ACT 2025 Registration: Application Deadlines, Fees, How to Register for ACT Test?

You need to follow the below-given steps to apply for the ACT exam:

1. Create an account on the My ACT portal. 
2. Sign in and click on "Register for the ACT exam" and then click on "Begin Registering".
3. Answer a few questions like - "do wish to take the ACT exam in or outside of the US", "do you need special accommodations for the test" and "do you wish to opt for the Writing section or not".
4. Choose your preferred date, and test centre and continue to pay the ACT exam fee. At this moment, you can also use any discount voucher, waiver or promo code, if you have any. 
5. You will receive exam booking confirmation over the email. 

This is an important information that you must consider noting down to avoid any trouble during registration and on your ACT exam day. 

Upon registration, the students are provided with the "test rosters". On the exam day, the examiner checks your "first" and "last" name on the test roster with the valid and acceptable ID you bring to the ACT test centre. If any discrepancy is recorded in both these documents, you won't be allowed to take the test. 

So, here are some acceptable name registration formats as described by ACT:

Source: ACT.org 

In short, you must retain both your first and last name while registering for the ACT exam. 

In case the applicant is unable to register for his or her preferred ACT exam centre, the next best option is to choose another test date. Exam centre availability completely depends upon the applicant's time of ACT exam registration and whether or not seats at the designated ACT exam centre are available or not. It is advised that students check their test dates and corresponding registration deadlines for the chosen ACT exam centre beforehand to avoid missing out at the last minute. 

Yes, ACT exam is generally considered difficult. Here are the reasons for the same:

• English Section: ACT test's American English usage and conventions differ from the British English commonly taught in India. Hence, it becomes really difficult for students to follow the same pronunciation and colloquial terms as in the USA. 
• Reading section: The passages in the Reading section of the ACT test contain references to the US culture, which might not be familiar to Indian students.
• Science section: The Science section in the ACT test focuses on data interpretation and graph analysis, rather than pure scientific concepts. This contradicts with the Indian system in where the stress is more on learning scientific concepts rather than data interpretation and graph analysis.
• Time limitation: The ACT test offers very little time to perform on each section, which can be challenging for Indian students, especially if English isn't their first language. 

The ACT exam is conducted 7 times in a year. Here are the registration deadlines for the upcoming ACT exam dates in 2025:

Candidates can register online for the ACT, this is the most popular method of registering for the ACT. Mail registration is also available to register for the ACT. Students must ensure that they register for ACT before hand and if possible before the late registration deadline to avoid extra charges. Applicants should also check out the fee and exam dates before regstering for ACT exam.

There is no minimum eligibility criteria to register for ACT exam, thus, applicants must make up their minds as to when they have to take the ACT exam and ensure that they register in time to avoid late registration charges. The late registration charges are additional charges, hence, if avaoidable, applicants must avoid.

The universities in the USA require a minimum of 20 to 25 overall marks on your ACT exam. Failing to achieve the minimum threshold or getting a lower score may lead you to receive disappointment on your college application.

The ACT exam is conducted 7 times (for two consecutive days) in a year. The ACT exam dates typically fall in the months of February, April, June, July, September, October and December. 

Yes, there is an option to interchange an ACT exam date chosen with a future exam date. Students will have to pay an additional amount for interchanging or changing ACT exam date. It is always better to choose one ACT exam date and stick to it and avoid cancelling or changing the exam date as it requires a fee for every request. Thus, register for ACT in one go with final dates in mind. 

Thus, those who are willing to pay will have to submit an additional fee for ACT date shifting request and apply or register in accordance with new instructions and details. It is always advised that applicants check the ACT exam dates prior to their registrations to avoid last-minute confusions and alterations.

No, you cannot make changes to your ACT exam appointment such as changing its date or exam centre for free. Instead, you will have to pay an additional amount of $48.00 as Change Fee towards your ACT exam appointment.     

With the prices listed on each form of the ACT exam (with different number of sections), you can share your score report with only 4 colleges or universities at a time. To request a score report to share with the 5th and 6th college of your choice, you will have to pay an additional $20.00. 

Yes, with a focused and consistent plan, two months can be enough to prepare well for the ACT exam. This time is enough to identify any weaknesses that you may have in a subject, review the content you are using for preparation, practice with full-length tests, and refine test-taking strategies.

The ACT test along with the Science section will cost $196.50 for all non-US test takers. The ACT test with Science section will include the English, math, reading and science.

No, starting September 2025, the ACT test composite score will only include scores from the English, Maths and Reading sections. If opted for Science section, the scores for the Science section will be reported separately but not in the composite score. 

The ACT test fee along with the Writing section, starting September 2025, will be $211.50. This will include test on the English, Maths, Reading and Writing section; however, the scores for the Writing section will not be included in the composite score.   

Candidates need to pay USD 19.00 to send additional score reports online after registration. Candidates need to request this online before the test date. No requests like these would be entertained after registrations of ACT have been submitted. There are already a couple of free reports available during ACT registration for colleges, but if additional score reports are required, they would be chargeable.

There are different types of ACT registration fees for students. Candidates need to pay an additional USD 38 as a late registration fee for the ACT if they register after the regular deadline. Around USD 44 is charged for registering for another test date or changing the test centre as well. The other ACT registration fee also includes paying for sending score reports across various institutions beforehand also.

The only solution to missing the final or late registration of ACT exam is to apply for another ACT exam date. ACT late registration will not open once closed. Hence there is no other option but to wait for the next ACT dates to open. Test takers must ensure to apply in time.

Yes, prospective students are eligible to apply for as many ACT exam dates as they wish to. Be it be both dates in a month or other furture dates. The ACT registration will have to be done separately for different dates of a month, they cannot be registered through a same email id. Its always better to appear for one exam date first and if the need arises, applicants can register for ACT once again if they are dissatisfied with their current scores.