Illinois Supreme Court Announces Illinois Will Accept Transferred Scores From NextGen Uniform Bar Examination
The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) will begin offering a new version of the bar examination, known as the NextGen Uniform Bar Examination (NextGen UBE), beginning in July 2026. The Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar (Board of Admissions) has previously announced that it will first administer the NextGen UBE in February 2028 and until that time will continue to administer the current version of the Uniform Bar Examination, known as the Legacy Uniform Bar Examination (Legacy UBE). Under the Legacy UBE, passing scores are considered “portable,” such that a passing score attained in one Legacy UBE jurisdiction generally may be transferred to and accepted by other Legacy UBE jurisdictions.
In July 2026, 10 jurisdictions, including Missouri, will administer the first NextGen UBE. Once the results from the July 2026 administration of the NextGen UBE are available, applicants from one or more of these jurisdictions will likely be interested in transferring their NextGen UBE score to Illinois for the purpose of seeking admission to the Illinois bar.
The Illinois Supreme Court has approved a new order affirming its intention to accept transferred NextGen UBE scores in a timely manner. To support the timely acceptance of transferred NextGen UBE scores, the Board of Admissions will submit to the Court, on or before July 31, 2026, a recommendation for establishing a passing score on the NextGen UBE.
Notwithstanding the July 31, 2026, deadline, the Board intends to submit its recommendation to the Court sooner, if practicable. This is to help inform applicants’ decisions about registering to sit for the July 2026 bar examination in a particular jurisdiction and preparing to take a particular iteration of the Uniform Bar Examination, whether Legacy UBE or NextGen UBE. NextGen exams are administered over nine hours in a day and a half. It will test students on a range of legal principles including contract and constitutional law, civil procedure and criminal law, evidence, real property, torts, family law, and business associations. The exam focuses on skills used by lawyers such as identifying and analyzing legal issues, negotiation and dispute resolution, and legal research and writing, as well as advising and counseling clients.
The Illinois Supreme Court oversees the admission and regulation of attorneys in Illinois. The Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar administers the bar exam and processes applications for admission to the practice of law.
(FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: James Brunner, Public Information Officer of the Illinois Supreme Court at 217.208.3354 or jbrunner@illinoiscourts.gov)