SAT Score Reporting and Sending Scores

By Muntasir Jul 20, 2026 5 min read

TL;DR

Weekend SAT registration includes up to 4 free score reports, and you pick or change the recipients up to 9 days after your test date. In-school SAT testing gives you a shorter window: 3 days after the test to set free recipients. Extra reports cost $15 each once the free sends are used or the deadline passes. Rush reporting adds $31 on top of the report fee and delivers in 1 to 4 business days, but only for scores already released. Score Choice lets you pick which test date to send for free, though it cannot mix sections from different dates, and some colleges still require every score you have. Students with a fee waiver get unlimited free score reports.

Sending your SAT scores to colleges is a separate step from taking the test. College Board does not send scores automatically. You choose recipients either at registration or afterward, and the timing and cost depend on which path you take. This guide covers the free score reports built into registration, what extra reports cost, how Score Choice works, and how long scores take to reach a school once you send them.

Free Score Reports Included at Registration

Weekend SAT registration comes with free score sending. College Board includes up to 4 free score reports with weekend SAT registration, sent to the colleges or scholarship programs you choose. You pick those recipients while you sign up, so read our SAT registration guide before you book a test date.

The deadline to name or change those free recipients depends on how you tested. Weekend testers get a longer window than students who test in school. The table below lays out both windows.

Testing Path	Deadline to Set or Change Free Recipients
SAT Weekend	At registration, or up to 9 days after the test date
SAT School Day (in-school testing)	During exam setup, or within 3 days after testing

Miss your window and the free sends are gone for the test date. Any report you order after the deadline falls under the paid fee structure below. For every fee tied to registering and testing, see our full SAT cost and fees breakdown.

Ordering Additional Score Reports

Reports beyond your free allotment, or reports ordered after the free-send deadline, cost money per report. College Board charges $15 per additional score report. Older scores cost more to pull from the archive. Archived score requests cost $35, on top of the standard $15 per-report fee.

Students with financial need are not charged for extra reports. An SAT fee waiver gives you unlimited free score reports, along with free registration, free late fees, and free cancellations. The table below summarizes every score-report fee.

Fee Type	Cost
Additional score report	$15 per report
Archived (older) score request	$35, plus the $15 report fee
Rush reporting	$31, plus the standard report fee
Fee-waiver students	Unlimited free reports

The standard SAT registration fee for the 2026-27 cycle is $68. The fee covers the test and the free weekend score sends, nothing beyond them. Every extra report you order later is billed separately at the rates in the table above.

Score Choice: Sending by Test Date or All Scores

Score Choice gives you control over which test date colleges see. Score Choice is a free College Board feature letting you choose which test date's SAT scores to send to colleges. Not every school honors this choice. Some colleges and scholarship programs do not accept Score Choice and require every SAT score you have. Check each target school's admissions policy before deciding what to send.

Score Choice applies only to paid score reports you order after testing, not the free sends chosen at registration or during in-school testing.
Free recipients set at weekend registration or in-school testing report scores for the single administration only, with no Score Choice option applied.
You cannot mix sections across test dates, so a Math score from one sitting and a Reading and Writing score from another cannot combine in a single report.
A full test date's score always sends as one unit, covering every section from the sitting.

Score Choice matters most when you have tested more than once. Each test date stays a separate report, so the decision is about which whole sitting to send. Our SAT retake and superscoring guide covers how repeat attempts and superscoring work.

Score Release Timeline and Rush Reporting

Scores do not post the day you test. Most SAT Weekend scores are released roughly 2 to 4 weeks after test day. Once your score is released, you still choose when to send it, and delivery to the receiving school takes additional time. College Board states processing and delivery time to the receiving institution varies by college, with no single fixed turnaround published. Check your target school's admissions portal for its own processing timeline once a report ships.

A rush option exists for scores you need delivered sooner. It costs extra on top of the normal report fee and carries firm limits. The list below covers the price, the turnaround and the restrictions.

Rush reporting costs $31 in addition to the regular report fee.
Rush reports are sent within 1 to 4 business days, not counting weekends or holidays.
Rush reporting only works for scores already released. You are not allowed to rush a report for an unscored test date.
Rush orders cannot be changed or canceled once placed, so confirm the recipient list before you submit.

Once your official score is out, the next decision is whether to retake before your application deadline. Our free SAT practice tests and section drills give you a scored baseline first. No signup is required.