Bar Qualifications
For bar admission in most states, a candidate must pass the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination (MPRE) in addition to the bar examination. The MPRE is a two-hour exam administered three times each year. Students usually take it before or during their third year of law school. For current information about the exam, including dates and deadlines, visit ncbex.org/exams/mpre.
Each state bar has its own admission rules, including bar examination requirements for that jurisdiction. You may consult the website of the National Conference of Bar Examiners for information about various jurisdictions.
Many states administer the Uniform Bar Examination, which results in a portable score that can be used to apply for admission in other UBE jurisdictions. For current information about the UBE, including dates and deadlines, see the UBE information page. The UBE is being phased out over the next two years, and many jurisdictions are adopting the new NextGen Exam in its place. For more information about the NextGen Exam, consult the FAQ below and visit the NCBE website.
Bar admission also requires character, fitness, and other qualifications. We encourage you to determine now what the requirements are in the state(s) in which you think you may want to practice. For more information, please review our qualifications for admission to the bar page.
3L Costs & Resources
We received some helpful feedback that students would benefit from receiving information about their likely financial obligations during the 3L year. We are sharing this information with you so that you can consider it as you plan.
Because of graduation and the various elements of the bar exam, your expenses during your third year likely will be greater than they were this year. The below chart reflects the most common expenses, along with some general estimates and helpful resources. Please contact the Assistant Dean for Students if you have questions.
| Item | Cost | Additional Info |
|---|---|---|
| Graduation Fee | $125 | This fee is assessed when you register for graduation (usually in the spring semester). This covers costs associated with graduation processing, including the cost of the diploma itself, and is not tied to participation in the ceremony. |
| Graduation Regalia | ~$160 | The robe and hood are rented, but the tam (hat) must be purchased and cannot be rented. The Law School has a limited number of donated tams that students may borrow on a first-come, first-served basis. |
| MPRE | $150 | https://www.ncbex.org/exams/mpre/registration Note that several of the bar prep companies listed below offer free MPRE preparation materials on their websites. Administered August, November, and March. Jurisdictions vary in the length of time they will accept an MPRE score as valid. To avoid your MPRE score expiring before bar admission, check the rules of the jurisdiction where you plan to take the Bar Exam before deciding when to sit for the MPRE. |
| Bar Registration | Varies. Generally $1,000-$2,000 depending on jurisdiction. | You should rely on information published by the state bar where you will take the exam, but the NCBE provides a good starting point for determining expenses. Remember that there are often several fees to take into account like filing fees, registration fees, driving abstract fees, character and fitness fees, and laptop fees. |
| Bar Preparation Course | Varies. Generally $1,000-$4,000 depending on company and jurisdiction. | Our students have enrolled in bar preparation courses from Barbri, Helix, Kaplan, and Themis in the past. Students have also used resources from Studicata and Adaptibar. Several of these companies offer discounts. If you need help getting in touch with them to request a need-based discount, please contact the Assistant Dean for Students. |
| Bar Preparation Cost of Living | Varies | Keep in mind that you will still have to pay for things like groceries, rent, and gasoline during the three months you study for the bar. |
As you apply for bar admission, you may need the following resources:
FAQ: Which topics will be tested on my bar exam?
Q: I hear there’s a new bar exam that some jurisdictions have adopted. Which bar exam will I take?
A: States are adopting new exams at different times over the next few years. The exam currently offered in most jurisdictions, the UBE, will not be offered as of July 2028. Which bar exam you will take in the next few years will depend on (1) which state’s bar you’re taking and (2) which year you’re taking the exam.
Graduates taking the Alabama bar exam in 2026 or 2027 will take the exam in its current format, the Uniform Bar Exam. Note that the UBE will contain fewer memorized topics than in prior years. See below for more information. Alabama has not yet announced its plans for the bar exam after the February 2028 administration.
For other jurisdictions, see this chart.
Q: Which topics will be memorized topics on my bar exam?
A: The answer to this question depends on whether you are taking the UBE, the NextGen Exam, or a state-specific exam. See the above explanation and chart to know which bar exam you’re taking.
If you are taking the UBE in 2026 or 2027, the exam will test the following subjects by memory:
1L Course Subjects
- Civil Procedure
- Constitutional Law
- Contracts
- Criminal Law
- Real Property
- Torts
Elective Course Subjects
- Criminal Procedure
- Business Associations
- Sales Law (as part of Contracts)
- Evidence
On the UBE, all 1L course subjects listed above, in addition to Criminal Procedure, will be tested on the MBE (multiple-choice) and the MEE (essay portion) of the UBE in 2026. The remaining three elective subjects will be tested on the MEE only.
The NextGen Exam, however, may test all of the listed topics in the form of multiple-choice questions, integrated question sets, and performance tasks. See below for more information about these types of questions.
As discussed below, the NextGen Exam also tests “foundational lawyering skills,” which students can develop in various experiential elective courses. See the list of skills below.
Q: What’s the deal with Family Law and Decedent’s Estates?
A: From July 2026 to July 2028, the UBE and NextGen will test both Family Law and Decedent’s Estates (or “Trusts and Estates”), but only in skill-based testing formats like the MPT. In these formats, takers receive the underlying law and must apply the provided law to a prompt. They will not be among the foundational concepts tested by memory.
Beginning in July 2028, the NextGen Exam will test Family Law as a foundational subject, or by memory.
Q: What’s different about the NextGen Exam?
A: The NextGen Exam differs from prior administrations of the UBE in subjects tested, length, and question format.
Subjects tested
Although the NextGen Exam and the UBE will align in tested subjects for 2026 and 2027, they both removed four subjects as foundational, memorized subjects: Family Law, Decedent’s Estates, Conflicts of Law, and Secured Transactions.
The NextGen Exam adds a focus on “foundational lawyering skills” and aims to test application more than memorization. The tested foundational skills are legal research, legal writing, issue spotting and analysis, investigation and evaluation, client counseling and advising, negotiation and dispute resolution, and client relationship and management.
Exam length
The UBE is a 12-hour exam administered over two days, consisting of a writing day and a multiple-choice day. On the first day, examinees take two MPTs (closed-universe writing assignments) for 3 hours and then six MEEs (essay questions based on memorized law) for 3 hours. The second day, they take 100 multiple choice questions in the first half of the day and 100 multiple choice questions in the afternoon. Each multiple-choice session is 3 hours.
The NextGen exam is a 9-hour exam administered over two days. The exam will take place in three, 3-hour increments over the two days. Note that some states will add a “state law component” that will fill the second half of the second day. The Alabama Supreme Court has ordered bar examiners to draft a three-hour state-law component in anticipation of the July 2028 administration.
Question Format
Rather than designating specific blocks of the exam for specific tasks (multiple choice, essay writing, or a practice assignment) like the UBE, the NextGen Exam will include three categories of questions within each of the time blocks. The exam will include multiple-choice questions (about 40% of the exam), integrated question sets (about 25% of the exam), and performance tasks (about 33% of the exam). (No, those percentages do not add up to 100%. But they’re what the NCBE provides.)
Multiple-choice questions will resemble MBE-style questions that are part of the UBE, except that some of these questions will have a “pick two” option.
The performance tasks will mimic the current MPTs, except that they will be 60 minutes in duration instead of the 90 minutes allotted for MPTs under the UBE.
The integrated sets are the truly new NextGen question types. They include a mixture of multiple-choice and short-answer questions, and they test both doctrinal law and foundational skills like drafting or editing a legal document. The NCBE has posted sample integrated question sets.