Admission to the bar (lawyer)
Granted by each jurisdiction's highest court / bar admission authority, not by a national exam alone. Bachelor's degree, then a J.D. from a law school (most jurisdictions require an ABA-accredited school).
How to get licensed
Bachelor's degree, then a J.D. from a law school (most jurisdictions require an ABA-accredited school).
- High school diploma
- Bachelor's degree (any major)
- Law school admission (LSAT or GRE at most schools)Exam
- J.D. (typically 3 years full time)
- MPREExam
- Bar exam in the chosen jurisdictionExam
- Character and fitness review
- Admission to the barLicense
The exams
National bodies write the exams; the state board decides who is licensed. National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) — UBE, NextGen UBE, MPRE; American Bar Association (ABA) — accredits law schools.
- Bar exam — legacy Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) or NextGen UBE, plus any state-specific componentsNextGen UBE debuted in July 2026 in 10 jurisdictions; the legacy UBE is given through February 2028; most large states (including California, Texas and New York) switch in July 2028. A few jurisdictions have not announced adoption.
NCBE
NextGen Bar ExamNational Conference of Bar Examiners- Checked
- 7 Oct 2026
- MPRE (Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination)Two-hour, 60-question ethics exam required for bar admission in all U.S. jurisdictions except Wisconsin and Puerto Rico; Connecticut and New Jersey also accept a law school professional-responsibility course instead.
NCBE
Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE)National Conference of Bar Examiners- Checked
- 7 Oct 2026
State rules and other states
Bar admission is granted state by state. Which bar exam is given, passing scores and score transfer rules all vary by jurisdiction.
Uniform Bar Examination (UBE)
A UBE score earned in one UBE jurisdiction can be transferred to other UBE jurisdictions, each of which sets its own minimum score, time limits and any local-law requirement and still decides admission itself. Most jurisdictions move from the legacy UBE to the NextGen UBE between July 2026 and July 2028.
UBE jurisdictions · 42
Jurisdictions that have adopted the UBE, with the first UBE administration as listed by NCBE.
- Alabama July 2011
- Alaska July 2014
- Arizona July 2012
- Arkansas February 2020
- Colorado February 2012
- Connecticut February 2017
- District of Columbia July 2016
- Idaho February 2012
- Illinois July 2019
- Indiana July 2021
- Iowa February 2016
- Kansas February 2016
- Kentucky February 2021
- Maine July 2017
- Maryland July 2019
- Massachusetts July 2018
- Michigan February 2023
- Minnesota February 2014
- Missouri February 2011
- Montana July 2013
- Nebraska February 2013
- New Hampshire February 2014
- New Jersey February 2017
- New Mexico February 2016
- New York July 2016
- North Carolina February 2019
- North Dakota February 2011
- Ohio February 2021
- Oklahoma July 2021
- Oregon July 2017
- Pennsylvania July 2022
- Rhode Island February 2019
- South Carolina February 2017
- Tennessee February 2019
- Texas February 2021
- Utah February 2013
- Vermont July 2016
- Washington July 2013
- West Virginia July 2017
- Wisconsin July 2026
- Wyoming July 2013
- U.S. Virgin Islands July 2017
NCBE
- Checked
- 7 Oct 2026
- Next review
- 5 Jan 2027
Good to know
Changes to watch
- Bar exam transition: legacy UBE ends February 2028; check your jurisdiction's NextGen UBE start date.
- Law school admission tests: ABA Standard 503 still requires a valid and reliable test, but the ABA grants variances; 21 of 198 ABA-accredited schools held one as of August 2026.