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Given the uncertainty about whether a July exam can take place, it is prudent to plan now for an additional administration of the exam before the February 2021 exam.
NCBE will offer another set of bar exam materials—MBE, MEE, and MPT—for an administration in the fall. If there is in fact a July exam, the fall exam materials will be a different set of questions. Scores earned in UBE jurisdictions in the fall administration would constitute UBE scores. We are currently working closely with jurisdictions all across the country to find a fall date that works for the most examinees and jurisdictions.
Jurisdictions that cannot administer in July, or cannot administer at normal seating capacity, will have the fall administration date as an alternative or additional option. It would delay admission, but only by about two months, which examinees should find preferable to waiting until February 2021.
— a statement from the National Conference of Bar Examiners regarding the upcoming July 2020 administration of the bar exam and its preparations for a Fall 2020 exam in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. The NCBE has created a webpage detailing COVID-19 updates, noting it will make its final decision about the possibility of holding the July 2020 bar exam by May 5.
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.