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AP exams stand for Advanced Placement exams. The College Board offers them and covers a wide range of subjects like math, science, history, and more. What makes them exciting is that if you do well on these exams, you can actually earn college credit or demonstrate your knowledge to colleges. It's a chance to explore subjects you're passionate about at a deeper level and experience college-level coursework while you're still in high school. Additionally, it's a fantastic way to stand out on your college applications.
If you sat for AP exams last year, the process will feel familiar, but a few dates and numbers have shifted for the 2026-27 cycle, and it's worth reading through rather than assuming last year's timeline still applies. College Board has also renamed the old "Morning/Afternoon" exam blocks to Session 1 and Session 2, added a couple of new courses to the roster, and adjusted a few fee brackets. None of it is complicated, but missing one date can cost you a $40 late fee or, worse, a missed exam slot.
2027 AP Exam Registration Timeline
Below is the full sequence of dates you need to track, from the day your school gets its access codes to the day payments are finally due.
| Date | What Happens |
| August 2026 | AP coordinators receive school access codes; class join codes are handed out to students soon after |
| September 2026 | Students enroll in their AP class sections on My AP using the join code from their teacher |
| October 2, 2026 | Preferred (recommended) exam ordering deadline, schools are encouraged to finalise orders by this date |
| November 13, 2026 (11:59 p.m. ET) | Final ordering deadline for full-year and first-semester courses. No late fee if your order goes in by now |
| Nov 14, 2026 – Mar 12, 2027 | Late order window: a $40 late fee applies per exam ordered in this window |
| January 22, 2027 | Deadline for SSD coordinators to submit accommodations requests |
| March 12, 2027 (11:59 p.m. ET) | Deadline for spring-semester course orders and any changes to fall orders |
| April 30, 2027 (11:59 p.m. ET) | Deadline to update fee reduction status; also the submission deadline for AP Seminar, Research, Computer Science Principles and world language performance tasks |
| May 3–7 & May 10–14, 2027 | Regular AP exam administration, in two weeks |
| May 17–21, 2027 | Late testing window, for students with a documented, coordinator-approved reason |
| June 15, 2027 | Postmark deadline for schools to submit exam payments to College Board |
Step-by-Step: Registering If You're Taking an AP Class at School
This is the path most students will follow, and it's genuinely simple as long as you don't leave it to the last week of October.
- Get your class join code from your AP teacher, usually handed out in September, and use it to enroll in your course section on My AP.
- Check with your AP coordinator that you're marked "Yes" under Order Exam as this is what actually puts you in line for a test seat.
- Ask your coordinator for the school's internal deadline. Most schools set their own cut-off in late October or early November, well before College Board's November 13 date, so they have time to compile the order.
- Pay the exam fee through your school. College Board doesn't accept payment directly from students, your coordinator collects it and handles the rest.
- Once the order is submitted, log back into My AP closer to exam season to confirm your test date, session and reporting location.
If You're Self-Studying or Your School Doesn't Offer the Course
This comes up more often than people expect, especially for students following IB, IGCSE or A Level curricula who want to add an AP score or two to strengthen a US college application. If your own school doesn't run the exam, you'll need to find a nearby school or an authorized test center willing to test outside candidates, and you should start that search well before the November ordering deadline since coordinators aren't obligated to accommodate late requests. It also helps to call ahead as some schools cap the number of external students they'll test in a given subject.
International students testing outside the U.S., its territories, Canada or DoDEA schools should also budget for the higher international fee (more on that below), and confirm the exact reporting time with the test center, since Session 1 and Session 2 start times vary by region.
2027 AP Exam Dates: The Full Schedule
Exams run over two weeks in May, split into Session 1 (morning) and Session 2 (early afternoon) at most U.S. test centers. A handful of locations, including Alaska and several international centers, run on different local start times, so always confirm with your coordinator rather than assuming 8 a.m.
Week 1: May 3–7, 2027
| Date | Session 1 | Session 2 |
| Mon, May 3 | Human Geography; Physics C: Mechanics | Biology; Italian Language and Culture |
| Tue, May 4 | Business with Personal Finance; U.S. Government and Politics | European History; Microeconomics |
| Wed, May 5 | Cybersecurity; English Literature and Composition | Physics 1; Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism |
| Thu, May 6 | French Language and Culture; Physics 2 | World History: Modern; African American Studies; Chemistry |
| Fri, May 7 | German Language and Culture; U.S. History | Macroeconomics |
Week 2: May 10–14, 2027
| Date | Session 1 | Session 2 |
| Mon, May 10 | Calculus AB; Calculus BC | Music Theory; Seminar |
| Tue, May 11 | Japanese Language and Culture; Precalculus | Statistics |
| Wed, May 12 | English Language and Composition | Art History; Computer Science A |
| Thu, May 13 | Spanish Language and Culture; Chinese Language and Culture | Environmental Science |
| Fri, May 14 | Comparative Government and Politics; Computer Science Principles | Spanish Literature and Culture; Latin; Psychology |
Late testing for students with a documented conflict runs May 17–21, 2027, using a separate set of questions. Your coordinator has to request this on your behalf; you can't simply decide to shift your own exam date.
AP Exam Fees for 2027
| Fee Type | Amount | Notes |
| Standard exam fee | $99 per exam | Schools in the U.S., U.S. territories, Canada and DoDEA schools |
| International exam fee | $129 per exam | Schools and test centers outside the categories above. It is relevant for most international candidates |
| School rebate | $9 per exam | Returned to the school for handling the exam order |
| Fee reduction | $37 per exam | For eligible low-income students, applied at the school's discretion |
| Late order fee | $40 per exam | For orders placed between Nov 14, 2026 and Mar 12, 2027 |
| Unused or canceled exam fee | $40 per exam | Charged if an ordered exam is canceled after the deadline |
Mistakes That Trip Students Up Every Year
- Tracking College Board's November 13 deadline instead of the school's own internal cut-off, which is almost always earlier.
- Assuming enrollment in the class section automatically means you're registered for the exam but you still need to be marked "Yes" on the Order Exam status.
- Trying to pay College Board directly. Payment goes through the school, not the College Board website.
- Missing the January 22 SSD deadline for accommodations, which can't easily be fixed once exam orders are locked in.
- Registering for a subject and forgetting to check for scheduling clashes on the same date and session.
Getting Exam-Ready, Not Just Registered
Registration is just the paperwork side of things — the part that actually decides your score is the months of prep before May. If you're aiming for a 4 or 5 and want structured guidance instead of figuring it out alone, Tutela Prep's AP courses are built around the current exam pattern for each subject, with practice sets and mentor feedback along the way. Whichever subjects you're registering for this cycle, it's worth locking in your study plan around the same time you lock in your exam order.
