Texas NextGen 2028: Law Component and Score Transfers
Reviewed October 4, 2026, including the September 18, 2026 Supreme Court order. This guide explains public rules and study-planning implications; it does not determine an individual's admission eligibility.
Texas will first administer NextGen in July 2028, but it already accepts qualifying NextGen scores earned elsewhere. The Texas Law Component also has a current form and an approved future change.
Those facts answer three different questions. Combining them into a sentence such as “Texas NextGen requires 620 and a law course” loses important timing and route distinctions.
Separate the Texas sitting from a score transfer
The Board's latest rules announcement says Texas will administer NextGen beginning in July 2028, with the passing score for that examination still to be set by the Court. It separately announces immediate acceptance of NextGen transfers at a minimum score of 620.
The governing September 18, 2026 order, Misc. Docket No. 26-9074, places the transfer rule in Rule 13, section 1. It requires the qualifying score to have been earned within the five years immediately preceding the application and preserves the other applicable admission requirements.
The planning consequence is straightforward: 620 is a confirmed transfer threshold under that order. It is not a published passing score for the first Texas-administered NextGen examination.
If you are considering another jurisdiction, check whether you are eligible to sit there, whether your resulting score and timing fit Texas's rules, and what Texas requirements remain. Choosing a testing location does not itself establish an admission route.
For a 2027 Texas sitting, use the legacy UBE plan
The September order describes the legacy UBE period as ending with February 2028. Its Rule 11 preserves the 270 passing standard for that period. The current Texas FAQ describes the UBE's MBE, MEE, and MPT components.
For study planning, keep all three visible. A multiple-choice question bank can diagnose doctrine and application, but it does not show whether you can finish a timed essay or produce the requested document from a supplied file.
Use an error log with separate categories for rule knowledge, factual application, task instructions, and completion. A missed rule may call for targeted retrieval practice. An unfinished MPT may call for changing how you read and outline. Giving both problems the same response, such as adding more multiple-choice questions, makes it harder to learn what actually helped.
If you are reusing older MEE materials, compare them with the current scope. NCBE's MEE preparation page explains the July 2026 subject changes and continued regular testing of family law and trusts and estates through the MPT from July 2026 through February 2028. Do not interpret an MEE change as a statement that those legal areas have no place anywhere in your preparation.
The current Texas Law Course is a separate licensing step
The Texas Law Component FAQ describes the current requirement as an official video-based Texas Law Course with comprehension questions. It is free, and completing it is a licensing requirement. The Board states that applicants cannot be licensed before completing the required course.
Keep course completion on your admissions checklist. It should have its own status and completion evidence, rather than being buried under a general “Texas law studied” entry.
Private flashcards, a course summary, and practice questions can serve study purposes. They do not document completion of the official course. Likewise, the current course should not be described as a set of Texas essays added to the present UBE.
Check the official completion window for your route. The FAQ distinguishes exam applicants, transfer applicants, and applicants seeking admission without examination. A deadline or window quoted for someone else's route may not answer your question.
A graded Texas component is approved for July 2028
The Court's March 27, 2026 order, Misc. Docket No. 26-9018, approves a graded Texas Law Component beginning with the first NextGen administration in July 2028. It identifies these areas of Texas law:
- Trusts and guardianship
- Wills and administration
- Civil procedure
- Criminal law and criminal procedure
- Family law
- Real property, including oil and gas
That order establishes the approved subject areas. It does not, by itself, supply a final question count, timing schedule, or scoring formula for the graded component. Verify later implementing materials before treating a commercial exercise as an exact simulation.
An old pre-UBE Texas essay book can be a source of practice ideas, but its historic subject mix and format do not automatically describe the new component. Check both the law's currency and the new specifications before assigning it a role in your plan.
Build a subject map before a timed simulation
For a July 2028 target, begin a map with one row for each approved local subject area. Record:
- The authoritative subject outline or specification when issued
- The current sources used to learn the relevant Texas law
- A specific rule or application problem you need to practice
- The exercise format, including whether it is confirmed or merely a teaching choice
That last field helps prevent accidental overclaiming. You can write an original short essay to practice a rule before the Board announces the final format. You should describe it as a learning exercise, not as a replica of the future Texas test.
For the national portion, work with the applicable NextGen content scope and official samples. Practice the different response types, including short answers and drafting, rather than converting all writing practice into full-length essays. Our integrated-question-set guide offers a repeatable way to review those attempts.
Keep three labels on every important number
When saving an exam score or deadline, attach three labels: exam, route, and effective period.
For example, a transfer threshold belongs with the transfer route and the order that created it. A local sitting's passing score belongs with that examination. A course-completion window belongs with the applicant category it covers.
This small habit makes a comparison easier to audit. It also exposes unanswered questions early: you may know a transfer threshold but still need confirmation of your route, score age, or local requirements.
BarReps can supplement overlapping doctrinal practice. Use its stated coverage alongside official-format materials and the applicable Texas requirements. For current UBE scheduling, the study-time guide can help you give written work a real place in the week while keeping admissions tasks on a separate checklist.
Put the method into practice
Try the free BarReps Practice Lab for original NextGen-style and state-law pilot exercises with case files, answer explanations, and self-review rubrics. The lab is a limited public preview, not a complete course, official local component, validated simulation, or passing-score predictor. It is not licensed or endorsed by NCBE or any bar examiner.