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United States · Licensing exam

The Maryland bar exam

Maryland switched to the NextGen UBE in July 2026, in the first group of jurisdictions NCBE lists, and it no longer gives the legacy UBE. You need 616 to pass. Taking the Maryland bar exam costs $750 in board fees as of October 2026, and you also complete an open-book online course on Maryland law, the Maryland Law Component, before you can be admitted. The State Board of Law Examiners (SBLE) runs everything through its eBar portal.

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Updated October 2026 · Written from official sources, listed at the bottom of this page

What's on the Maryland bar exam now

The SBLE gives the NextGen UBE "beginning with the July 2026 bar exam session." NCBE lists February 2026 as Maryland's last legacy UBE. NextGen is a 9-hour exam written by NCBE, and Maryland adds no essays of its own on exam day. See our NextGen page for the format and subjects.

The exam falls on the last Wednesday of February and July and the Tuesday before. For February 2027 that's February 23-24, the dates NCBE lists. The SBLE doesn't name test sites on its pages. It sends seat assignments through eBar about three weeks before the exam, and you say when you apply whether you'll type on a laptop or write by hand.

For July 2026, a Supreme Court of Maryland order dated June 2, 2025 capped the number of seats and set who got priority. Check the SBLE's NextGen page before you apply in case a seat limit applies to your exam too.

The NextGen bar exam →

Deadlines and fees

Miss the deadline and you need "good cause" relief: a letter that answers the factors in Board Rule 2. If you need a waiver of the ABA law school rule, get it before you create your Notice of Intent.

The SBLE's fee table, updated in September 2026, lists $350 for the Character Questionnaire and $400 for the Notice of Intent to take the UBE in Maryland, so $750 in total by our sum. NCBE's guide lists a $130 laptop fee. You pay each fee in eBar once the SBLE approves the filing and emails you an invoice.

ExamNotice of Intent dueJD transcript due (first-time takers)
February 2027December 1, 2026February 1, 2027
July 2027May 1, 2027July 1, 2027

The Maryland Law Component

Everyone admitted through the exam, a score transfer or without examination has to finish it. It's a set of written outlines on Maryland law, then a timed online quiz: 50 multiple-choice questions, open book, in one 90-minute try. You need at least 40 right, and you can retake it as often as you like, with new questions each time.

The outlines cover criminal law and procedure, evidence, family law, Maryland civil procedure, professional responsibility, torts, and trusts and estates. You don't have to finish before the exam. The SBLE suggests mid-October after a July exam if you want to be admitted in November, and the hard limit is two years after your results notice.

When do Maryland bar exam results come out?

Results normally come out on the third Friday of October after a July exam and the third Friday of April after a February exam. The July 2026 results were posted on Friday, October 9, 2026, at 4:30 p.m.

Your official notice appears on your eBar My Status page. Nothing is mailed. At the same time the SBLE posts an unofficial pass list by seat number, in PDF and Word. If you pass, you have seven days from your results notice to file an Affirmation.

On the July 2026 Maryland bar exam, 69% of takers passed and 85% of first-time takers, according to NCBE's figures. Our pass rates page compares other states.

Bar exam results by state →Bar exam pass rates →

Bringing a score or a license from somewhere else

If you're coming to Maryland with a score or a license, these are the rules:

  • UBE score transfer: you need 266 on the legacy UBE or 616 on NextGen, earned in the 3 years before you file. The clock starts August 1 after a July exam or March 1 after a February exam.
  • MPRE: a scaled score of 85. If you're already admitted in good standing elsewhere, a score from any date counts. Otherwise it must be from the last 3 years.
  • Admission without examination: NCBE's guide lists 3 of the past 5 years of practice, or 10 years in total. The SBLE charges $700 plus NCBE's character and fitness fee.
  • Every route also needs the Maryland Law Component and a character and fitness review through the eBar Character Questionnaire.
Bar exam reciprocity and score transfer →
Sources: Maryland State Board of Law Examiners · SBLE · NCBE and 9 more. Checked October 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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