Last reviewed: August 7, 2026, against College Board's official dates-and-deadlines page. All eight dates below are confirmed, not projected.

You came here for a list of dates, so it is first. What follows the list is the part most date pages skip: which date is actually still available to you given the deadlines, and which date fits the application timeline you are on.

When Are the 2026-27 SAT Test Dates?

College Board has confirmed eight administrations for the 2026-27 school year. Each date closes for regular registration about two weeks ahead, with a final deadline for late registration, changes, and cancellation a few days after that.1

Fall 2026:

  • August 22, 2026. Register by August 7; late and change deadline August 11.
  • September 12, 2026. Register by August 28; late and change deadline September 1.
  • October 3, 2026. Register by September 18; late and change deadline September 22.
  • November 7, 2026. Register by October 23; late and change deadline October 27.
  • December 5, 2026. Register by November 20; late and change deadline November 24.

Spring 2027:

  • March 6, 2027. Register by February 19; late and change deadline February 23.
  • May 1, 2027. Register by April 16; late and change deadline April 20.
  • June 5, 2027. Register by May 21; late and change deadline May 25.

Late registration carries an added fee, and the whole test runs on the digital SAT format through the Bluebook app, whether you test at a school or a weekend test center.2

Did You Know

The fall now holds five SAT dates, including the September administration sitting between the traditional August and October ones. That fifth date is what makes a fall retake plan realistic: a senior can test in August or September, see a real score, and still have October in hand before November 1 deadlines.

Match the Date to Your Deadline, Not Your Mood

Most students pick the date that feels comfortably far away. The better method is to start from the application deadline you are working toward and walk backward through score delivery.

Scores for a given administration are released on a posted schedule, generally within a couple of weeks of test day, and College Board publishes the exact release date for each administration.3 That walk-back produces three clean rules for the class of 2027:

Applying Early Decision or Early Action with November 1 deadlines: October 3 is your last realistic test date. August 22 and September 12 are the comfortable ones, because they leave October free for a retake if the score disappoints.

The November 7 date does not serve November 1 deadlines. It sits six days after them. It exists for regular decision applicants and for early applicants whose colleges explicitly accept November scores, which some do. Confirm the policy for each college by name before counting on it.

Regular decision with January deadlines: December 5 works, and March 6 exists as a final option only for colleges that accept midyear senior scores. Policies differ enough that March is a verify-first date, not an assumption.

For the class of 2028, the spring dates are the main event. A first attempt on March 6 or May 1 of junior year, after the October PSAT identifies weak areas, leaves the summer and fall for one planned retake. Our guide on when to take the SAT junior year walks through that sequencing in detail.

Important

December scores arrive during winter break at many high schools, when counseling offices that send transcripts and school reports are closed. If a January 1 deadline depends on your December score plus a counselor action, tell your counselor before break, not after scores post.

Registration Is the Real Deadline System

Registration for 2026-27 dates is open at College Board's site, and seats are assigned per test center, first come, first served.2 Three practical notes that save real pain:

  • Register the week you decide, not the week of the deadline. Popular centers in dense areas fill early, and late registrants can be assigned centers a long drive away.
  • If you need testing accommodations, start the request through your school well before registering. Approval is a separate process and takes time.
  • The change deadline matters as much as the registration one. Switching your date or center after the change deadline is not possible, and skipping a test you registered for forfeits the fee under standard policies. Check the current fee schedule when you register, since College Board sets fees annually.2
Expert Tip

Register for your ideal date and your backup date's registration window in the same sitting: book the first, and put the second date's registration deadline in your calendar with an alert. If your first score comes back where you want it, you simply never use the reminder. That one habit removes the scramble that produces distant test centers and late fees.

Fall or Spring, Answered by Class Year

The fall-versus-spring debate usually ignores the only variable that matters: where you are in high school.

Seniors own the fall. August through October dates exist so the class of 2027 can finish testing before early deadlines, and December closes out regular decision. There is no strategic spring left for a senior, only deadline triage.

Juniors own the spring. By March, the class of 2028 has covered most of the algebra, data analysis, and reading the test draws on. Testing earlier than that means competing against material you have not finished learning. The junior-spring first attempt, summer study, senior-August retake pattern remains the calmest route through the whole system, and it is the one that keeps SAT versus ACT comparison time from being squeezed out entirely.

Whichever cycle you are in, anchor the plan to a target score built from real admissions data. Our guide to what counts as a good SAT score shows how to set that number school by school.

Already Looking at Next Year?

College Board has published anticipated dates for the following cycle: five fall 2027 administrations and three spring 2028 administrations, pending final confirmation. If you are in the class of 2029, or a class of 2028 family sketching senior fall early, the full list and what "anticipated" means live on our SAT test dates 2027-2028 page.

FAQ

What are the SAT test dates for 2026?

The remaining 2026 dates are August 22, September 12, October 3, November 7, and December 5. Spring 2027 adds March 6, May 1, and June 5. All are confirmed by College Board, and every administration uses the digital SAT.1

When is the registration deadline for each SAT?

Regular registration closes about two weeks before each date: August 7 for the August 22 test, August 28 for September 12, September 18 for October 3, October 23 for November 7, and November 20 for December 5. Spring deadlines are February 19, April 16, and May 21 for the March, May, and June tests.1

What is the last SAT date for November 1 early deadlines?

October 3, 2026. Its scores release ahead of November 1, while the November 7 administration lands after the deadline itself. A minority of colleges accept November scores for early rounds, but that is a school-by-school policy to confirm directly, never an assumption.3

How fast do SAT scores come back?

Digital SAT scores are released on a posted schedule for each administration, generally within about two weeks of test day. College Board publishes the exact release date for every test date, so you can check the specific day your score will arrive before you even register.3

How many times should you take the SAT?

Plan for two attempts with focused preparation between them, and treat a third as situational. Score gains come from the work between sittings, not from repetition itself. Colleges that superscore combine your best section results across dates, which makes a planned retake more valuable than a defensive one.

What if my test center is full?

Full centers are a registration-timing problem more than a capacity problem. Register early in the window and you will rarely see one. If you do, check centers in a wider radius, watch for seats freed by the change deadline, and consider the next administration, which in the five-date fall is usually only a few weeks out.

Footnotes

  1. College Board. (2026). SAT Dates and Deadlines. SAT Suite of Assessments. https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat/dates-deadlines ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. College Board. (2026). SAT Registration. SAT Suite of Assessments. https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/sat/registration ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  3. College Board. (2026). Score Release Dates. SAT Suite of Assessments. https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/scores/score-release-dates ↩ ↩2 ↩3