AMC Test Dates 2026-27: When Is the AMC 10, AMC 12 and AMC 8?

The AMC test dates for the 2026-27 cycle are AMC 10A and AMC 12A on November 5, 2026, AMC 10B and AMC 12B on November 13, 2026, and the AMC 8 contest window is January 21 to 27, 2027.

The 2027 AIME is a single exam on February 5 or 6, 2027 at Pearson testing centers, and USAMO and USAJMO follow on March 20 and 21, 2027. Always confirm the latest deadlines on the official MAA registration page.

AMC 10/12 is in early November, and the regular registration deadline is October 15, 2026 (with a final late deadline of October 28).

This is a dates-and-deadlines page. All times below are verified against MAA’s official site but registration policies and AIME dates can change, so please confirm on maa.org/amcreg before you write a check.

The complete 2026-27 AMC calendar

Every date in this table is verified against the official MAA AMC registration page as of June 2026.

This is the full AMC 10, AMC 12, AMC 8, and AIME schedule for the 2026-27 cycle.

Contest	Date	Early bird deadline	Regular deadline	Late deadline (returning managers only)
AMC 10 A	Thursday, November 5, 2026	September 30, 2026	October 15, 2026	October 28, 2026
AMC 12 A	Thursday, November 5, 2026	September 30, 2026	October 15, 2026	October 28, 2026
AMC 10 B	Friday, November 13, 2026	September 30, 2026	October 15, 2026	October 28, 2026
AMC 12 B	Friday, November 13, 2026	September 30, 2026	October 15, 2026	October 28, 2026
AMC 8	January 21 to 27, 2027 (window)	October 28, 2026	January 5, 2027	January 14, 2027
AIME	February 5 or 6, 2027 (invitation only)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
USAMO / USAJMO	March 20 to 21, 2027 (invitation only)	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable

New for 2027: there is no longer an AIME I and an AIME II. The MAA has moved the AIME to computer-based testing at Pearson Professional Centers. It runs in two 90-minute parts, costs $85, and is open only to qualifiers aged 13 or older.

When Is the AMC 10 in 2026?

The 2026 AMC 10A is on Thursday, November 5, 2026, and the AMC 10B is on Friday, November 13, 2026. Students can sit one or both versions. Start times are set by each host school or test center.

When Is the AMC 12 in 2026?

The 2026 AMC 12A is on Thursday, November 5, 2026, and the AMC 12B is on Friday, November 13, 2026, the same days as the AMC 10. A student cannot take the AMC 10 and the AMC 12 on the same day, but can take, for example, the AMC 10A and the AMC 12B.

When Is the AMC 8 in 2027?

The AMC 8 runs in a testing window from January 21 to 27, 2027. Each host school picks one day inside that window, so ask your school which date it has chosen.

When Is the AIME in 2027?

The 2027 AIME is on February 5 or 6, 2027. Students who score 100 or more on the AMC 10 or 85 or more on the AMC 12 are invited, and they book a seat at a Pearson testing center. See AMC 10 vs AMC 12 AIME cutoffs for how the new fixed scores compare with past years.

Important rules around these dates

A few rules from the MAA AMC site that catch families off guard:

• You cannot take AMC 10 and AMC 12 on the same day. A student can sit the 10A and the 12B (or vice versa), but not both on November 5 or both on November 13.
• You may take both the A and B versions of the same contest. Your higher score counts for AIME qualification. Many serious students sit both 10A and 10B (or both 12A and 12B).
• AMC 8 may only be taken once per year.
• AIME qualification is by AMC score. AIME-qualifying students are notified by MAA after AMC 10/12 scores are processed, typically in mid-to-late November or early December.
• Schools register students, not students themselves. If your child’s school doesn’t host the AMC, you’ll need to find a local competition manager. See our guide to how to register for the AMC for the full process.

When do AMC results come out?

Per the official 2025 MAA AMC 10/12 Teacher’s Manual, results timing depends on test format:

• Digital administration: score reports release to competition managers within 24 hours.
• Print & Scan administration: preliminary unofficial reports appear in the CM dashboard within 24 hours of upload; official scores are validated and finalized in the weeks after.
• Students see their own scores in the AMC student portal “a few weeks after the competition dates”, typically 3 to 4 weeks for AMC 10/12, and similar for AMC 8.
• AIME qualification notifications go out after MAA finalizes scoring, usually mid-November to early December for the November AMC 10/12 contests.

If you haven’t received a score 30 days after the contest, MAA asks that you contact your competition manager first, then the AMC office.

What the Registration Deadlines Actually Mean

Registration is handled at the school, or competition-manager, level, not by your child directly, but the deadlines still matter to you indirectly.

• Regular deadline, October 15, 2026 (AMC 10/12): the practical cutoff for a school to lock in its order at standard pricing. Schools that drift past it often delay deciding whether to host at all, leaving students scrambling for a local testing site.
• Late deadline, October 28, 2026 (AMC 10/12): the absolute last day a school can register for the November AMC 10/12. After that, there is no path to the contest until the next cycle.
• AMC 8 has a more generous calendar. Its registration runs into January 2027, with a regular deadline of January 5 and a late deadline of January 14, but spots at testing sites are limited, so do not assume you can register in mid-January.

How to Register If Your School Does Not Host the AMC

If you do not know whether your child’s school hosts the AMC, the best move is to email the math department now, well before the October deadlines, so a teacher has time to step up as competition manager if needed.

If that is not an option, look for a local independent testing center, math circle, or university outreach program that runs open AMC sessions.

Our full AMC registration guide walks through both paths step by step.

What Counts as a Good AMC Score, and the AIME Cutoff

Families often ask what score actually matters, since the AMC is scored differently from a typical school test and a passing score here means something specific: clearing the AIME qualification cutoff.

The cutoff shifts slightly every year based on how the national pool of students performs, so a score that qualified last cycle is not guaranteed to qualify this cycle.

For year-over-year context on where the AIME line typically falls, see our breakdown of average AMC math scores, and for a deeper look at what separates a solid score from an AIME-qualifying one, read what counts as a good AMC score.

AMC Age and Grade Eligibility for 2026-27

Eligibility for the AMC is based on grade and age limits set by MAA, not just the contest name.

The AMC 8 is open to students in grade 8 and below who meet the age cutoff, while the AMC 10 and AMC 12 have their own grade and age rules that determine whether a student can sit one contest, the other, or both across the A and B dates.

Because these limits change slightly from cycle to cycle, check our dedicated guide on AMC age limit rules before you register, especially if your child is on the border between AMC 10 and AMC 12 eligibility.

AMC Syllabus: What to Study Before November

The AMC draws from algebra, geometry, number theory, combinatorics, and probability, with problems ordered roughly from easiest to hardest across the 25-question test.

Knowing the syllabus matters more than knowing the date, because a student who has not touched combinatorics in months will lose time on problems 20 through 25 regardless of how well they know the calendar above.

Our full AMC syllabus guide breaks down every topic area by weight, and our guide on how to prepare for AMC turns that syllabus into a week-by-week plan.

If you are still deciding whether the investment is worth it for your child, our piece on the benefits of AMC math lays out what the contest builds beyond the score itself.

Why Start Practicing Now Is Not Marketing Fluff

If you are reading this in June or July, you have roughly 4 months until AMC 10/12. That is the sweet spot for serious preparation, long enough to close topic gaps, short enough that the work stays focused.

If you are reading this in September or October, you still have 4 to 8 weeks. That is enough to take 4 to 6 timed past papers, build pacing, and finish problems 1 through 15 on autopilot, which alone can move a borderline student over the AIME cutoff.

If you are reading this in late October or early November, focus on pacing drills and review of past misses. New topics this late tend to confuse rather than help.

For the structured prep guides themselves, see our pillars on AMC 10 practice tests, AMC 12 practice tests, and AMC 8 practice tests.

How AMC Timing Compares to Other Math Competitions

FamilFamilies juggling more than one competition often want to know how the AMC calendar lines up against other contests their child is already preparing for.

Math Kangaroo, for example, runs on a different schedule and scoring model entirely, and some students use it earlier in the year as a lower-stakes way to build competition-test stamina before the AMC 10/12 in November.

If your child is weighing both, our comparison of Math Kangaroo vs AMC covers how the two differ in format, timing, and what each one signals for future competition math work.

The clock is the AMC’s hardest opponent. Gonit organizes AMC-level problems into 25- to 45-minute daily sessions across every topic on the syllabus, with pacing drills and progress tracking.

Start today, and you will have 60+ sessions logged before the November contest. The problems are everywhere; the sequence is not. Start free on iOS and Android.

Conclusion

The 2026-27 AMC calendar rewards families who move early, not families who move fast later. AMC 10A and AMC 12A land on November 5, 2026, AMC 10B and AMC 12B on November 13, 2026, and AMC 8 opens its testing window from January 21 to 27, 2027. The AIME follows on February 5 or 6, 2027.

None of that matters if your child’s school has not locked in a competition manager, so the single most useful thing you can do today is confirm registration status, not memorize dates.

Once registration is settled, the real work is the same every cycle: know the syllabus, log consistent practice, and save the last few weeks before the contest for pacing rather than new topics. The deadlines in this guide will still be here when you check back. Your child’s prep time will not.

Related guides

• How to register for the AMC
• AMC 10 practice test: past papers and prep strategy
• AMC 12 practice test: past papers and a smart prep strategy
• AMC 8 practice test: complete guide for middle schoolers
• AMC 10 vs AMC 12: which contest fits your child
• What is a good AMC score
• Average AMC math scores by year
• AMC age limit rules
• AMC syllabus by topic
• How to prepare for the AMC
• Math Kangaroo vs AMC

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