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How To Register For The ACT

You can register for the ACT online or by mail. The ACT recommends registering online because it is faster, you can immediately see if your preferred test center has space available, and you can print your admission ticket immediately after submitting payment.

Registering Online

To register online, you need to create an ACT Web Account, which you can do on the ACT website. Both U.S. and international students can register online.

Once you have created an account, you will be able to register for the ACT. During the registration process, you will be asked questions about your high school, your high school classes, your background, and your family, and your interests. In addition, you will also be asked for identifying information such as your name, address, phone number, email, and social security number. Upon completing this information, you can proceed to register for the ACT itself.

The registration process will ask you to select your preferred test date, select whether you will take the ACT (No Writing) or the ACT Plus Writing, and will apprise you of any applicable fees. You will also have the opportunity to order items such as ACT Test Information Release and official ACT test preparation materials. During the registration process, you will also be able to designate schools which you would like to receive your ACT test scores (although you do not have to select any schools if you prefer not to). You will choose where you’d like to take the ACT (but be sure to sign up early, since testing centers can fill up fast!), and then you will be asked to confirm all the information you have provided and then provide a method of payment (credit cards are the only payment method accepted when registering online).

Note: As per the ACT website, once you register for the ACT, your order cannot be cancelled and most fees are non-refundable. Students registering online will have the ability to print out their ACT score report from their ACT Web Account as soon as scores are available and the report is ready. If you are unable to test on Saturdays (the usual day the ACT is administered) due to religious beliefs, if you are homebound or confined, or if you need to receive testing accommodations due to a disability, you will have to complete additional documentation outside of your ACT Web Account in order to have the test administered to you.

Registering by Mail

Although mail registration is available for everyone, the ACT requires you to register by mail if you are under the age of 13, or if you cannot pay for your registration via credit card.

In order to register by mail, you need to request a registration packet from the ACT, which you can do here. A registration packet will then be mailed to you, and you will have to complete it and mail it back. Students requesting non-Saturday testing, accommodated testing, or who are homebound or confined will need to submit additional information.