What to Bring to the New York Bar Exam (July 2026)

If you're sitting for the New York bar exam this summer, knowing exactly what to bring to the New York bar exam is one of the easiest ways to lower your stress before you even walk in. New York gives the Uniform Bar Exam over two days: Tuesday, July 28 and Wednesday, July 29, 2026. Each day runs two three-hour sessions, from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM and again from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM. The rules about what you can carry are strict and enforced with a zero-tolerance policy, so it pays to pack the night before and check everything twice.

The Official New York List: What You Must Bring

Two items get you through the door, and without them you don't sit:

• Your Seat Ticket (the admission ticket). Do not write on either side of it.
• A valid government-issued photo ID whose name matches the name on your Seat Ticket.

Bring both to the security checkpoint. Everything else on this page is either allowed, provided, or banned, but these two are non-negotiable. If your legal name and your ID don't match your Seat Ticket, sort that out well before exam week, not in the parking lot.

What New York Provides

The Board supplies the examination materials themselves: the question booklets and the MBE scantron answer sheet. There will also be clocks at every test site, which is why personal watches aren't allowed.

That's the short list. The security policy does not mention the Board providing scratch paper, note boards, or pencils. So the writing tools are on you. You need to bring your own No. 2 pencils, erasers, and a small sharpener for the MBE, plus blue or black pens if you're handwriting on the written day. Don't assume anything will be waiting on your desk beyond the booklets and answer sheet.

What Can You Bring to the New York Bar Exam?

Here's the part that trips people up. Everything you carry into the exam room has to fit inside one clear, re-sealable plastic food storage bag (a zip-top bag, not a plastic grocery bag, backpack, purse, or laptop bag). The policy doesn't name a required size, so a standard clear food bag is your safest bet.

Inside that bag, per the security policy revised June 30, 2026, you may bring:

• No. 2 pencils, erasers, and a small sharpener
• Blue or black pens (written MPT/MEE day only)
• Medications in their original packaging
• Small hand sanitizer
• Face masks (no neck gaiters, and no writing on disposable masks)
• Credit cards and cash (these may go in your pocket in the room)
• Menstrual products (an opaque bag for these is optional)
• Hotel and car keys
• Prescription eyeglasses and case
• Quiet snacks, unwrapped, kept in the clear food bag
• Foam, silicone, or gel earplugs with no cords or strings
• A small, unopened pack of tissues
• Crutches and walking canes
• One beverage in a clear, re-sealable, label-free one-liter plastic bottle (no cups, even with a lid)

If you're testing on a laptop for the written day, you may also bring the laptop, its power cord, and an external wired mouse and/or keyboard with a mouse pad. Note the word wired.

What Should You Leave at Home?

New York's prohibited list is long, and the zero-tolerance rule means "I forgot it was in my pocket" and "it was turned off" are not defenses. Leave these behind or in the Personal Belongings Room:

• Any electronic device: cell phones, smart watches, calculators, cameras, fitness trackers
• Watches of any kind (clocks are provided)
• Highlighters, correction tape, and correction fluid
• Mechanical pencils in any session, and pens during any MBE session
• Wired or wireless headphones, headsets, or earbuds (plain earplugs without cords are fine)
• Notes, papers, books, bar review or study material in any format, dictionaries, prayer books
• Luggage, laptop bags or sleeves, handbags, purses, wallets, backpacks, briefcases
• Hats, baseball caps, visors, or sunglasses (religious headwear is permitted)
• Weapons of any kind
• Coffee or drink cups, even with a lid
• Laptop stands or risers, and any wireless mouse or keyboard

All coats, jackets, bags, and phones must be left, at your own risk, in the Personal Belongings Room. Those rooms open by 7:00 AM, and the exam won't be delayed for long lines, so get there early.

Laptop and Software

New York offers Examplify by ExamSoft for the written MEE and MPT portion. The MBE is still answered on a paper scantron with No. 2 pencils, and you can choose to handwrite the written portion in blue or black pen instead of typing.

A few dates and specs to have already handled:

• Laptop registration opened May 5 and closed May 28, 2026.
• The mandatory Mock Exam had an upload deadline of July 1, 2026 at 4:30 PM EST.
• Required Examplify version 3.11.7.
• Minimum OS per ExamSoft's bar requirements: 64-bit Windows 11 (23H2, 24H2, or 25H2; Windows RT and 11 S are not supported) or genuine macOS Sonoma, Sequoia, or Tahoe, with at least 4GB RAM.

One rule catches laptop users off guard: if you remove your laptop during the lunch break, you must handwrite the afternoon session. So plan to leave it in the room.

What Should You Wear to the Bar Exam?

There's no formal dress code. The clothing rules that matter come from the security policy: no hats, baseball caps, visors, or sunglasses (religious headwear is allowed), and all coats and jackets have to stay in the Personal Belongings Room, not in the exam room.

Since your coat can't come in with you and testing rooms run warm or cold depending on the site, dress in indoor-appropriate layers you can adjust at your seat. A comfortable sweater or cardigan beats a bulky jacket you'll have to surrender at the door.

Key Deadlines and Report Times

Both days run 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM and 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM. You must be in your seat 30 minutes before the start (so by about 9:00 AM), and you'll pass through a security checkpoint first. Personal Belongings Rooms open by 7:00 AM.

The standard UBE ordering puts the two MPT tasks and six MEE questions on Day 1 (Tuesday, July 28) and the MBE on Day 2 (Wednesday, July 29). That day-by-day split is the usual format and is consistent with the current policy, but confirm on your admission ticket which components fall on which day.

When you want the authoritative source, read the New York Board of Law Examiners security policy in full. For a jurisdiction-neutral version of this list, keep the general exam day checklist handy too.

With the packing sorted, the last productive thing you can do in your final week is time real essays under pressure. If you paste a practice MEE into BarScore, you get a score plus detailed feedback in seconds, so you can start a free trial and fix your weak spots on New York essays before test day instead of guessing. BarScore works with essays from any prep course and any U.S. jurisdiction, so it fits whatever you're already using. Pack your clear bag, confirm your Seat Ticket, and let your last few study sessions be graded ones.