Illinois Supreme Court announces passing score requirement for NextGen Uniform Bar Examination

The Illinois Supreme Court announced in December 2025 that Illinois will accept transferred scores from the NextGen Uniform Bar Examination (NextGen UBE), a new version of the bar examination, beginning in July 2026. In an order, the Court announces that the passing score recognized by Illinois for the NextGen UBE shall be 620. This will be the minimum passing score for purposes of admission to the Illinois bar, including transferred scores accepted pursuant to Illinois Supreme Court Rule 704A.

The full order can be found here.

The Board of Admissions reviewed the research, standard-setting materials, concordance studies, and guidance provided by the National Conference of Bar Examiners regarding the NextGen UBE and submitted its recommendation to the Court. The Board of Admissions may propose further amendments to the Illinois Supreme Court Rules and the Board's Rules of Procedure as necessary to implement this order and may revise its operation procedures, forms, and applicant instructions accordingly.

As previously announced, Illinois 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.

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.