ACT Test Accommodations and English Learner Supports

Submit for Approval

ACT is committed to providing appropriate accommodations for examinees who take the ACT test. To request accommodations, you will need to work with a school official, because the accommodations requested should be similar to the accommodations you currently receive in school. Accommodations MUST be approved by ACT before testing. A request alone is not enough.

All requests, including appeals, must be submitted by the late registration deadline for your preferred test date. If your request is not properly submitted, it may not be approved in time for your preferred test date.

How to Make a Request

Not in school?

Please see Examinees Who Are Homeschooled or Are Not Currently Enrolled for instructions.

Step 1

Register to test.

Log into MyACT and complete the following:

  1. Link a valid high school to your MyACT account before you register to allow ACT to communicate your registration to the associated school official in TAA. Consider searching for your high school by zip code, which may be different than your home address.
  2. Select ‘Yes’ when prompted to confirm you need accommodations after beginning the registration process. If you selected ‘no’, you will need to contact ACT as soon as possible to update your registration if you need to test with accommodations. 

You can also view this helpful video that provides a walkthrough of the registration process: The ACT Extended Time vs. Special Testing Comparison

Work with your school official to submit your request.

After you register, you will receive an email that you must forward to your school official. You also need to provide a completed Consent to Release Information to ACT (PDF) form.

Your school official must submit your accommodations request in TAA before the late registration deadline for your test. Once submitted, requests can take 5-10 business days to process.

Need additional help? You can also review the step-by-step video: So You’ve Registered for the ACT with Accommodations, Now What?

Note: If the accommodations you need were previously approved, you should not submit a new request. Skip this step.

Review the decision notification with your school official.

Your school official will receive a copy of the decision notification. If your request was denied, review your decision notification with your school official. You have until the late registration deadline to submit an appeal.

Note: If after 10 business days, you have not received an update from your school official about your accommodations request, please contact them directly.

Approved for special testing? Make arrangements to test!

You are responsible for working with your school official to make arrangements to test within the special testing window. Students approved for special testing usually test at their own school. If your high school cannot administer the test, contact ACT as soon as possible.

Print your admission ticket.

Be sure to upload your photo (if you have not already done so) and review your admission ticket to ensure your registration shows your accommodations. If you are testing at a national test center, check your testing location. In some cases, we may need to change your testing location to provide your accommodations.

Special Testing Windows

If you are located in the US, US Territories, or Puerto Rico, special testing is available during the designated testing windows below. Please note, some schools may be closed during part of the testing window due to schools being out of session.

2023-2024 Special Testing Windows

Test Date Testing Window
September 9, 2023 September 9 - September 24
October 28, 2023 October 28 - November 12
December 9, 2023 December 9 - December 24
February 10, 2024 February 10 - February 25
April 13, 2024 April 13 - April 28
June 8, 2024 June 8 - June 23
July 13, 2024* July 13 - July 28

*Special testing is not available in New York for the July Testing Window.

The Test Information Release for Special testing is available during the April testing window. Learn more!

 

2024-2025 Special Testing Windows

Test Date Testing Window
September 14, 2024 September 14 - September 29
October 26, 2024 October 26 - November 10
December 14, 2024 December 14 - December 29
February 8, 2025 February 8 - February 23
April 5, 2025 April 5 - April 20
June 14, 2025 June 14 - June 29
July 12, 2025* July 12 - July 27

*Special testing is not available in New York for the July Testing Window.

The Test Information Release for Special testing is available during the February testing window. Learn more!

 

Additional Resources

Based on your approved accommodations, ACT will place you in either National or Special Testing.

Some accommodations (e.g., time and one-half single session testing) and all EL supports, may be administered at national test centers. If you are approved to test at a national test center you will see an “Accommodations” label on your admission ticket once accommodations and/or English Learner Supports are approved by ACT, and your seat at a national test center is confirmed in the applicable room type (e.g., Extended Time, single room).

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If your approved accommodations cannot be provided at a national test center (e.g., multiple-day testing) you and the school official will work together to make arrangements for testing within the applicable special testing window. If you are approved to test via special testing you will see a “Special Testing” label on your admission ticket once accommodations and/or English Learner Supports are approved. If your school is unable to administer the test, you may find another school and work with ACT to request testing at this location. Contact ACT to request a Test Location Change Form.

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If you are approved for multiple accommodations, you will receive the accommodations that provide the most amount of time and support. If you wish to use fewer or no accommodations when testing, please contact ACT more than one week before your test date.

If you were not approved for accommodations but still wish to test, contact ACT as soon as possible to update your registration to test without accommodations. Please note that your preferred test center may not be available.

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We do our best to minimize the impact to your test experience and provide your approved accommodations. This may result in changes to your test format or test option. Your test accommodations are not approved until after you are able to print your admission ticket. If your accommodations are approved for a national test center, ACT reviews your registration against available capacity and may update your test location to a nearby test center that can support your accommodations. Please be sure to review the information on your admission ticket and confirm your testing location.

Writing test changes - If you are approved for accommodations that are only for the writing section and you are not registered for the writing test, you will be moved to a National testing center.

Test format changes – If you are approved for accommodations that do not depend on a particular test format, changes to your test format may occur to provide your approved accommodations.

Note: We are rolling out the online testing format at limited locations for the remaining 2023-2024 test dates and will be supporting online Special testing through locations participating in National testing only.

For the April through July 2025 test dates, Science Optionality is only being offered in the Online test format. In the rare circumstance that you have to be moved to Paper, Science will be added at no additional cost to you.

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Temporary arrangements are also available for situations including, but not limited to a broken limb. Contact ACTAccom@act.org for a request form.

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Find out more about ACT research investigating the performance and experiences of students testing with accommodations and language supports.

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Documents and Guides

Allowable ACT Accommodations and English Learner (EL) Supports (PDF) Provides a breakdown of accommodations available and the test type in which they are provided (either National or Special testing)
National vs. Special (PDF) Infographic detailing examples of Accommodations and EL Supports in National and Special testing.
Preparing for the ACT Test - Special Testing (PDF) Learning resource for examinees taking the ACT through Special testing.
Preparing for the ACT Test - Special Testing Scoring Keys (PDF) Booklet to help students prepare for the ACT test, inlcudes scoring keys. 
Preparing for the ACT Test - Special Testing Scoring Keys - Spanish (PDF) Booklet to help students prepare for the ACT test, inlcudes scoring keys -  Spanish version.
Accessibility Supports Guide for the ACT - National and Special Testing (PDF) Resource for examinees and educational teams requesting accommodations or EL supports for the ACT test.
Student Pre-Test Checklist (PDF) Checklist for students taking the ACT test
Allowable ACT Accommodations and English Learner Supports (PDF) Provides a breakdown of accommodations available and the test type in which they are provided (either National or Special testing)

Your Privacy

ACT will treat all information you provide to support your request as confidential and will use it solely to determine your eligibility for accessibility supports. Details about these supports will be shared only with the testing staff and will not be released to anyone else, including your chosen score report recipients. The only exceptions are for those instances in which an examinee’s related documents and information are the subject of a subpoena or other court order, or an enforceable request from a government entity. ACT Score Reports do not include any specifics about the accessibility supports provided.

Contact Us

If you have a more specific question, please use the Contact Form.

Still have questions?
Call to speak with an ACT representative at (319) 337-1332, Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM (Central)
Call wait times may vary.

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