Registration for the 3 October 2026 SAT closes on 18 September. That date carries more weight than any other on the autumn calendar, because 3 October is the last administration whose scores arrive before the 1 November deadline most Early Decision and Early Action programmes use. Miss it and your next score lands on 20 November.
The calendar you are working against
| What | When |
|---|---|
| Registration deadline | 18 September 2026, 11:59 p.m. ET |
| Deadline to change or cancel | 22 September 2026 |
| Test day | Saturday 3 October 2026 |
| Scores released | Friday 16 October 2026 |
| Free score sends expire | 12 October, four days before you see the score |
All deadlines expire at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, United States, regardless of where you are testing. That catches out students in Asian and European time zones every cycle, where the deadline falls in the early hours of the following morning locally.
Why 3 October is the one that matters
| Test date | Scores released | Reaches a 1 November deadline? |
|---|---|---|
| 3 October 2026 | 16 October | Yes, with about two weeks to spare |
| 7 November 2026 | 20 November | No |
| 5 December 2026 | 18 December | Regular decision only |
If early applications are not part of your plan, November and December are perfectly good dates and the pressure on 18 September largely disappears. If they are, this is the deadline your autumn revolves around.
Three ways past the deadline, and what each costs
Missing 18 September is recoverable. The routes are not equally good.
| Route | Cost | Works when |
|---|---|---|
| Waitlist | $0 | United States only. Assigns you automatically if a seat opens within your chosen radius. |
| Late registration | $38 on top of the $68 | Available after the deadline, subject to seats existing at all |
| Change your centre | $34 | You are already registered but need a different location |
Take the waitlist seriously. It is free, and the seat situation is not what it appears to be: centres now hold back roughly 40% of capacity for their own students and release it dynamically through the registration window, so a search returning nothing on 18 September is frequently not a final answer.
Join the free waitlist first and re-check availability for a few days. Paying the late fee to book a distant centre, when a nearer seat releases a week later, is the most common avoidable expense in the whole registration process.
Do the device check now, not on 2 October
Device rules tightened for the autumn 2026 administrations, and a machine that fails them wastes the registration entirely. Chromebooks must run in a managed Verified Mode and personal Chromebooks are no longer permitted, smart glasses are prohibited, and there are operating-system floors below which Bluebook will not run.
None of that is difficult to satisfy, but all of it takes longer than the night before. The full list is in SAT device requirements for Bluebook, and it is worth ten minutes this week.
If you are sitting September first
A quirk of the calendar worth planning around: the 12 September administration releases scores on 25 September, which is after the 18 September deadline for October.
So if you intend to sit September and then decide about October, you cannot. You are registering for October blind, exactly as August candidates could not use their scores to decide about September. If a second sitting is plausible, register for both and cancel the October one by 22 September if you change your mind, which costs $34 against the $68 you would otherwise forfeit entirely.
That pattern, where the decision deadline sits ahead of the information, runs through the entire College Board calendar. We laid it out date by date in your August score lands Friday.
Frequently asked questions
When is the registration deadline for the October 2026 SAT?
18 September 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. The deadline to change or cancel an existing registration is 22 September. The test is on Saturday 3 October and scores are released on 16 October.
Is the October SAT the last one that counts for Early Decision?
For a 1 November deadline, yes. The 3 October administration releases scores on 16 October, roughly two weeks ahead. The 7 November administration does not release until 20 November, which is after most Early Decision and Early Action deadlines have passed.
What happens if I miss the 18 September deadline?
Three routes. The waitlist costs nothing and assigns a seat automatically if one opens within your chosen radius, though it is a United States feature. Late registration costs $38 on top of the $68 fee, subject to seats existing. Changing an existing registration to a different centre costs $34.
Should I pay for late registration or wait for the waitlist?
Join the free waitlist first and re-check for a few days. Test centres reserve roughly 40% of seats for their own students and release capacity dynamically, so availability changes after the deadline. Paying $38 to book a distant centre before a nearer seat releases is a common and avoidable cost.
Can I see my September score before deciding about October?
No. The 12 September administration releases scores on 25 September, which falls after the 18 September registration deadline for October. If a second sitting is plausible, register for both and cancel October by 22 September if you change your mind, which costs $34 rather than forfeiting the full $68.
Do the deadlines use my local time zone?
No. All College Board registration deadlines expire at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time in the United States, whatever your location. For students in Asia and Europe this falls in the early hours of the following morning locally, which catches people out every cycle.