Could the bar exam become on demand?
As technology evolves and improves, the National Conference of Bar Examiners could consider offering the bar exam remotely—and even possibly on demand.
“It would be fantastic to move away from event-based testing,” where all candidates take the exam at once, Kara Smith, chief product officer at the NCBE, told the ABA Journal. “It would be great to have window-based testing, or on demand testing.”
The multiple-choice component of the Uniform Bar Exam, currently widely used across the country, is conducted with pencils and paper and offered twice a year in test locations approved by the NCBE. But rather than all test-takers sitting for the exam on the same day, both window-based and on-demand options would offer future candidates flexibility.
Window-based testing allows an exam to be conducted within a defined time period—ranging from several days or up to a week—while on-demand testing permits candidates to choose their own time period for the test.
Currently, the NCBE uses a window-based administration for the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination and holds it at test centers multiple times a year during defined testing windows.
“That experience gives us a proven model for scalable, secure delivery—and a valuable foundation as we consider new formats in the future,” Smith adds.
She notes that other high-stakes testing programs, particularly in information technology certification and the Duolingo English Test, have successfully moved toward on-demand or near-continuous testing models.
“Those programs offer useful models for how it could work—but there are real complexities when applying that model to licensure exams like the bar,” Smith says.
She adds that the NCBE would move carefully and incrementally when it came to utilizing and relying more on technology.
The first step comes as the UBE sunsets and its replacement, the NextGen UBE—which launches in some jurisdictions in July 2026—will be conducted in its entirety on the candidates’ own laptops at approved testing locations.
Many examinees say they want the convenience of a remote-proctored exam, Smith says, which is the next step necessary before moving the exam to window-based or on-demand options.
“But the technology is just not there yet,” she says. These options for the far future would require “rigorous security measures, such as the use of multiple test forms, controlled delivery environments and strict protocols to prevent content exposure.”
Proof of those hurdles is readily available. In February, California launched a new hybrid and remote bar exam plagued with tech glitches and ending in disastrous results. And during the pandemic era, several states attempted to conduct the bar exam remotely but found it problematic.
Smith says that five key areas must first develop before the exam could be administered remotely:
- Security to prevent test-taker impersonation, content theft and unauthorized assistance.
- Reliability of devices and connectivity.
- Assurances that candidates with disabilities or from underresourced communities aren’t disadvantaged.
- Guarantees that examinees are in distraction-free, secure and private environments.
- Confidence of licensing authorities, courts and the public in the fairness and rigor of the exam.
Current tech can handle the demands of some mid- or lower-stakes assessments, she adds, and “with the rate at which technology is advancing, it’ll get there for a high-stakes assessments.”
Even so, remote and on-demand options would require the NCBE developing a great deal more exam content, since questions are often reused, and the security of those queries would be tougher to regulate in more tech-reliant circumstances, she says.
“We are thinking about how we deepen our item pool, how we broaden our item pool, and how we can get to a place where we can move away from event-based testing and really allow for more flexibility there,” she adds.
Additionally, the NCBE will one day consider moves into artificial intelligence, she adds.
“Right now, AI is not being used in any operational aspects of the bar exam, and we’ve committed to maintaining that boundary with the launch of NextGen,” Smith says. “But behind the scenes, we’re conducting targeted research to understand where AI might augment our work—without compromising the fairness, validity or public trust that the bar exam demands.”
She emphasizes that the NCBE is conducting these conversations in partnership with jurisdictions.
“We’re making sure every step we take with AI is aligned with our shared responsibility to the profession and the public,” she adds.
While launching NextGen remains a priority, Smith says the NCBE is keeping a careful watch on other testing-related tech developments.
“Ultimately, we view on-demand testing as a forward-looking possibility, not an immediate reality,” she adds. “But as technology advances, and as test security, content development, and digital delivery continue to evolve, we think on-demand testing is something that could be achieved down the road.”
Write a letter to the editor, share a story tip or update, or report an error.
