This article originally appeared in The Bar Examiner print edition, Summer 2025 (Vol. 94, No. 2), pp. 32–37.
The NextGen UBE Blueprint is the result of a multiyear, research-based process grounded in a thorough analysis of the knowledge and skills needed for competent entry-level legal practice. It reflects extensive input from licensing authorities, legal educators, practitioners, and assessment experts. The Blueprint serves as the anchor for all aspects of the NextGen UBE and also provides legal educators with key information to help inform their students’ preparation for the new exam.
This Blueprint has been shaped through an iterative development process that included pilot testing, field testing, and prototype administration. By the time the NextGen exam launches in 2026, over 10,500 examinees will have helped test NextGen content across structured pilot, field, and prototype tests, and every scored question that appears on the exam will have been pretested and statistically validated. The Blueprint is backed by rigorous empirical evidence and was built by an interdisciplinary team of subject matter experts, psychometricians, and content developers committed to validity, fairness, and relevance to the practice of law.
The July 2026–February 2027 Blueprint reflects the general content and structure of the NextGen UBE beyond just the first two administrations, but Courts, jurisdictions, and legal educators can anticipate that an updated Blueprint will be issued each year through 2028, when family law is added to the Foundational Concepts and Principles tested on the NextGen exam.
NCBE published the NextGen UBE Blueprint in early June 2025. It is reproduced here for the benefit of Bar Examiner readers.
NextGen UBE Blueprint (PDF file)
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