.png)
There is no passing LSAT score, because the LSAT is not a pass/fail exam. Every test-taker receives a scaled score from 120 to 180, and law schools judge that score against their own medians. What counts as good enough is entirely school-specific: aim to meet or beat the median at each program you target.
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.
There is no passing score on the LSAT, because it is not a pass/fail test like a bar exam or a driving test. Instead, everyone who completes the exam receives a scaled score between 120 and 180 along with a percentile. Admissions committees read that score in context, so there is no line you cross to pass; there is only how your score compares to what each school expects.
The score you need is the one that meets or exceeds the medians at the law schools you want to attend, since those medians drive admissions and scholarship decisions. A score that is comfortably competitive at one school may sit below another school's 25th percentile. Rather than chasing a universal number, identify the medians on your list: your target schools' published 25th-50th-75th percentile figures.
The main misunderstanding is that the LSAT has a fixed cutoff you must clear, when in reality good enough is defined only relative to each school. Some also think a score below the national average disqualifies them, though many ABA-approved schools admit students across a wide range. A low score can also be offset by a strong GPA, essays, and other parts of the file.
A good LSAT score is at or above the medians of the law schools you are targeting, on the 120 to 180 scale, since there is no fixed passing mark. Because the LSAT weighs heavily, clearing a school's 50th percentile helps most. Check your target schools' published 25th-50th-75th percentile figures to set your goal.
The average LSAT score across all test-takers falls in the low 150s, near the middle of the 120 to 180 scale, and it moves slightly each testing year. There is no passing threshold tied to that average. For the current mean, consult the low-to-mid 150s (LSAC does not publish a single headline average; the median falls near 152 on the percentile tables) and compare it to your target schools' medians.
The LSAT is scored by converting your raw score, the number of questions answered correctly, into a scaled 120 to 180 score using your form's conversion table, with no penalty for wrong answers and no pass/fail line. Since August 2024 the scored sections are two Logical Reasoning sections and one Reading Comprehension section, plus one unscored variable section.
Verified August 2026.
August 21, 2026
August 21, 2026