North Carolina to Administer NextGen Uniform Bar Examination Beginning July 2028 - Announcement

Sep 21, 2026

North Carolina will administer the NextGen Uniform Bar Examination (NextGen UBE) beginning in July 2028, replacing the current Legacy UBE used since February 2019. The NextGen UBE is a 9-hour, 1.5-day exam testing nine foundational law principles and seven legal skills, including research, writing, issue analysis, investigation, client counseling, negotiation, and dispute resolution. It combines multiple-choice questions, performance tasks, and integrated scenario questions, and it adds a Decedents’ Estates and Trusts component requirement for licensure.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

North Carolina adopts the NextGen UBE

Exam timeline and format

Tested knowledge and skills

Question types and integrated resources

Additional licensure requirement in North Carolina

Portability of scores and transfer acceptance

The Board of Law Examiners of The State of North Carolina FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE North Carolina to Administer NextGen Uniform Bar Examination Beginning July 2028 North Carolina will administer the NextGen Uniform Bar Examination (NextGen UBE) beginning in July 2028. The NextGen UBE will replace the current version of the Uniform Bar Exam, referred to as the Legacy UBE, which North Carolina has administered since February 2019. North Carolina is one of forty-eight US jurisdictions that have now announced plans to adopt the new exam. The NextGen UBE will be a 9-hour exam, administered over 1.5 days (6 hours on day one and 3 hours on day two) . It will test applicants on nine foundational principles including civil procedure, contract law, evidence, torts, business associations, constitutional law, criminal law, real property, and family law. The exam will also assess seven legal skills: legal research, legal writing, identifying and analyzing legal issues, investigation and evaluation, client counseling and advising, negotiation and dispute resolution, and client relationship and management. The NextGen UBE, like the current legacy UBE, will include multiple-choice questions and performance tasks, which require applicants to apply lawyering skills to realistic scenarios. The NextGen UBE also features questions that integrate a factual scenario with other legal resources, such as an excerpt from a statute or court opinion or related documents such as portions of a deposition or a police report, followed by multiple-choice and constructed-response questions. With the launch of the NextGen UBE in North Carolina in July 2028, there will be an additional licensure requirement in North Carolina. Applicants for admission to practice law in North Carolina by examination and applicants for admission to practice law in North Carolina by UBE Transfer will be required to successfully complete the North Carolina Component Exam on Decedents’ Estates and Trusts. This exam component will be offered four times per year: In February and July in conjunction with the bar examinations, and in May and November as a stand-alone exam. A key benefit of the UBE is portability. Adoption of the NextGen UBE will ensure that North Carolina applicants continue to receive the ability to obtain a portable score that is transferable to other participating jurisdictions. Although North Carolina will not begin administering the NextGen UBE until July of 2028, North Carolina will accept NextGen UBE transfer scores beginning with those earned at the NextGen UBE initial launch in July 2026.

FAQs

When will North Carolina begin administering the NextGen Uniform Bar Examination?

North Carolina will administer the NextGen UBE beginning in July 2028.

How is the NextGen UBE structured and what does it test?

It is a 9-hour exam delivered over 1.5 days and tests nine foundational law principles and seven legal skills, including research, writing, and client counseling.

What additional component exam requirement will apply in North Carolina?

Applicants for admission by examination and by UBE Transfer must complete the North Carolina Component Exam on Decedents’ Estates and Trusts, offered four times per year.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Oliver Hayes