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You can cancel or decline an LSAT score within a limited window. Under LSAC's Score Preview, first-time test takers who opt in get six calendar days from score release to keep or cancel, according to LSAC's LSAT FAQ. A cancelled score is never reported to law schools, but it still counts as one of your LSAC attempts, and cancellation is irreversible once the deadline passes.
By Ali Unar, JD candidate at Georgetown Law and founder of Lovare Institut. Last updated August 2026. Every figure on this page was verified in August 2026 against the sources listed below.
Yes. LSAC lets you cancel or decline your LSAT score within a limited window. The clearest verified figure is LSAC's Score Preview option: first-time test takers who enroll get six calendar days from score release to keep or cancel, according to LSAC's LSAT FAQ. You request the action through your LSAC online account. Once you cancel, the score is withheld from every law school, and once the window closes the decision cannot be reversed. LSAC also sets a separate deadline to cancel a score without previewing it, which is published on its LSAT pages and is not among the verified figures used here.
If you do not use Score Preview, you have a fixed number of days to log into LSAC and cancel before your score is released. If you cancel, schools see a cancellation notation rather than a number, and you never learn the score yourself. Because that clock starts at the test date, decide quickly and do not wait for score-release day.
A cancelled score still counts toward your LSAC attempt limits, five within the current reportable score period (since July 2021) and seven over your lifetime, with no separate per-testing-year cap, according to LSAC's Limits on Repeating the LSAT policy, so cancelling is not a free redo. You also give up information, since a score you never see cannot be compared to your practice average. Many advisers suggest waiting for the actual score unless something clearly went wrong during the test.
If you cancel, register for a later date, diagnose what went wrong, and adjust your preparation before retaking. If you are unsure, consider letting the score arrive, since you can still retake even after a weak result and schools focus on your high score. Lovare's score tools can help you judge whether a given result is worth keeping.
The core LSAT fee is $253, which includes LSAT Argumentative Writing, according to LSAC's LSAT and CAS fees page. On top of that, budget for the CAS report law schools require, plus possible late-registration or date-change charges if they apply to you. LSAC lists every current fee on its site, and eligible candidates can request a need-based waiver before they register.
LSAC no longer caps how often you can sit the LSAT within a single testing year, but limits attempts to five within the current reportable score period (since July 2021) and seven across your lifetime, according to LSAC's Limits on Repeating the LSAT policy. Cancelled scores and absences generally count against these limits, so plan each registration deliberately rather than treating early sittings as free practice.
Aim to have your final LSAT score before you submit applications, ideally by early fall, so you can apply early in a rolling cycle. Testing in the summer gives you a built-in retake window if your first score falls short of your target schools' medians, without pushing your applications late.
Verified August 2026.
August 21, 2026
August 21, 2026