NextGen Bar Exam Results 2026: Release Dates by State and Pass Rates

On July 28–29, 2026, ten jurisdictions administer the first NextGen bar exam. This fall, they release the first NextGen results — and the first NextGen pass rates — in history.

This post tracks both: when each first-wave jurisdiction releases, how the score actually reaches you, and what the inaugural pass rates should look like based on how NCBE built the exam. (For what happened at the administration itself — Washington's cancelled sitting and September make-up, Missouri's delays and pending pass-score decision — see the first NextGen bar exam: what happened in July 2026.) As of September 20, 2026, four boards have put dates on the calendar — Missouri (October 2), Idaho (October 6), Washington (October 9) and Oregon (by October 16). Connecticut and Maryland are below with each board's historical pace as the best available guide. We update this page as announcements land, and again the day the numbers publish.

When results come out, state by state

Jurisdictions — not NCBE — announce results. Four have now committed to dates; for the rest, the best predictor is the board's own history:

The official dates carry a lesson for everyone else: all four land later than the board's legacy pace. Missouri is about a week behind its 2025 rhythm, Oregon three weeks, Idaho and Washington nearly four. That's the first-cycle reality — 51% of the score comes from written items, dual-graded by jurisdiction-appointed graders on NCBE's common platform with reconciliation by grading leads, and NCBE is scaling and equating a brand-new exam form. On September 1 NCBE said that written grading was still in progress and that it will publish the national mean NextGen score in early October. General guidance of 8–12 weeks after the exam (September 22–October 20) still frames the window, but the announced dates say: expect the later half of it. If you're making job-start, moving, or retake decisions, plan around mid-October, not the day your fastest classmate predicts on Reddit.

How the result actually reaches you

The pipeline has three stages, and knowing them stops a lot of refresh-anxiety:

1. NCBE scores the exam. Multiple-choice items are scored by NCBE; written items are dual-graded by graders your jurisdiction appoints, on NCBE's common grading platform against NCBE's rubrics, with reconciliation by grading leads; then NCBE scales and equates everything into one 500–750 score and reports it to your jurisdiction.
2. Your jurisdiction announces. Each board publishes results its own way — a posted pass list, an email, a portal update (Washington, for example, posts to your applicant home page) — on its own date. This is the moment that counts legally, and it's why neighbors in different states hear on different days.
3. Your NCBE account catches up. After your jurisdiction releases results and authorizes it, your numeric score appears under Score Services in your NCBE account. If a friend can see their score and you can't, the difference is almost always jurisdiction authorization timing, not your outcome.

One transition-era wrinkle worth knowing before you plan around a transfer: NextGen scores move between jurisdictions the way UBE scores did, and many boards already accept them — but New York and Florida will not accept NextGen transfer scores earned before July 2028, and Hawaii doesn't accept transfers at all. If your plan involves waiving into another state, check that state's jurisdiction page before assuming your score travels.

The first NextGen pass rates: what to expect

There is no NextGen pass rate yet — the first one gets made this fall. But NCBE didn't leave the outcome to chance, and the design work tells you roughly what to expect:

• The passing band was engineered for continuity. NCBE's recommended 610–620 range came out of standard-setting studies with more than 80 panelists nominated from 43 jurisdictions, concordance analyses linking performance on the legacy UBE and the NextGen exam, and outcome modeling that explicitly examined how different cut scores would move jurisdictional pass rates. NCBE describes 610–620 as corresponding to the familiar 260–270 band on the legacy scale — and the first-wave states' announced scores map onto their old cuts with striking neatness.
• So the base case is continuity, not a cliff. A state that passed roughly 70–80% of July first-timers on the legacy exam should expect the same neighborhood on NextGen. The exam was explicitly calibrated so that switching formats doesn't silently raise or lower the bar.
• Expect noise, and don't panic-read it. The first wave is ten smaller jurisdictions, and two of them capped their candidate pools for this administration — Connecticut limited applications to 600, and Maryland capped seats at 1,000 with priority to first-timers. Between caps and territory-sized cohorts (a few dozen examinees can swing double digits on sample size alone), a first-wave state printing 62% or 84% is a data point, not a verdict on the exam.
• The clean national read arrives later. NCBE publishes aggregate statistics after jurisdictions report; the definitive first-administration picture — and any honest comparison to legacy July rates — firms up over the winter. We'll add every confirmed number to this post as it publishes.

If the news is bad: the map for February 2027

The next NextGen administration is February 23–24, 2027, and here's the fact most people miss: no new jurisdictions join in February — the same first ten administer it. If you took NextGen in July, your retake is the same exam, in the same state, about four months after results day. (Weighing a format switch, or failed the legacy UBE in a state that's changing over? The full retake decision guide walks the whole map.)

And now that real dates exist, look at how tight the squeeze actually is:

• Missouri: February 2027 applications open September 1, and the timely deadline is October 1 — the day before results come out on October 2. Filing on time means filing before you know your result. Miss it and the fee climbs at the November 2 and December 1 late tiers.
• Washington: applications open September 1 with a first deadline of October 5 — four days before results land on October 9. The late window (with a $300 surcharge) runs to November 5. Two July-specific concessions apply: candidates who sat in July (or the September make-up) and didn't pass may reapply for February without paying the application or exam fee again, and MPRE scores of 85 or higher that would otherwise expire may still be used — the details are in what happened at the first NextGen bar exam.

The move, in both cases: if there's any chance you'll retake, file the February application before results day and treat the fee as insurance. A timely application you end up not needing costs far less than a late-tier filing made in a post-results scramble — and some boards discount repeat filings for candidates who failed the immediately preceding exam (Missouri does).

Three things to do in the week you get results, not later:

1. Check your board's February registration deadline immediately — or better, before results day, per the above. Your jurisdiction's page links the board site with the current dates; our dates and registration guide covers the cycle.
2. Get your score's shape, not just the number. The 500–750 score comes with "Percent Below" indicators by question format and by subject — not subscores, NCBE says, and not used in the pass decision, but exactly the information that decides whether February prep means more doctrine or more performance-task reps. How to read them is in the scoring guide.
3. Rebuild the plan around reps, not re-reading. Four months is a real runway. A free 10-question diagnostic re-baselines you in ten minutes, and every question in our bank carries a full explanation — the fastest way to turn a near-miss into a February pass.

The tracker promise

This page reflects what's published as of September 20, 2026: four official results dates (Missouri October 2, Idaho October 6, Washington October 9, Oregon by October 16), NCBE's national-mean release promised for early October, and no NextGen pass rates yet in existence — NCBE's own results table, updated September 18, lists none. As each remaining first-wave board announces — and the day each releases — we update the table above with the confirmed dates and numbers. Sources worth watching yourself: NCBE's NextGen score portability page, NCBE's passing-score guidance, and your own board's announcements page.

Waiting on results — or already prepping for February or July 2027? The full guide to the wait itself covers the deadline that won't wait; and it's exactly when a 10-minute diagnostic is worth the most — it tells you whether to relax or to start, before the stakes come back.