The Illinois bar exam pass rate sits around 72% overall for the July administration and roughly 44% for February, based on the most recent full-cycle results. Those combined figures hide a much sharper split: first-time takers pass at 81% to 84%, while repeat takers pass at roughly 26% to 30%. Which number matters to you depends entirely on which group you’re in.
July vs. February Results
July is the larger administration and the easier one to pass, statistically. On the July 2024 exam, about 2,276 people sat and roughly 1,639 passed, for a 72% overall rate. July 2023 was slightly lower at around 69%, with approximately 2,333 candidates. Early data from July 2025 shows first-time takers at 84%.
February is a different picture. The February 2024 exam drew 812 candidates and 358 passed, an overall rate of about 44%. That drop is not unique to Illinois. February pools carry a much higher share of repeat takers, and repeaters pass at a fraction of the first-time rate, which pulls the combined number down sharply.
First-Time Takers vs. Repeat Takers
The gap between first-timers and repeaters is the single most important number in Illinois bar statistics. On the July 2024 exam, first-time takers passed at 81% and repeaters at 26%. Preliminary July 2025 figures widened the gap further: 84% versus 30%.
If you’re sitting for the exam shortly after law school graduation, the odds are strongly in your favor. If you don’t pass on the first try, the numbers turn steep. Illinois places no cap on how many times you can retake the exam, but a failed attempt means retaking the entire exam. No section credit carries forward.
Pass Rates by Law School
Illinois has nine ABA-accredited law schools, and their first-time pass rates vary widely.
The University of Chicago Law School and Northwestern Pritzker School of Law consistently produce the highest results, with first-time pass rates regularly above 95%. Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Chicago-Kent College of Law at IIT, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Law, and DePaul University College of Law generally land between 75% and 90%, depending on the year and administration. The University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, Northern Illinois University College of Law, and Southern Illinois University School of Law have historically produced first-time rates from the mid-60s to the mid-70s.
School-level numbers move year to year, and small class sizes exaggerate the swings. A program with 40 graduates taking the exam can shift 10 percentage points on a handful of results. The American Bar Association publishes school-specific bar passage data through its Required Disclosures portal, which lets you look up any accredited school’s results by year.
What Score You Need to Pass
Illinois currently administers the Uniform Bar Examination and requires a scaled score of 266 to pass. The score combines three pieces: the Multistate Bar Examination (a 200-question multiple-choice section) counts for 50%, the Multistate Essay Examination for 30%, and the Multistate Performance Test for 20%.
The National Conference of Bar Examiners scores the multiple-choice portion. Illinois graders score the written components, and those scores are scaled to the multiple-choice curve before NCBE calculates the final combined figure. Among UBE states, 266 is a moderately demanding cut score, though not the highest.
UBE Score Portability
A passing UBE score from Illinois transfers to any other UBE jurisdiction with a minimum at or below 266, and a score of 266 or higher from another UBE state can be used to apply for Illinois admission without retaking the exam. The score must have been earned within four years preceding the application. Illinois measures that window from the last day of the month of administration. After four years, the score expires. The four-year validity applies to scores earned in Illinois too.
The NextGen Exam Will Change These Numbers
Illinois has adopted the NextGen Uniform Bar Examination and is scheduled to begin administering it in February 2028. NextGen first appears in a limited group of jurisdictions in July 2026, and Illinois is not in that initial group. Anyone sitting for the Illinois bar before February 2028 takes the current UBE with the 266 passing score.
The NextGen exam uses a 500-to-750 scoring scale rather than the current 400-point scale, and each jurisdiction sets its own passing score. The format includes multiple-choice questions, integrated question sets, and performance tasks, with a design intended to balance litigation and transactional skills more evenly than the current UBE. NCBE has not released detailed weighting for each component. Over 45 jurisdictions have adopted NextGen, so score portability should remain broadly available.
Because the exam, the scale, and the cut score are all changing, current Illinois pass rates should be read as a snapshot of the UBE era. Once NextGen begins in February 2028, comparisons to today’s 72% and 44% numbers will not be apples-to-apples.