The next NextGen bar exam runs on February 23–24, 2027, in the same ten jurisdictions that gave the first one in July 2026. The logistics are fully published, and they have teeth: miss a readiness step and you will not be seated; carry the wrong item into the room and you can be dismissed mid-exam.
This is the complete exam-day checklist, verified against NCBE's test-day policies and the Official Examinees' Guide (July 2026–February 2027) on September 20, 2026, with what the July 2026 administration taught about venues added. Bookmark it, then go back to practicing.
The deadline that outranks everything: 72 hours before day one
Before you worry about exam day, clear the pre-exam requirements. NCBE's rule is that every readiness step must be complete no later than 72 hours before exam day — for the February 23–24, 2027 sitting that is Saturday, February 20, 2027 at the latest, and your board may communicate an earlier date (for July 2026, boards used Wednesday, July 22, six days out). Use the earliest date you're given. The policy language is not soft: fail to complete any step on time and you will not be permitted to sit for the exam. There is no walk-in fix on the 23rd.
The four steps, all done through your NCBE account:
- Agree to the Candidate Agreement. A few minutes of reading and a signature.
- Pay the technology fee — $149, charged by NCBE on top of your jurisdiction's exam fee. It covers exam delivery and technical support.
- Download the NCBE Secure Browser onto the laptop you will actually test with.
- Complete the exam tutorial and sample questions inside the browser. The system compatibility check runs at the same time, confirming your laptop's hardware, operating system, and configuration can run the secure browser.
Two details worth knowing:
- You can switch laptops before exam day, free. Download the secure browser on the new machine and complete the compatibility check again. After the deadline, don't experiment — the laptop that passed the check is the laptop you bring.
- The tutorial isn't busywork. It's the same interface you'll spend nine hours inside — the highlighter, the answer navigator, the File and Library panes for performance tasks. Learn it now so exam day holds zero interface surprises. NCBE's free preview materials are covered in our guide to NCBE's official resources.
What to bring
Admission at the door requires all of the following:
| Item | The detail that trips people |
|---|---|
| Your laptop | The same machine that passed the system check — not an identical model, not a fresh backup |
| Your charger | The device must stay plugged in for the entire exam; battery is not a plan |
| Government-issued photo ID | The name must match your NCBE account. Driver's license or passport both work |
| Your NCBE Number | Know it or have it accessible — some jurisdictions provide it onsite, most expect you to |
| Optional: a mouse | Wired only. Wireless and Bluetooth mice are prohibited |
Plan to arrive at least 90 minutes before the scheduled start time. Check-in for a laptop-based exam is slower than the paper era: identity verification, device inspection, seating, secure-browser launch.
If the name on your ID doesn't match your NCBE account — new married name, missing middle name — fix the account this week, not at the check-in table.
What not to bring
The prohibited list is broader than the legacy exam's, because everything on your body is now a potential connected device:
- Any internet- or Bluetooth-connected device: phones, smartwatches, fitness trackers — including Oura rings — and smart glasses
- Headphones, and earplugs unless your jurisdiction provides them
- Cameras and recording devices of any kind
- Study materials, outlines, and notes
- Bags beyond what your jurisdiction explicitly authorizes
The policy states that possession of a prohibited item may result in immediate dismissal — not confiscation at the door, dismissal. The safe rule: if it isn't on the required list above, it stays in your car or hotel room.
One exception you have to arrange in advance, not at the door: medication, food, and medical devices. A continuous glucose monitor or a phone-paired medical alert is a connected device to a proctor reading that list, and most boards run a separate form for it on its own deadline — see bar exam accommodations under NextGen.
How the 1.5 days actually run
| Date | Sessions | |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Tuesday, February 23, 2027 | Two 3-hour sessions — morning and afternoon |
| Day 2 | Wednesday, February 24, 2027 | One 3-hour session — you're done by midday |
Every session has the identical anatomy: 40 multiple-choice questions, 2 integrated question sets, and 1 performance task on one shared 180-minute clock. The exam never tells you how to split the time; the arithmetic that works is roughly 72 minutes for the MCQ block (1.8 minutes per question), about 24 per question set, and 60 for the performance task. Our question-type strategy guide covers how to attack each format.
Three scheduling rules with teeth:
- Late starts are not permitted. Each section runs at its scheduled day and time, period.
- Sections are one-way doors. You can navigate freely within a section, but once it closes you cannot return to it.
- You stay seated unless a proctor grants permission to leave — restroom trips included.
And one rule of biology: the Day 1 afternoon session is where unprepared candidates fade. Most people have never done two 3-hour blocks back to back. If you haven't yet, simulate one full Day 1 before the 23rd — the complete exam guide explains the format in depth.
Some jurisdictions also attach local components around the national exam — Guam adds local-law questions on Day 2, Washington runs a separate open-book state-law test. Your jurisdiction's page lists what applies to you.
What July 2026 taught about venues
The first administration's two failures — Washington's cancelled sitting in Yakima and Missouri's delayed day one in Columbia — were venue networks, not the exam platform: the Missouri Supreme Court found the site's Wi-Fi "inadequate," and NCBE called Washington's problem a venue-specific infrastructure issue. The full account is worth ten minutes; the rules it turns on are these, from NCBE's Examinees' Guide:
- Your testing location is supposed to have standard and backup Wi-Fi, technical proctors alongside the exam proctors, and backup laptops for in-session emergencies.
- You must connect to the Wi-Fi at the start of each section. That is the moment a bad venue network stops a section from starting — the Yakima and Columbia story.
- If connectivity drops during a section, your responses are saved on your laptop and the exam continues; you must reconnect before the next section begins or before leaving at the end of each day.
Washington's September make-up ran with three backup devices deployed, cellular backup connectivity and on-site upload confirmation, and NCBE reported no administration-level interruptions. Those are reasonable things to ask your own board about before you travel: what the backup connectivity is, whether backup devices are on site, and how you'll be told if a section start is delayed.
If technology fails on the day
NCBE staffs exam sites with technical support, and backup laptops exist — but the policy is narrow. A backup device may be issued when the secure browser itself malfunctions. It will not be issued because your laptop wasn't properly prepared, wasn't the one that passed the check, or arrived without a charger.
Translation: the failure modes you control — wrong device, dead battery, skipped compatibility check — have no safety net. The failure mode you can't control does.
The last week, planned
By Saturday, February 20 (or your board's earlier date): log into your NCBE account and verify all four readiness steps show complete. Don't trust memory; look.
February 20–21: keep the reps short and timed. A 10-question set at the real 1.8-minute pace each morning keeps your clock calibrated without burning you out. Alternate integrated question sets and performance-task rubric reviews in the afternoons. By the weekend, stop opening new topics — review your starred rules and weak-area queue instead.
Monday, February 22: logistics day. Drive the route or check into the hotel. Charge the laptop, pack the charger and ID, write your NCBE number somewhere that isn't your phone. Light review only.
Exam days: eat breakfast, arrive 90 minutes early, and remember that three 3-hour sessions reward being rested more than they reward one more pass through an outline. Sleep is a scoring decision.
Verify against the sources
Policies can be updated and jurisdictions add their own instructions, which control where they differ. Before exam day, skim the primary sources yourself:
- NCBE's NextGen UBE test-day policies
- The Official Examinees' Guide to the NextGen UBE, July 2026–February 2027 (PDF)
- Your jurisdiction's own exam notice — dates, times, and local rules live there, and our jurisdictions hub links each board
Whatever the countdown says, the highest-value hour you can spend is still a timed one. Take the free 10-question diagnostic — it runs at the real exam pace, mixes in select-two questions, and shows you exactly which subjects deserve your final week.
