After you take your AP exams, you’ll need to wait roughly two months to receive your scores. That’s a long time! Is there any way to get your AP scores early? In most cases no, the College Board won’t release any early AP scores. However, some people claim to have found a sneaky workaround that could get you your AP scores a few days earlier than anticipated.
Read our guide to learn about the safe way to potentially get early AP scores, what you should definitely avoid when trying to get AP scores early, and what your options are if you need your AP scores by a certain deadline.
When Are AP Scores Released?
AP scores are released in early July. Your AP scores are only available online (you won’t be mailed any score reports), and you’ll be able to access them through your College Board account. If you took multiple AP tests that year, you’ll get all your scores at once.
But what is the exact date you’ll get your AP scores? It varies slightly from year to year, and it also depends on where in the country you live. AP scores are released over several days, based on rough geographic region. The pattern of release is not the same year-to-year either. In 2016, east coast states got their scores first, but in 2019 it was several southern states who first received their scores. (US territories and students who took their exams in foreign countries generally receive their scores last, however.)
The specific score release schedule has not yet been updated for 2020, but it's probable that as in 2016-2019, in 2020 AP scores will come out on July 5, and all of them will be released by July 9 (except for late-testing exam scores, which are released in August). The specific dates and times for AP scores in each state for 2019 are listed below. All these scores were released at 8AM Eastern Time, although the exact time of release can also vary year to year.
| 2019 AP Score Release Date | States/Regions |
| Friday, July 5 | Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas |
| Saturday, July 6 | Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia |
| Sunday, July 7 | Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia |
| Monday, July 8 | California, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon |
| Tuesday, July 9 | Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming Canada, US Territories, International |
When Do Colleges Receive Your AP Scores?
When you register for AP exams, you’ll be able to identify one school to send your reports to for free. (You have until June 20th to choose the school). If you want to send scores to more than one school, you can order additional score reports to be sent after your scores have been released.
If you selected a free score report to be sent to a school, the school will receive it by mid-July. If you decide to order score reports after you receive your scores, you have two options:
- Standard Report: Schools will receive your scores 7-14 days after you place the order (costs $15 per report)
- Rush Report: Schools will receive your scores 5-9 days after you place the order (costs $25 per report)
Is It Possible to Get Early AP Scores?
It takes about two months for you to receive your AP scores. This long wait is mostly because it takes a long time to grade free-response questions. These questions are all graded by hand, and the graders need to be specially trained in order to consistently give correct scores.
But what if you want your AP scores faster than that? Is there a way to get early AP scores? Unfortunately, not really. If you search “early AP scores” online, you’ll find a plethora of websites that claim to get you your AP scores early. Ignore them; they’re trying to scam you. No one but the College Board will have your scores before they are released.
However. If you are desperate to receive your AP scores a few days early, some people have reported successfully being able to get their AP scores early by changing their log-in location. Because the College Board releases scores based on where you are logging in, not where you took the test, some students last year claimed to have received their AP scores early by changing the location of where they logged into their College Board account.
For example, last year, if you lived in Colorado but were able to somehow view your scores or have someone else view your scores in, say, Texas, you could hypothetically see your AP scores on July 5th instead of waiting until July 9th.
How can you change where you access your scores? There are several ways:
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Have someone you know who lives in a state the receives AP scores earlier log in to your College Board account and view your scores.
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Travel to one of the states that receive AP scores earlier and log in there.
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Use a VPN to change your computer/phone’s IP address to one of the early release states.
It’s important to note that these claims are all anecdotal and haven’t been verified, and even if they are true, the College Board may decide to change the way scores are distributed because of the publicity this method has received. So it may not work in the future. Even if it does though, you’ll only receive your AP scores a few days early, at most, and you won’t receive them until the College Board has begun releasing scores. There’s still no way to get early AP scores before the official first release day.
What If You Need Your AP Scores Early?
But what if you really need your AP scores early, either for a scholarship deadline or because the college you’re attending in the fall requires AP scores by a certain date so you can choose your freshman year classes?
First, know that the College Board won’t make exceptions for anyone. No one. No matter how desperate your situation is, there’s no way you can receive your AP scores before the official release date. So, if you need them by a certain date but won’t have them in time/colleges won’t have them in time, you should shift your attention to seeing if the people who need your scores will be flexible because the College Board won’t be.
If there’s an AP score deadline you’re going to miss, call or email the place that needs your scores and ask what your options are. It may be no problem that they’re slightly delayed. You may also be able to unofficially report your scores, then they can be checked against your official scores when they’re received about two weeks later. If you took a later AP test date and will be receiving your scores late, most places are also accommodating of this.
It’s rare though, that you’ll really need your AP scores early to meet a deadline. Most colleges need your AP scores by mid-July or early August if you’ll be starting classes there in the fall, so using the free score report or ordering one immediately after you receive your scores will get your scores there on time in most cases, no rush ordering necessary. You can avoid missing a school deadline by having your AP scores sent right after you receive them. If you wait weeks before ordering a score report, that could be a scenario where late AP scores affect what classes you can take your first semester of college.
Few scholarships have deadlines in the summer, but if they do and your AP scores won’t be available in time, you may be able to use other test scores or school grades as a replacement. In any case, shift your focus from trying to get AP scores early to seeing how you can work to meet deadlines or requirements.
Summary: College Board Early AP Scores
Wondering how to get AP scores early? After taking AP tests in early May, you’ll receive your AP scores at the beginning of July. That’s a long time to wait, and, unfortunately, there’s no way to get AP scores before the College Board begins releasing them. However, AP scores are released by state, over a period of days, and some people have been able to get early AP scores by changing the location of where they log in to their College Board account. Be aware though, that this method will help you view AP scores early by a few days, at most. Don’t fall for any websites claiming to get you AP early scores; they’re all a scam.
If you need to get AP scores by a certain date, work with the school or organization that needs them to see if you can come up with an alternative plan. The College Board won’t release your AP scores early for any reason, but the place that needs your scores may be more flexible.
What's Next?
Curious how your AP scores compare to other students' scores? Learn the average score for every AP test by reading our guide.
Want help deciding which AP classes will be easiest? We will show you which factors to consider to find the easiest AP classes for your schedule.
How many AP classes should you take? Our guide goes over all the factors to consider to ensure you're taking the right number of AP classes to get into your dream school.
