SAT Requirements & Prerequisites
Everything you need to know before registering for the SAT, eligibility, cost, format, and what to expect on exam day.
Cost
$60-$85
Provider
College Board
Validity
Scores used for admissions
Available
USA/Global
Education
Check official exam requirements
Experience
6-12 months of relevant experience recommended
Specific Requirements
- There are no academic prerequisites, no minimum age, and no grade-level requirement for the SAT.
- A College Board student account is required to register, and students aged 13 or older use that same account to view scores.
- A photograph must be uploaded at registration; test centre staff compare it against your ID and your appearance.
- A testing device that meets College Board requirements is required. Mobile phones cannot be used. Device requirements are published at bluebook.collegeboard.org and can change without notice.
- Students who need to borrow a device from College Board must request one at least 30 days before test day, earlier than the ordinary registration deadline.
- Registration costs $68 in the United States and $68 plus a $43 international fee elsewhere. Selected international centres add a $24 test centre fee.
- Accommodations must be approved in advance by College Board Services for Students with Disabilities, and SSD review can take up to seven weeks.
Number of Questions
98 questions (54 Reading and Writing, 44 Math), of which 90 are scored and 8 are unscored pretest items
Duration
2 hours 14 minutes of testing time (64 minutes Reading and Writing, 70 minutes Math), plus a 10-minute break between sections
Question Format
Reading and Writing: single multiple-choice question attached to a passage or passage pair of 25 to 150 words, Reading and Writing: informational graphics such as tables, bar graphs, and line graphs paired with a text, Math: four-option multiple choice, Math: student-produced response, where the answer is typed rather than selected, Math: roughly 30 percent of questions set in a science, social studies, or real-world context, Both sections: two modules per section, with the second module tailored to first-module performance
Passing Requirement
None. The SAT has no passing score. College Board publishes College and Career Readiness Benchmarks of 480 for Reading and Writing and 530 for Math, and reports a score range around each section score showing how much it would likely vary on another administration under identical conditions.
How It Is Delivered
Digital, in the Bluebook app, on a student-owned or College Board-loaned laptop or tablet at a test center or participating school. Mobile phones are not permitted as testing devices.
Languages Offered
English. College Board approves translated test directions and word-to-word bilingual glossaries only as accommodations or supports, not as translated test content.
Visit the official College Board certification page
Create an account and select your exam
Choose a test center or online proctoring option
Pay the exam fee and schedule your date
Score Scale
200 to 800 per section (Reading and Writing, Math); 400 to 1600 total
Score You Need
None. The SAT has no passing score. College Board publishes College and Career Readiness Benchmarks of 480 for Reading and Writing and 530 for Math, and reports a score range around each section score showing how much it would likely vary on another administration under identical conditions.
How It Is Calculated
Each section is a two-stage adaptive test. Module 1 mixes difficulties; performance there routes you to a harder or easier module 2, and both modules feed the section score. College Board applies Item Response Theory, weighting the difficulty characteristics of the items you answered correctly and estimating the probability that your answer pattern reflects guessing. Wrong answers carry no deduction, so two students with equal raw correct counts can score differently.
When You Get Results
College Board publishes a fixed release date for every weekend administration, and for all five fall 2026 dates that date falls exactly 13 days after the test: 22 August releases 4 September, 12 September releases 25 September, 3 October releases 16 October, 7 November releases 20 November and 5 December releases 18 December. College Board separately describes weekend scores as arriving 2 to 4 weeks after test day, which is the outer guidance rather than the scheduled date, so use the published table for planning. In-school scores reach students 13 days after the answer submission deadline on the same pattern. Score sends to colleges typically take a further 5 to 10 business days, and processing time once a college receives them varies by college.
In raw terms: 90 of the 98 questions are scored: 50 in Reading and Writing and 40 in Math. The other 8 are pretest items, two per module, which College Board uses to gather performance data and which do not affect the score. Because the scale is IRT-based rather than a fixed conversion table, College Board publishes no single raw-to-scaled table for live administrations.
- Two forms of valid ID (one government-issued with photo)
- Appointment confirmation email
- For online proctoring: webcam, microphone, clean desk, stable internet
What are the prerequisites for the SAT?
There are no academic prerequisites, no minimum age, and no grade-level requirement for the SAT.. A College Board student account is required to register, and students aged 13 or older use that same account to view scores.. A photograph must be uploaded at registration; test centre staff compare it against your ID and your appearance.. A testing device that meets College Board requirements is required. Mobile phones cannot be used. Device requirements are published at bluebook.collegeboard.org and can change without notice.. Students who need to borrow a device from College Board must request one at least 30 days before test day, earlier than the ordinary registration deadline.. Registration costs $68 in the United States and $68 plus a $43 international fee elsewhere. Selected international centres add a $24 test centre fee.. Accommodations must be approved in advance by College Board Services for Students with Disabilities, and SSD review can take up to seven weeks..
How much does the SAT cost?
The SAT exam costs $60-$85. This includes the exam fee only, study materials are additional.
How do I register for the SAT?
Visit the official College Board certification page → Create an account and select your exam → Choose a test center or online proctoring option → Pay the exam fee and schedule your date
What should I bring to the SAT?
Two forms of valid ID (one government-issued with photo). Appointment confirmation email. For online proctoring: webcam, microphone, clean desk, stable internet.
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