Bar Exam Preparation

This guide provides information about the bar exam administered in Washington and other states, and highlights many of the bar exam preparation material located in the library. Many of these resources are focused on components of the Uniform Bar Exam and general exam strategies for success. 

The Uniform Bar Exam is administered twice a year (February and July) by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) over the course of two days. The exam consists of three parts: the Multistate Bar Exam (MBE), the Multistate Essay Exam (MEE), and the Multistate Practice Test (MPT). 

Information about admission to the bar examination can be found here.

The NCBE has announced that it will transition from the current UBE to the NextGen UBE (NextGen) over a two-year period beginning with the July 2026 bar exam.

The Washington Supreme Court was an early adopter of the NextGen Bar Exam and Washington applicants will take the NextGen starting in July 2026. Washington will continue to accept UBE scores for applicants seeking to transfer their scores for admission. 

Like the current version of the UBE, the NextGen UBE will be administered twice a year, in February and July, by the NCBE over one and a half days, with two three-hour sessions on day one and one three-hour session on day two. Jurisdictions that administer their own local law components may elect to extend day two for that purpose.

The NCBE has designed the NextGen to test an applicant's practical and doctrinal legal skills in a more balanced way. More information about the NextGen Bar Exam can be found here and here.