ACT Test Day Rules and Checklist

Test day for the ACT runs on strict rules, and the penalties are set in advance. Arrive after the 8:00 a.m. check-in window and staff do not admit you. Show up with an ID outside the accepted list and you are turned away at the door. Use a prohibited device during the test and you are dismissed from the room with your scores canceled, per the ACT test day checklist.

This checklist covers what to bring, what stays home, which calculators are allowed, how the Enhanced ACT schedule breaks down by section, and what to do if illness or a late arrival costs you your seat. Read it once now and again the week of your test date. Pair it with our ACT registration guide so nothing on test day catches you off guard. Our ACT exam prep hub holds the section guides and free practice tests.

Required ID and Admission Ticket

Accepted Photo ID

ACT accepts one of two forms of identification at check-in, per the ACT test day checklist. Bring an original, valid, hard-plastic photo ID issued by a city, state, or federal agency, or by your school, with your name and a clear photo matching your face. Alternatively, bring a fully completed ACT Student Identification Form signed by a school official or a notary.

No other form of ID is accepted. A non-conforming ID means you are not admitted to the test, and your only route to a seat becomes a test date change, covered at the end of this guide. Check your ID against these rules well before test day, not on the morning itself. Confirm the name matches your registration, the photo still resembles you, and the card is still valid.

Your Admission Ticket

Print your admission ticket from MyACT once your photo is approved. ACT recommends bringing it, though a missing ticket alone does not block admission if you present acceptable photo ID. Treat the ticket as a backup rather than a substitute, since the photo ID requirement holds either way. Keep both in the same folder the night before so neither one is left behind.

Permitted and Prohibited Items

Staff are allowed to search anything you bring or wear into the test room, per the ACT test day checklist. Pack light and read both lists below before you leave home. Sorting a banned item out in the parking lot wastes time you need for check-in.

What to Bring

ACT names a short list of items you are allowed to carry into the test room. Pack them the night before and leave everything else at home or in your car. Read the detail on each line, since a watch with the wrong features belongs on the prohibited list instead.

• Sharpened No. 2 pencils with erasers.
• An approved calculator, for the math section only.
• A watch, as long as it has no alarm, recording, or internet capability.
• An ACT-approved bilingual dictionary, if needed.
• Snacks and drinks to use during break time.
• An approved personal testing device, only if you registered for BYOD online testing.

What Is Banned

The prohibited list covers electronics, watches with extra features, marking tools, outside reference material, and tobacco products. Using a prohibited device during the test gets you dismissed from the room with your scores canceled. Leave anything questionable in your car rather than testing the rule at check-in.

• Cell phones and other electronic devices.
• Smartwatches or watches with recording, internet, or communication features.
• Highlighters and colored pens or pencils.
• Notes, unauthorized dictionaries, or other outside aids.
• Scratch paper, unless an approved exception applies.
• Tobacco products.

Approved Calculator List

Calculators are permitted for the math section only, since every problem on the test is solvable without one, per the ACT calculator policy. Sharing a calculator with another student during the test is not permitted, so bring your own. Choose a model you already know well, because test day is the wrong time to learn a new keypad. Check the prohibited list below against your exact model number before you pack it.

Calculators You Are Allowed to Use

4-function, scientific, and graphing calculators are all allowed unless the specific model appears on the prohibited list below. Audio, or talking, calculators and Braille-accessible calculators require prior approval from ACT. Arrange approval ahead of your test date, since the policy requires it in place before you sit down. A standard graphing model without CAS functions covers everything the math section asks for.

Banned Calculator Models

Any calculator with built-in or downloaded Computer Algebra System functions is banned. The ban follows the CAS feature rather than the brand name, so check your exact model number instead of the product family. A non-CAS version of a banned family stays allowed, as with the standard TI-Nspire against the prohibited TI-Nspire CAS. The table below lists the models ACT names in its policy.

Calculator Modifications Required

A programmable calculator needs its CAS programs and documents removed before test day. Remove paper tape and power cords, disable sound, and cover any infrared port fully with opaque material. Students testing on the digital ACT get a built-in Desmos graphing calculator for the math section instead of a personal device.

Enhanced ACT Schedule and Breaks

The Enhanced ACT groups English, math, and reading into one required sitting, forming your Composite score, per the ACT test changes and enhancements page. Science and writing sit outside this core as optional add-ons, and neither one changes the Composite. Skipping both add-ons still produces a full Composite score. Plan your day around the core three, then add time for whichever add-ons you registered for.

Core Sections and Timing

Each section runs on its own clock with a set time limit and question count. English, math, and reading make up the required core. The table below covers all five sections and whether each one counts toward your Composite score.

Break Placement

For state and district testing administrations, a school places a break after reading or after science, splitting testing into two sessions, per the Enhanced ACT FAQs for K-12. On paper, the second session runs later the same day or the next day, and the test coordinator sets the break length, such as a lunch or snack break. Check your admission ticket or ask your test coordinator for the exact break schedule at your center, since national Saturday and online testing follow their own posted timing.

If You Are Late, Sick, or Need to Cancel

Late Arrival

Be inside the test center no later than 8:00 a.m., per the ACT test day checklist. Staff do not admit late arrivals, and there is no grace period at the door. Confirm the center address on your admission ticket the night before, then plan for traffic, parking, and the walk to the right room. Arrive well ahead of the deadline so a wrong turn does not cost you the whole test date.

Illness or a Missed Test

Miss your test for illness, injury, a late arrival, or improper ID, and your path forward is a test date change through MyACT, or by phone with ACT Registration, requested by the regular registration deadline for your new date. You pay the full fee for the new date plus the test date and center change fee of $49.00, and a late fee applies too if you change during a late registration window. Your original test fee is refunded once you complete the official test date change process.

Standby Testing

Standby testing gives students who missed the late registration deadline one more path to a seat. Request standby through MyACT during a limited window opening after the late deadline, for a $75.00 fee, per ACT's standby testing page. Standby applies to paper testing only, and admission is first-come, first-admitted, after every registered student takes a seat, subject to available seats, materials, and staff. Standby testers do not switch test options, such as adding writing, on test day, and ACT refunds an unused standby fee.

If accommodations affect how you plan for test day, see our ACT accommodations guide for the request process and deadlines. Everything else on this page is packing and timing, both settled the night before. Once your bag is packed, spend the remaining prep time on the sections themselves. Our ACT practice tests and drills are free with no signup required.

Sources

• ACT Test Day Checklist
• ACT Calculator Policy
• The ACT Test for Students: Test Changes and Enhancements
• Enhanced ACT FAQs (K-12)
• ACT Fees
• Standby Testing