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LSAC lets you take the LSAT a set number of times, applying three limits at once: a per-testing-year cap, a cap across the current plus recent testing years, and a lifetime cap. The current numbers are no per-testing-year cap, five times within the current five-year reportable period, and seven times over a lifetime. Cancelled scores and no-shows count toward these limits.
By Ali Unar, JD candidate at Georgetown Law and founder of Lovare Institut. Last updated August 2026. Figures on this page were verified in August 2026 or point readers to the current source.
You can sit the LSAT several times, but LSAC bounds the total with three simultaneous caps: within one testing year, within a rolling window of recent testing years, and across your lifetime. The exact allowances are no per-testing-year cap, five times within the current five-year reportable period, and seven times over a lifetime, and they can be revised between cycles.
The caps overlap, so your available attempts are governed by whichever limit you reach first. The table lays out the three tiers.
The current ranking is best read directly from the source. See the U.S. News Best Law Schools list for the up-to-date order, and each school's ABA Standard 509 report for its median LSAT, GPA, and acceptance rate.
Yes. A cancelled score is withheld from law schools but still counts as one of your allotted attempts, as does failing to appear once you are past the cancellation and withdrawal deadlines. Because of this, cancelling is not a cost-free reset. Confirm how any unusual situation is counted with LSAC directly.
Since your attempts are capped, plan each one around a clear score target and confirmed practice readiness rather than testing speculatively. Most applicants need only one solid sitting and, at most, one focused retake. Save additional attempts for cases where a specific, fixable weakness is holding your score down.
The LSAT registration fee is currently $253 (which includes LSAT Argumentative Writing), and most applicants also pay for the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) that nearly all law schools require, currently $219. LSAC provides need-based fee waivers that cover registration and several related services for applicants who qualify.
You can repeat the LSAT, but LSAC caps the number of attempts within one testing year, within the current plus recent testing years, and across your lifetime: no per-testing-year cap, five times within the current five-year reportable period, and seven times over a lifetime. Because cancelled scores count toward these caps, most advisers suggest testing only when you are genuinely ready to hit your target.
The best LSAT date leaves time for a possible retake before deadlines, typically a sitting in the summer or early autumn of your application year. Rolling admissions reward early, complete applications, so an earlier score that meets your target medians usually beats a slightly higher score submitted months later.
Verified August 2026.
August 21, 2026
August 21, 2026