The debut of the new national bar exam faced an unexpected setback after technical failures forced Washington state to cancel its July 2026 exam midway through its first day.
While most jurisdictions successfully launched the updated test, candidates in Washington were left without an opportunity to complete the exam after technology problems prevented testing from moving forward.
Smaller disruptions were also reported in Missouri and Maryland, although those issues were resolved quickly.
Washington Cancels Two-Day Bar Exam
The Washington State Bar Association announced late Tuesday that it canceled the remainder of the July 2026 bar exam after technical issues disrupted testing at the Yakima Convention & Event Center. About 645 aspiring lawyers had gathered at the Yakima venue, but many were unable to begin the exam as planned.
The association confirmed that testing would not continue on Wednesday because it did not “have sufficient confidence that the technology issue has been resolved to safely resume the exam.”
Sara Niegowski, the bar association’s chief communications officer, acknowledged the disappointment caused by the cancellation.
“We sincerely apologize to the candidates who worked so hard to prepare, and we deeply regret that we could not deliver a successful exam experience today,” Niegowski said.
Many applicants expressed frustration on social media after months of preparation ended with an unexpected cancellation. The Yakima Convention & Event Center did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
NextGen Bar Exam Makes National Debut
Tuesday marked the first nationwide administration of the NextGen Uniform Bar Examination (NextGen UBE). The National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) developed the updated licensing exam. It places a stronger focus on practical legal skills. It also reduces the emphasis on memorizing legal rules.
The new exam launched across 10 jurisdictions as part of its initial rollout. According to the NCBE, most applicants completed the first day successfully despite isolated technical problems.
The organization explained that Washington’s disruption resulted from “an on-site hardware and configuration issue” rather than a failure of the testing platform.
In its statement, the NCBE said:
“The NextGen testing platform performed as expected throughout today’s administration.”
The organization added that “a limited number of testing locations in three jurisdictions experienced site-specific network bandwidth issues.”
Missouri and Maryland Also Experienced Delays
Washington was not the only state affected by technical problems, although the disruptions elsewhere were much smaller.
In Missouri, several testing locations experienced delayed starts because of network bandwidth issues. Officials addressed the problem, allowing candidates to continue their exams later that day.
One testing site in Maryland also encountered a network issue, but it was resolved quickly with minimal impact on the overall testing schedule.
The NCBE emphasized that these incidents were limited to specific locations and “did not involve the NextGen testing platform itself.”
A spokesperson for the Maryland judiciary had no immediate comment, while a Missouri court official did not immediately respond to media inquiries.
Options Available for Affected Applicants
The Washington State Bar Association said it is working to schedule a makeup examination later this year for affected candidates.
Applicants impacted by the cancellation will also have two additional choices. They may transfer their registration to the February 2027 bar exam or request a full refund.
The association also confirmed that candidates who tested with approved accommodations completed their exams without interruption.
“All applicants testing with approved accommodations were able to proceed with their exams as scheduled and were not impacted,” Niegowski said.
The Washington Supreme Court did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the canceled examination.
Growing Adoption of NextGen
The NextGen Uniform Bar Examination is the biggest update to the national bar exam in about 25 years. So far, 47 states have adopted the new format. The updated exam focuses more on practical legal skills and professional judgment instead of testing memorized legal rules.
California, the nation’s second-largest bar exam jurisdiction, approved the NextGen exam for July 2028. The decision came after the state faced major technical and logistical problems during its independently developed licensing exam in February 2025. Those issues affected both in-person and remote test takers.
The Washington incident shows that large digital testing systems can face unexpected technical problems. The NCBE said the core NextGen testing platform worked as expected. However, local hardware and network failures still disrupted an important licensing exam.
As more states adopt the updated exam, testing agencies are likely to strengthen technology checks before future test sessions. These steps can help reduce disruptions and provide a smoother testing experience for applicants.
