SAT 2025-2026 Test Dates and Guide
HOW TO REGISTER FOR THE SAT
If you’re wondering how to register for the SAT, go to the College Board website linked here, scroll down, and click the yellow Register button. You’ll need to create an account if you haven’t done so previously.
2025-2026 SAT TEST DATES AND DEADLINES (US)
The College Board offers the SAT eight times a year and it is typically administered on Saturdays. 2025-2026 SAT test dates are offered more frequently in the fall as the college process reaches a frenzy. Below, we’ve included a list of 2025-2026 SAT test dates, normal registration deadlines, and late registration deadlines so that you can answer the question “when can I take the SAT?” and “when can I register for the SAT?”. Note that all of these test dates are for the Digital SAT as the Paper SAT is no longer offered.
| SAT TEST DATE | REGISTRATION DEADLINE | DEADLINE FOR CHANGES, REGULAR CANCELLATION, AND LATE REGISTRATION |
|---|---|---|
| August 23, 2025 | August 8, 2025 | August 12, 2025 |
| September 13, 2025 | August 29, 2025 | September 2, 2025 |
| October 4, 2025 | September 19, 2025 | September 23, 2025 |
| November 8, 2025 | October 24, 2025 | October 28, 2025 |
| December 6, 2025 | November 21, 2025 | November 25, 2025 |
| March 14, 2026 | February 27, 2026 | March 3, 2026 |
| May 2, 2026 | April 17, 2026 | April 21, 2026 |
| June 6, 2026 | May 22, 2026 | May 26, 2026 |
SAT SCORE RELEASE DATES (US)
SAT scores are typically released two weeks after test day. For each test, scores are sent to colleges about ten days after the score release date. See score release date estimates below:
| SAT DATE | SCORE RELEASE DATE |
|---|---|
| August 23, 2025 | September 5, 2025 |
| September 13, 2025 | September 26, 2025 |
| October 4, 2025 | October 17, 2025 |
| November 8, 2025 | November 21, 2025 |
| December 6, 2025 | December 19, 2025 |
| March 14, 2026 | March 27, 2026 |
| May 2, 2026 | May 15, 2026 |
| June 6, 2026 | June 19, 2026 |
IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO KNOW
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Additional fees will be charged if you register late, change your test date, change your test center, or switch from taking the SAT to taking a Subject Test after registering. See how to alter registrations here.
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There is a waitlist for those who miss the late registration deadline.
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Sunday administrations typically occur the day after each Saturday test for students who can’t test on Saturday due to religious reasons.
PREPMEDIANS GUIDE TO CHOOSING YOUR BEST 2025-2026 TEST DATE
Deadlines for college applications and scholarships
The first thing you should consider when deciding when to take the SAT is your college admission deadline schedule. Ideally, you will have taken the SAT at least once during your junior year of high school before entering senior year fall; starting the test prep process during senior fall is incredibly stressful, as you will want to focus on your grades and college essays.
“When should I take the SAT?”
If you’re a senior, aim to take the August 23rd, September 13th, October 4th, or November 8th SAT and then be done with testing. Many colleges will have cutoffs for how late you can take the SAT, so you’ll want to check your colleges’ admissions websites to see if you can send in the score from the December 6th test if needed.
If you’re a junior, aim to take the December 6th SAT as your first test and then the March 14th and May 2nd tests as your retakes. You’ll likely take the PSAT in October of your junior year and you should use the results from your PSAT to study more effectively for your December SAT. Keep retaking the tests as many times as makes sense: If you think you’ve hit your max score, then you can stop retesting (and focus on other aspects of your college application like your essays), but if you have waivers or can easily afford to pay for more tests, and you think you can significantly improve (i.e. increase 10+ percentile points), then keep retesting. You might find that you want to take a break over the summer after junior year and try one last time in the beginning of senior year too.
If you’re a sophomore or younger, you don’t need to take any of these tests! The best thing you can do right now is follow us on social media (TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube) or use one of our Courses to CRUSH your current math/English class. Every course is taught through sketch comedy videos! We have every math class from Pre-Algebra to Precalculus. Finally, make sure you are reading as much as you can: newspapers, Wikipedia articles, the backs of cereal boxes, whatever. Read!
“How should I study for the SAT?”
Regardless of what grade you are in, the best way to improve your SAT score is by getting a subscription to Prepmedians.com, where the BEST SAT/ACT Prep is taught through sketch comedy videos.
We have helped thousands of students claim their dream scores (and you can hear from them here).
You can also find the best lesson plan for your upcoming test date here. Go claim your dream score!
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Posted by Kalyan Ray-Mazumder
Kalyan is the CEO of Prepmedians the Prep Comedians. He's earned perfect scores and/or 99th-percentile scores on the SAT, ACT, and GMAT. He graduated from Yale magna cum laude and from the University of Chicago Booth Business School with High Honors.