AP exams run over the first two full weeks of May every year, with morning sessions starting around 8 a.m. and afternoon sessions around noon local time. The part most students miss is that each subject sits in one fixed national slot, so you cannot move an exam to a more convenient day, and two of your subjects can collide in the same block. This page explains how the AP schedule works year after year, then points you to where College Board posts the exact per-subject grid for your testing year.
You searched for the AP exam schedule because you need to plan around it, not just read about it. Maybe you are stacking four or five exams in two weeks and want to know how spread out they will be. Maybe you are worried two of your subjects will land on the same morning. Maybe you just want to confirm there is no way to shuffle the dates.
This is the overview page. It explains the rhythm the AP schedule follows every year so you understand the rules before you look at any specific date. For your testing year's exact day-by-day grid, College Board publishes the official calendar, and we link to it below.
How the AP Exam Schedule Works Every Year
AP exams are administered over a two-week window in May, covering the first two full school weeks of the month.1 That pattern is consistent year to year, which is why you can plan the broad shape of your May before College Board confirms the exact dates.
Within those two weeks, exams run in two daily sessions. Morning exams generally begin around 8 a.m. local time, and afternoon exams generally begin around noon local time.2 A few subjects also have additional sessions, but the morning-and-afternoon structure is the backbone of the schedule.
The most important thing to understand is that this is a single national schedule. Every student taking AP Calculus AB sits it at the same date and time across the country. College Board sets one slot per subject so the exam content stays secure, which means there is no "pick a date" option the way there is for the SAT or ACT.2
Because each AP subject is offered in exactly one national time slot, the schedule is the same whether you test in California or Maine. The clock is local, but the slot is fixed, so a student in a later time zone is not getting "extra" prep time after seeing the exam.2
Why Same-Slot Conflicts Happen
Here is the angle most schedule pages skip: with dozens of subjects squeezed into ten testing days and only two sessions a day, College Board has to put more than one subject in some slots. If you happen to take two subjects that share a slot, that is a true conflict, and you cannot sit both at the originally scheduled time.
This is not a mistake on your part or your school's. It is built into how the calendar is packed. The good news is that College Board has a defined process for it: the late-testing window, which we cover below.1 You handle a same-slot collision by moving one exam to late testing, not by asking for a different morning.
Check your own subject lineup against the official grid the moment it posts. If two of your exams share a slot, your AP coordinator has to arrange late testing for one of them, and that request has its own deadline. Discovering a conflict in late April is far harder to fix than discovering it in the fall.1
The Late-Testing Window
The week after the main two-week window, College Board runs a late-testing period.1 This is not a redo for students who feel unprepared. It is a separate administration with alternate versions of each exam, reserved for students with a documented reason they could not test in the main window.
Reasons that qualify for late testing typically include:
- Two of your exams scheduled in the same time slot
- A documented religious observance on your exam day
- Illness or an emergency with appropriate documentation
- A school-sponsored academic conflict, such as a state competition
Your AP coordinator requests late testing on your behalf, and there is sometimes an additional fee depending on the reason.1 A schedule conflict and an illness are handled differently, so the earlier you flag the issue, the more options your coordinator has.
If you know now that you are taking two subjects that historically share a slot, do not wait for the grid to confirm it. Tell your AP coordinator in the fall that you may need late testing. Coordinators order materials and file requests on a calendar of their own, and an early heads-up keeps you off the last-minute scramble list.
How to Find Your Year's Exact Dates
College Board publishes the official AP exam calendar with the exact date and time for every subject. The full grid usually posts about a year ahead of the testing window, so the dates for an upcoming May are typically confirmed in the late summer or fall before it.1
The single source of truth is the College Board AP exam calendar.1 Anything you find on a third-party site should be checked against that page, because slots can shift slightly year to year and only the official calendar is authoritative.
If you are looking ahead to the next cycle and the official grid is not out yet, we maintain a planning page that lays out the most likely window based on College Board's consistent pattern, plus how to plan around the uncertainty. See our AP exam schedule for the 2027 cycle for projected dates and a study timeline you can start before the grid is confirmed.
What the Two Weeks Usually Look Like
You do not need the exact grid to sketch your study order. In a typical year, College Board groups exams in a broadly predictable way across the two weeks. Use this as a planning frame, then confirm against the official calendar when it posts.
| Window | Subjects often scheduled here |
|---|---|
| Week 1 (first full week of May) | High-volume courses such as AP English, AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP U.S. History, and several world languages |
| Week 2 (second full week of May) | Remaining sciences and social sciences such as AP Biology, AP Physics, AP Statistics, AP Psychology, AP Computer Science, and economics |
| Late-testing week (week after Week 2) | Alternate-version exams for documented conflicts, illness, and same-slot collisions |
Treat the table above as a pattern, not a promise. The point is to give you a rough order so you can plan which subjects to review first, not to lock in any specific date. The confirmed sequence always lives on the official College Board calendar.1
Registration Comes Before the Schedule Matters
A schedule only helps if you are actually registered. For most students, the AP registration deadline falls in the fall, months before the May exams, and a late registration fee applies after it.3 You register through your school's AP coordinator, not directly with College Board, which trips up students who expect an online checkout like the SAT.
If you have not sorted out registration yet, start there. Our guide on how to register for AP exams walks through the fall deadline, the coordinator handoff, and the fee structure so you do not get caught paying a late penalty for a missed cutoff.
The exam schedule and your registration are handled by two different timelines. You commit to exams in the fall, but the day-by-day testing grid is what you plan your May study calendar around. Mixing up the two is how students miss the registration window while waiting for dates that do not change anything about whether they are signed up.3
After the Schedule: Scores and What Comes Next
Once your exams are done, the next date that matters is your score release. AP scores come out online in July, several weeks after the May window.4 If you are already wondering when the number appears, our page on when AP scores come out covers the July release and how scoring works.
For the stretch between your last exam and score day, there is genuinely useful work you can do, from sending scores to reviewing what you learned. See what to do after AP exams for a practical plan. And if you are deciding which exams are worth taking at all, our AP exam prep guide breaks it down by subject.
A Simple Way to Use the Schedule
Put the two-week window on your calendar as soon as the official grid posts. Mark every one of your subjects, flag any two that share a slot, and confirm your registration is already in. Then build your study plan backward from your first exam date, giving your heaviest subjects the most runway.
The schedule itself is fixed and out of your control. What you control is how early you find your dates, how fast you spot a conflict, and how you order your review. Do those three things and the two weeks of May stop feeling like a wall and start feeling like a calendar you planned for.
FAQ
When are AP exams held each year?
AP exams are administered over a two-week period in May, covering the first two full school weeks of the month. This pattern repeats year to year, which is why you can plan the broad timing even before College Board confirms the exact dates.1
What time do AP exams start?
Morning exam sessions generally begin around 8 a.m. local time, and afternoon sessions generally begin around noon local time. A few subjects have additional sessions, but morning and afternoon are the main structure.2
Can I reschedule an AP exam to a different day?
No. Each subject is offered in one fixed national slot, so you cannot move an exam to a more convenient day. The only exception is late testing, which your AP coordinator arranges for documented conflicts such as a same-slot collision, illness, or a religious observance.1
What happens if two of my AP exams are in the same time slot?
That is a true conflict, and you cannot sit both at the scheduled time. Your AP coordinator arranges late testing for one of them, using an alternate version of the exam during the week after the main window. Flag it as early as possible so the request meets its deadline.1
Where do I find the exact AP exam dates for my year?
College Board publishes the official AP exam calendar with the date and time for every subject, usually about a year ahead of the testing window. That calendar is the only authoritative source, so check any third-party schedule against it.1
When are AP scores released after the exams?
AP scores are released online in July, several weeks after the May exam window. College Board confirms the exact date each spring, and scores appear in your online College Board account.4
Related Articles
- AP Exam Schedule for 2027
- How to Register for AP Exams
- When Do AP Scores Come Out
- AP Exam Prep Guide
- What to Do After AP Exams
Footnotes
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College Board. (2026). AP Exam Dates and Times (AP Exam Calendar). https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/exam-calendar ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12
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College Board. (2026). AP Exam Policies and Guidelines. https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/exam-policies-guidelines ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4
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College Board. (2026). AP Exam Fees. https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/exam-policies-guidelines/exam-fees ↩ ↩2
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College Board. (2026). AP Scores: Getting Your Scores. https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/scores ↩ ↩2