On September 16, 2024, the North Dakota Supreme Court announced the adoption of the State Board of Law Examiners' recommendation to administer a new exam known as the NextGen bar exam beginning in July 2027 for those seeking admission to practice law in North Dakota.
The Court and the State Board of Law Examiners have been monitoring the development of the new bar examination since it began with the National Conference of Bar Examiners in 2021.
The NextGen bar exam will replace the Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) in North Dakota. North Dakota was the first jurisdiction to administer the UBE in February 2011. With the adoption of the new exam, North Dakota continues to be at the forefront of bar examination and admission. The UBE is administered in 41 jurisdictions, while the NextGen bar exam has been adopted in 23 jurisdictions. It is expected that adopting this new exam will continue to offer wide portability of scores similar to that afforded by the UBE.
The UBE is administered over two days with eight hours of testing. The NextGen bar exam will be administered in North Dakota over one and one-half days, with six hours of testing on day one and three hours on day two. The exam is given every July and February if there are enough applicants. Local graders will continue to grade the written portions of the exam as is currently done for the UBE.
The State Bar Association of North Dakota and the University of North Dakota School of Law supported adopting the NextGen bar exam.
The Court extends its gratitude to "the State Board of Law Examiners and its NextGen Bar Exam subcommittee, the North Dakota State Bar Association and its members, [and]the University of North Dakota School of Law," along with "the members of the public who provided input to [the] State Board of Law Examiners [and]the Court on this important decision."