Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the LSAT
LSAT Registration FAQs
The best way is to set up an account on the LSAC website and register online, which can be done 24/7. Phone registration at (215) 968-1001 is the only other option, and the hours for this are limited. (Weekdays 8:30 am ET to 6:00 pm ET from September through the following February, and weekdays 8:30 am ET to 4:45 pm ET from March through August.)
An LSAC-approved identification document, an original photograph (not the one on your ID), and a credit card.
The current registration base fee is $248. There are additional charges for any registration changes or optional services such as test change fees or score preview fees.
Until 11:59 pm the night before the test. If you don't cancel and don't show up, you will be marked "absent", and your absence will be indicated on your score report.
LSAT Administration FAQs
You can take the LSAT at a testing center or online. In the United States, the LSAT is widely available at testing centers in all 50 states. There are also a number of testing centers overseas, but test dates tend to be harder to come by in other countries. Most testing centers are located in or near major cities.
You can also take the LSAT from the comfort of your own home using your laptop or desktop computer. There is no additional cost for taking the LSAT remotely rather than in a testing center, and tests can be scheduled 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, making this a very flexible testing option for even the busiest students.
No, the content of the LSAT is the same whether you complete the exam remotely or in an approved testing center. You will still complete four multiple-choice sections, one of which will be an experimental (unscored) section.
There are four multiple-choice sections, two of them Logical Reasoning and one Reading Comprehension. The fourth section is experimental, which means it's not scored, and it can consist of Logical Reasoning or Reading Comprehension questions. Since test takers don't know which section is the experimental one, you should do your best on all four of them.
Yes, you must complete the LSAT Argumentative Writing task in order to have a writing sample on file. Otherwise, your LSAT score will not be sent to the law programs you designated. If you have completed the Writing task within the past five years, you do not need to complete it again.
No, you do not complete the Argumentative Writing task when you take the multiple-choice part of the exam. You can complete the Writing task up to eight (8) days before or one (1) year after the multiple-choice part of the LSAT.
No, you can only complete the Writing task remotely, using your laptop or desktop computer. LSAC provides detailed instructions on the computer system requirements you will need to complete and submit your essay.
The LSAT is 3 hours and 10 minutes long, including a 10-minute break. The test consists of four (4) multiple-choice sections, each of which takes 35 minutes to complete. The Argumentative Writing task, which is taken at a separate time, is 50 minutes long (15 minutes for prewriting analysis and 35 minutes to write the essay).
Counting the check-in procedure and breaks, you'll be there about four hours, possibly longer.
Yes, there is a limit. LSAC allows you to take the LSAT up to five times within the current reportable score period (the past five years) or up to seven times over your lifetime. Tests taken before September 2019 do not count towards these limits unless you canceled your LSAT scores. Absences and withdrawals do not count towards the numerical limit, and you may not take the LSAT again if you have already achieved a perfect score of 180.
LSAT Scoring FAQs
The exam is scored from 120 to 180 in one-point increments. Each question is worth the same number of points, and you do not lose points for incorrect answers.
A scaled score (120-180), percentile ranking, average score for all test attempts, and score band.
170-180 is terrific, 160-169 is good to very good, 150-159 is average to slightly above average, and below 150 is below average.
The Writing task is currently unscored, but LSAC has stated that it is using data from the 2024-2025 testing cycle "with a long-term goal of providing a scored LSAT Writing assessment that schools may use in their holistic admission process." This means the Writing task will very likely be a scored part of the LSAT in the near future.
Start by reviewing information on the school's website. Look for the Standard 509 Information Report, which will have GPA and LSAT data for admitted students. You can also use LSAC's admission calculator, which will let you learn acceptance odds at most ABA-accredited programs.
LSAT Acceptance FAQs
Yes.
In Canada, it depends on the program. The LSAT is accepted for common-law programs, but not for other types of legal study, and law schools in Quebec do not require it. The LSAT is accepted by some law schools in Australia. There is also a Spanish LSAT that may be taken by applicants to three law schools in Puerto Rico. The LSAT isn't used by law schools elsewhere in the world, so be sure to do your research to thoroughly understand the requirements of all law programs to which you plan on applying.
Some 120 U.S. law schools now accept the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) in place of the LSAT. Did you mean you want to go to law school without taking any standardized test at all? Sorry, you're out of luck. As far as we know, all U.S. programs either require the LSAT, or give applicants a choice between the LSAT and the GRE.
According to LSAC, pretty well, but what do you expect them to say? There isn't a lot of independent research on LSAT validity, but there are criticisms of LSAC's validity claims.