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The LSAT score you earn lasts five years. LSAC reports scores from the five most recent testing years to the law schools you apply to, so a score earned today can be used across five admissions cycles, according to LSAC's LSAT scoring policy. Schools inside that window usually consider your highest score.
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.
The LSAT score you earn lasts five years, and LSAC reports it to law schools for that entire span. The table sets out what a school sees at different points in the score's life.
When you applyWhat the law school seesWithin the five-year windowThe score is reported and can be usedThe moment the score turns five years oldLSAC stops reporting itAfter the window with newer scores on fileOnly the newer in-window scores are reported
LSAC reports scores for up to five testing years, so a result stays reportable for five years, according to LSAC's LSAT scoring policy.
A cancelled score is not scored, but the administration can still be recorded on your report, and a registered absence may show as well. These notes do not change the five-year clock on a valid, scored result. When a score finally leaves the window, it disappears from what LSAC reports and cannot be restored.
Because the score lasts five years, you can take the LSAT ahead of your application and still rely on it later, which suits applicants who work before law school. If your top score is near expiration, retake so a current score remains reportable. Most law schools weigh your highest score, so a single strong result serves you throughout the window.
Yes, as long as the score is still inside LSAC's five-year reporting window. LSAC reports scores from the five most recent testing years to law schools, so an older in-window result remains valid. Once a score is more than five years old, LSAC no longer reports it and it cannot be used on an application.
Most law schools take your highest LSAT score and do not average your attempts. The LSAT is not superscored, so schools do not combine sections across sittings; they rely on your top single score. All scores inside your five-year window still appear on your report, but the highest one usually carries the greatest weight in admissions.
Under current LSAC policy there is no cap on LSAT attempts within a testing year; you may take the test five times within the current five-year reportable period and seven times over your lifetime, according to LSAC's Limits on Repeating the Test policy. Because a score lasts five years, any retakes inside that window all appear on the report law schools receive, so each attempt stays visible to admissions offices.
Verified August 2026.
August 21, 2026
August 21, 2026