each jurisdiction. Your state's board of bar examiners (or Supreme Court equivalent) controls:
- Registration windows and deadlines — typically opening months before the administration, with late-fee tiers. There is no national deadline; "when is registration due" has 50+ answers.
- Fees — set per jurisdiction.
- Character & fitness — its own application with its own (often earlier) timeline; in many states this is the real deadline that catches people.
- Laptop registration — registering your device for the exam software is usually a separate step from exam registration.
- State-specific components — some jurisdictions attach local requirements to admission: Missouri's educational component test, Maryland's state-law outlines with a confirmatory quiz, Washington's open-book state-law test, Texas's planned state-law component, and others. These are admission requirements alongside the uniform exam — your NextGen score travels; these don't.
- The MPRE — required nearly everywhere (Wisconsin and Puerto Rico are the exceptions), on its own separate schedule. Book it early; it's the easiest requirement to let slip.
Every state page on this site links NCBE's decisions page and names the board that owns your deadlines — find yours and put its dates in your calendar the same day you pick an administration.
Choosing your administration: February or July?
For candidates with a choice (graduation timing, retakes, career plans):
- July is the natural first attempt for May graduates — a summer of prep, results in the fall.
- February suits December graduates, retakers, and career-changers — but mind the compressed calendar: registration deadlines land in the fall, holiday weeks eat study time, and prep runway is short if you decide late.
- Crossing the switch: if your state changes exams between your first attempt and a possible retake, factor in that the retake is a different format — the arithmetic is in NextGen vs. legacy UBE.
Whichever date you pick, work backward from it in weeks, not vibes. Our free study plan generator only offers administrations your state actually holds — pick the date, get a week-by-week schedule keyed to it.
The checklist
- Confirm your state's exam for your date on its page — NextGen, legacy UBE, or its own path
- Note the registration window and the character & fitness deadline from your board
- Register your laptop when the board opens device registration
- Book the MPRE on its separate calendar (unless you're in an exception state)
- Try NCBE's software preview well before exam week
- Build the study calendar backward from Day 1 — generate one free
- Establish your baseline with the 10-question diagnostic
Dates are the one part of this exam with zero uncertainty. Lock them down in week one and spend your anxiety budget on something that actually moves your score.