ACT 2025-2026 Test Dates and Guide
HOW TO REGISTER FOR THE ACT
If you’re wondering how to register for the ACT, go to the official ACT website linked here.
2025-2026 ACT TEST DATES AND DEADLINES
The ACT is offered seven times a year and occurs on a Saturday. As with the SAT, ACT test dates are clustered more closely together in the fall, and spread out in the spring in order to allow seniors a greater chance of attaining a higher score as college applications are due. See below for 2025-2026 ACT test dates, and regular and late registration deadlines, so that you can answer the question “when can I take the ACT?” and “when can I register for the ACT?”:
| ACT TEST DATE | REGULAR REGISTRATION DEADLINE | LATE REGISTRATION DEADLINE LATE FEE APPLIES | STANDBY DEADLINE PHOTO UPLOAD DEADLINE |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 12, 2025 | June 6, 2025 | June 25, 2025 | July 4, 2025 |
| September 6, 2025 | August 1, 2025 | August 19, 2025 | August 29, 2025 |
| October 18, 2025 | September 12, 2025 | September 30, 2025 | October 10, 2025 |
| December 13, 2025 | November 7, 2025 | November 24, 2025 | December 5, 2025 |
| February 14, 2026 | January 9, 2026 | January 23, 2026 | February 6, 2026 |
| April 11, 2026 | March 6, 2026 | March 24, 2026 | April 3, 2026 |
| June 13, 2026 | May 8, 2026 | May 29, 2026 | June 5, 2026 |
| July 11, 2026 | June 5, 2026 | June 24, 2026 | July 3, 2026 |
2025-2026 ACT SCORE RELEASE DATES
| ACT DATE | ESTIMATED SCORE RELEASE DATE |
|---|---|
| July 12, 2025 | July 22 - September 5 |
| September 6, 2025 | September 16 - October 31 |
| October 18, 2025 | October 28 - December 12 |
| December 13, 2025 | December 23 - February 6 |
| February 14, 2026 | February 24 - April 10 |
| April 11, 2026 | April 21 - June 5 |
| June 13, 2026 | June 23 - August 7 |
| July 11, 2026 | July 21 - September 4 |
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 ACT is your college admission deadline schedule. Ideally, you will have taken the ACT 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 ACT?”
If you’re a senior, aim to take the September 6th or the October 18th ACT and then be done with testing. Many colleges will have cutoffs for how late you can take the ACT, so you’ll want to check your colleges’ admissions websites to see if you can send in the score from the December 13th test.
If you’re a junior, aim to take the December 13th ACT as your first test and then the February 14th and April 11th tests as your retakes. You’ll likely take the PSAT or PACT in October of your junior year and you should use the results from your PSAT/PACT to study more effectively for your December ACT. 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 ACT?”
Regardless of what grade you are in, the best way to improve your ACT 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.