Washington Supreme Court Issues Order and Statement Regarding the July 2026 NextGen Bar Exam

August 06, 2026

The Washington Supreme Court today released the following statement and Supreme Court Order regarding the cancelation of the July 2026 NextGen Bar Exam.

Since the incident, the Court wrote, “We have been meeting daily with the WSBA, the NCBE and within the Court to discuss potential resolutions. Any resolution must balance fairness to the various categories of applicants, along with the Court’s duty to uphold professional standards and ensure public protection in the lawyer licensing process.”

The Court’s Order allows first-time applicants (defined as those who have not previously taken and failed to achieve a minimum passing score on a prior bar exam in any U.S. jurisdiction) and who were unable to take the exam in July 2026 due to the technology failure to choose the option to take a Washington NextGen bar exam administered in September 2026 or later, or to instead accept waiver of the bar exam requirement and admission by court order into the Washington State Bar, effective on a date that aligns with the release of bar exam results for the July and September NextGen Uniform Bar Exams. Applicants who had previously failed one or more prior bar exams are ineligible for admission by court order, but may sit for the September 2026 or February 2027 bar exams in Washington by rolling over their exam fees from the failed July exam, or may have their fees fully refunded.

Eligible applicants must make the choice to accept the option for waiver of the bar exam and admission by court order by giving notice to the WSBA no later than August 14, 2026, at 12:00 pm. By emailing the Washington State Bar Association at admissions@wsba.org.

Those individuals who were able to complete the July 2026 bar exam, albeit with interruptions, and will receive portable NextGen Uniform Bar Exam scores are not eligible for the admission by order option, nor are they eligible to take the special September 2026 exam. However, if they do not achieve a passing score when results are released, they will be allowed to sit for the February 2027 exam in Washington without paying additional exam fees. The court noted that exam results for both the July and special September administrations will be released on October 9th, and admissions by order will become effective at the same time.

The court emphasized that there was no perfect resolution to the situation resulting from the technology failure during the bar exam administration, and stated that its order, “strives to balance the needs of the public, the profession and applicants who were unable to take the test through no fault of their own. Our legal community supports and welcomes new WSBA members and strives to strengthen the profession through mentorship, continuing education and a commitment to service and excellence,” the Court stated.

A dedicated website and FAQ’s regarding the July 2026 exam and remedies available can be found at: https://admissions.wsba.org/faq.

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