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You should retake the LSAT only if a higher score is realistically within reach and your current score sits below your target schools' medians. Law schools weight your highest score, so a stronger retake usually helps, but repeated flat attempts do not. LSAC's attempt limits still apply: no per-testing-year cap, five times within the current five-year reportable period, and seven times over a lifetime.
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.
You should retake the LSAT when your score is below the medians of the schools you want and focused preparation is likely to raise it, and you should not when you are already at or above those medians. Because schools emphasize your highest score, a genuine improvement is worth pursuing, but a repeat with no study change rarely moves the outcome.
A retake is usually worth it if your practice-test average now exceeds your official score, if a specific weakness is fixable, or if a few points would clear a target school's median or a scholarship threshold. It is less worthwhile when your official score already matches your best practice results or sits comfortably above your targets.
Every sitting counts toward LSAC's per-year, multi-year, and lifetime caps: no per-testing-year cap, five times within the current five-year reportable period, and seven times over a lifetime, and each retake costs another registration fee and weeks of study. Schools see all scores even though they highlight the top one, so a string of unchanged results can read as stalled effort rather than growth.
Compare your official score to a recent, timed practice average and to each target school's median, then retake only if the gap is real and addressable. Change something concrete in your preparation first, and leave time for the new score before deadlines. Lovare's diagnostic can quantify whether the points you need are within range.
Registering for the LSAT costs $253 (which includes LSAT Argumentative Writing) as of the current cycle. Beyond that, most applicants pay for the Credential Assembly Service (CAS) subscription and for any score reports not already included. Candidates who qualify financially can apply through their LSAC account for a fee waiver that reduces these charges.
LSAC sets three overlapping ceilings on LSAT attempts, covering a single testing year, the current plus recent testing years, and your lifetime total: no per-testing-year cap, five times within the current five-year reportable period, and seven times over a lifetime. Cancelled scores count toward them, so treat each sitting as one of a finite number rather than an unlimited retry.
Take the LSAT far enough before your application deadlines to leave room for one retake, which usually means testing in the summer or early fall of the year you apply. Because most law schools admit on a rolling basis, submitting a complete application early in the cycle generally improves your chances.
Verified August 2026.
August 21, 2026
August 21, 2026