Visit your school counselor in September or October of 11th or 12th grade. Confirm you meet at least one qualifier: family income at or below 185% of federal poverty guidelines, or enrollment in NSLP, SNAP, Medicaid, TANF, foster care, or McKinney-Vento. TRIO/Upward Bound participants also qualify.
Request Form FW-16 directly from your counselor's office — it is not available for self-download. The form is specific to your school year; do not use a prior-year version. Your counselor keeps a supply provided by ACT each fall.
Fill in the student sections: legal name, date of birth, high school CEEB code, and check the correct eligibility category. Return the form to your counselor, who must sign and stamp it to officially validate your income or program status — an unsigned form is rejected at registration.
Go to act.org and create a free student account, or log in if you already have one. Start a new test registration, selecting your preferred test date and test center. Have your high school code handy — it appears on Form FW-16.
When you reach the payment step, enter the waiver code your counselor provided. The base registration fee ($40) and the Writing fee ($25, if selected) both reduce to $0. The waiver does not cover late fees, test date changes, or international surcharges — avoid those.
Complete registration and screenshot or print your confirmation number. Your waiver is locked to that one specific test date — it cannot be transferred or reused. Also designate up to four free score recipients at sign-up; each additional report beyond those four costs $18.
The ACT's four required sections cover English, Math, Reading, and Science in that order — no skipping, no rearranging. Every question counts toward your 1–36 composite score, so pacing discipline on each section directly affects your result.
The essay is graded separately on a 2–12 scale by two human raters and never affects your composite score. Adding Writing tacks on roughly 40 minutes and costs an extra $25 at registration — but some colleges require it, so check each school's policy before you opt out.
Plan for more than just the test clock. Proctors distribute materials, read instructions, and collect booklets between every section — these transitions add real minutes to your morning. Fatigue is a documented performance factor on the Science section, which falls last.
Check-in starts 30–45 minutes before the official test time, and doors typically close once testing begins — latecomers are turned away. Budget a full morning: most students leave the test center between noon and 1:00 PM, later if they added the essay.
The ACT without the Writing section costs $68 for the 2025–2026 testing year, while adding the optional Writing (essay) section brings the total to $93. Late registration adds a $36 surcharge, and standby testing costs an additional $62. Eligible students can apply for an ACT fee waiver, which covers the full registration cost and waives the score-sending fees.
Taking the ACT costs $68 for the standard test or $93 with the optional Writing section in 2026. These fees include sending your scores to up to four colleges at no extra charge. Additional score reports cost $18 each, and test date changes carry a $36 fee. Students who qualify based on financial need can receive a fee waiver through their high school counselor that eliminates the registration cost entirely.
ACT test fees in 2026 start at $68 for the core exam (English, Math, Reading, Science) and rise to $93 if you add the Writing section. Beyond registration, optional extras like superscoring reports or additional score sends run $18 per college. Fee waivers are available to 11th- and 12th-graders who demonstrate financial need, covering registration and eliminating per-score-report charges for waiver-eligible colleges.
The ACT costs $68 without Writing or $93 with Writing for the 2025–2026 school year. A late registration fee of $36 applies if you miss the standard deadline, which is typically five weeks before the test date. To keep costs down, register on time, take advantage of the four free score sends included with registration, and prepare thoroughly — strong preparation reduces the need for costly retakes. Visit ACT Practice Test to get ready without added expense.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is a U.S. healthcare law and is unrelated to the ACT college admissions exam. ACA marketplace plan costs vary widely based on income, age, location, and the coverage tier chosen (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum); many households qualify for premium tax credits that substantially reduce monthly premiums. If you were searching for ACT test registration fees, those start at $68 for the 2026 testing year.
The ACT registration fee is $68 for the no-writing option and $93 with the Writing section in 2026. Students who register late pay an extra $36, and those who need to change their test date are charged $36 as well. ACT fee waivers — available to income-qualifying juniors and seniors — cover the full test fee and provide free score reports to colleges, making the exam accessible regardless of financial situation.