You’ve finished the MBE. Your hand is cramped from the MEE. You’ve successfully navigated the MPT without having a total meltdown. Now comes the worst part: waiting. But while you wait for that email to drop in your inbox, there’s a massive question looming over your future law career. What does your score actually mean?
Honestly, the bar exam is a weird beast. You can "pass" the exam and still be unemployed in the state where you actually took the test. It sounds like a bad joke, but it’s the reality of the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE). Because every state is its own little kingdom, they all get to decide exactly how smart they think you need to be to practice law within their borders.
Basically, a 268 might make you a licensed attorney in New York, but in the eyes of the Texas Board of Law Examiners, you’re still just a person with a very expensive JD. Understanding ube passing scores by state isn't just about checking a box; it’s about your mobility.
The Magic Number: Why 260 is the Holy Grail for Some
If you’re looking for the path of least resistance—and let's be real, after three years of law school, who isn't?—you're looking at the "260 Club." These are the states that have set the lowest possible threshold for the UBE.
Current states (as of early 2026) that accept a 260 include:
🔗 Read more: Converting 60 gbp in dollars: Why the Math Isn't as Simple as You Think
- Alabama
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- New Mexico
- North Dakota
- Oklahoma
- Utah
- Washington (This is a big one—Washington recently lowered their score from 266 to 260 permanently starting with the February 2026 exam.)
If you hit a 260, you're a lawyer. You might have to move to Fargo, but you're a lawyer. It’s a massive relief for people who are right on the bubble. Interestingly, Missouri and Washington have already started looking toward the "NextGen" bar exam coming in July 2026, setting their target at 610 (which is the equivalent of a 260 on the current scale).
The Middle Ground: The 264 and 266 Jurisdictions
Then you’ve got the states that want a little bit more. Indiana stands alone in its own category, requiring a 264. It’s a specific number, and it’s been that way since they adopted the UBE in 2021.
Most of the "heavy hitter" legal markets actually land on 266. This is the score you need for:
- New York
- District of Columbia
- Illinois
- New Jersey
- Connecticut
- Maryland
If you want to work BigLaw in Manhattan or navigate the bureaucracy of D.C., 266 is your target. It’s generally considered the "standard" passing score. If you get a 266, you have a massive amount of portability. You can waive into dozens of states without ever looking at a Scantron again.
Michigan: The 268 Outlier
Michigan joined the UBE relatively recently (February 2023) and decided they wanted to be just a tiny bit tougher than New York. They require a 268. It’s an annoying middle ground. You can pass in 20+ states but still fail in Michigan by two points.
The High Bar: States That Require a 270
Then there are the states that don’t play around. They want to see a 270. For a long time, this was considered the "high" end of the UBE, though technically some states used to go as high as 280 (looking at you, Alaska, before you lowered it in 2023).
You’ll need a 270 in:
- Texas
- Arizona
- Massachusetts
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- North Carolina
- Oregon
- Colorado
- Tennessee
This is where the stress really kicks in. Scoring a 269 in Texas means you are not a lawyer in Texas. Period. You can’t "round up." You can, however, take that 269 and transfer it to New York or Missouri.
The Portability Trap: What Nobody Tells You
The whole point of the UBE is "portability." You take the test in one place, and the score travels with you. But there’s a catch. Or rather, a few catches.
First off, scores expire. Most states only allow you to transfer a score that is between 2 and 5 years old. If you wait too long to move, your 275 becomes a pumpkin.
Secondly, just because you have the score doesn't mean you're done. Most states have "jurisdiction-specific components." New York makes you take an online course and an open-book exam on NY law (the NYLC and NYLE). Other states might require a specific session on local ethics.
And then there's the MPRE. Every state has a different requirement for the Multistate Professional Responsibility Examination too. If you got a 270 on the UBE but an 80 on the MPRE, you might pass in some states but fail in others (like California or Utah, which often require an 86).
What About the "Non-UBE" States?
It's worth mentioning that some of the biggest legal markets in the country—California, Florida, and Georgia—still don't use the UBE.
If you take the bar in California, you are taking the California Bar Exam. Your score doesn't transfer anywhere. If you want to practice in New York later, you have to take the UBE from scratch. It sucks.
California recently lowered its passing score to 1390, but it’s still widely considered the hardest exam in the country because of the grading scale and the sheer volume of material. If you're looking at ube passing scores by state, just remember that these "renegade" states aren't on the list.
Real Talk: Strategies for the "Almost" Pass
What do you do if you get your results and you have a 262?
First, don't panic. If you sat for the exam in a 270 state (like Arizona), you didn't "fail" the bar exam in a global sense. You just failed to meet Arizona's specific standard.
You can immediately look into transferring that score to a 260 state. Many people transfer their score to a place like Missouri or New Mexico just to get that "Esq" behind their name. Once you are licensed in one UBE state, you can sometimes practice federal law or work as "in-house counsel" in other states, depending on their specific reciprocity rules.
It’s a loophole, sure, but it’s a legal one. And being a lawyer in Minnesota is a lot better than not being a lawyer at all.
How to Check Your Specific State
Things change. Courts change their minds. For example, the Washington Supreme Court's decision in late 2025 to retroactively allow people with a 260 to get licensed was a massive, unexpected win for hundreds of people.
Always check the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) official "Minimum Passing Score" table. It’s the only source that matters when your career is on the line.
Actionable Next Steps for Bar Candidates
- Audit your target states: Don't just look at where you live now. Look at where you might want to move in three years. If you think there's any chance you'll end up in Texas or Massachusetts, you need to aim for that 270.
- Check the expiration dates: If you’re planning to transfer a score, look up the "Maximum Age of Transferred Score" for your destination state. Some give you five years; some give you only 36-40 months.
- Prepare for the NextGen shift: If you are graduating in 2026 or later, keep a very close eye on the transition. States like Maryland, Connecticut, and Oregon are early adopters of the NextGen exam (July 2026), which will have a completely different scoring scale (600+).
- Verify the MPRE: Ensure your MPRE score meets the threshold for every state you're considering for transfer. It's often the "silent killer" of portability applications.