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The LSAT is good for five years after you take it. 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. Most schools then focus on your highest reported 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.
Your LSAT is good for five years after the testing year in which you take it. During that time LSAC reports the score to any law school you apply to, packaging it in your Credential Assembly Service report. The score keeps its full value across the window, so an earlier result counts the same as a recent one. LSAC reports scores for up to five testing years, so a result stays reportable for five years, according to LSAC's LSAT scoring policy.
The five-year period covers scored results. A cancelled score is not calculated into your record, although the administration may still be noted on your report, and a registered absence can also appear. When a score ages past five years, LSAC removes it from your report, and no exception brings an expired score back into use for admissions.
Because the LSAT is good for five years, you can take it before you are ready to apply and still use the result in a later cycle, which helps if you plan to work first. If your strongest score is close to expiring, retake the exam so a current score stays reportable. Most law schools consider your highest score, so a strong sitting keeps helping you throughout the window.
An old LSAT score is usable as long as it stays within 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. A score older than five years is no longer reported and cannot be included on your application.
Most law schools take your highest LSAT score rather than averaging your attempts. The LSAT is not superscored, so schools never combine sections from separate sittings; they use your best single score. Every score inside your five-year window still appears on your report, but the highest one usually weighs most heavily in admissions decisions.
Under current LSAC policy there is no limit on how often you can take the LSAT within a testing year; you may take it 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 the LSAT stays good for five years, retakes inside that window all appear on the report law schools receive when you apply.
Verified August 2026.
August 21, 2026
August 21, 2026