VIRGINIA

Announcements

Board Announces Essay Format of Virginia Law Component

Today the Virginia Board of Bar Examiners (the Board) announced that it will retain an essay format for the Virginia law component of the bar exam when it begins administering the NextGen Bar Exam (now known as the NextGen Uniform Bar Exam) in July 2028. As previously announced, this exam will consist of questions on the following subjects: Domestic Relations, Evidence, Torts, Virginia Civil Procedure, Virginia Criminal Law & Procedure, and Wills, Trusts & Estates.

In June, the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) published for the first time a blueprint for the NextGen UBE. The blueprint shows that approximately 49% of the exam will be devoted to standalone multiple-choice questions: 40 in each of the three-hour sections, for a total of 120. Multiple-choice questions will also be included in the integrated question sets and performance tasks. Because of this change, the Board decided to retain an essay format for the Virginia law component, instead of multiple-choice questions. This will result in a more balanced exam format.

The current Virginia bar exam consists of two components: the Multistate Bar Examination (MBE), and a Virginia-specific essay portion. NCBE will discontinue the MBE after the February 2028 exam. In July 2028, the Board will replace the MBE with the NextGen UBE, while retaining a Virginia-specific component to test knowledge of state law. The NextGen UBE will be a 9-hour exam, administered over 1.5 days (6 hours on day one and 3 hours on day two). The Virginia law component, which will be 3 hours or less, will be administered on the afternoon of day two.

The Board is making this early announcement to provide law students, law schools, and other stakeholders ample time to adjust curricula and make informed decisions. The Board will keep the legal community updated as more details about the state-specific component are finalized.

A key benefit of the NextGen UBE is portability. The exam will provide scores that are transferable to other participating jurisdictions. In response, the Board plans to revise its rules to allow for the acceptance of NextGen Bar Exam scores earned in other jurisdictions. Those transferring scores from other jurisdictions will be required to sit for the Virginia-specific component.

The Board will continue to monitor updates from NCBE regarding the NextGen Bar Exam and will share additional information as it becomes available.

For more information about the NextGen UBE, please visit https://nextgenbarexam.ncbex.org/.

For FAQs regarding the NextGen UBE in Virginia, please click here.