Attending law school is an expensive endeavor, and even applying to get in can be a costly undertaking as well.
When you consider all the individual fees and costs involved, things can easily add up, leaving you feeling helpless and slightly overwhelmed by it all.
It doesn’t have to be, though.
Understanding the individual fees involved will help you realize that it can be manageable with a little planning and foresight.
So first things first, how much does the LSAT cost?
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Best video lessons for LSAT in the industry.
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Cons
Higher price tag but we think it’s well justified.
Quick Summary
- The basic LSAT test fees comprise the LSAT registration fee, the CAS registration fee, and the CAS Report fee. In total, it’s about $467
- Not all law schools require students to use LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service, CAS, which means you don’t have to sign up if you don’t need the service.
- If you are eligible for the LSAC fee waiver, you would end up taking the LSAT completely free of charge, including a future retake.
- LSAT refunds are time-sensitive so you would need to act fast if you wish to get a refund.
LSAT Costs And Fees
There are 3 basic fees related to the LSAT: an LSAT registration fee, a CAS subscription fee, and a CAS Report fee.
Basic LSAT Fees | |
LSAT Registration | $222 |
CAS Subscription | $200 |
CAS Report | $45 per submission |
LSAT Registration Fee
When registering to take the Law School Admission Test, you will have to pay $222 which includes the LSAT Writing fee as well.
This LSAT registration fee is the same for both first-time test takers and those who are re-taking the test. Meaning you will still have to pay $222 every time you register to retake the exam.
That being said, if you have already completed the LSAT Writing sample, you will not need to write a new sample again when re-taking the LSAT, but you can if you wish to.
Whichever the case, the LSAT retesting fee will still be $222, and you cannot purchase LSAT writing separately as a standalone.
Aside from the basic LSAT registration fee though, there are other LSAT-related costs that you have to pay for as well. These are the CAS and CAS report fees.
CAS Fee
The Credential Assembly Service, CAS for short, is a service administered by the Law School Admission Council, which is the same body that administers the LSAT.
When applying to Law schools, you would ideally have to submit your transcripts, letters of recommendation, personal statements, etc to every single school you are applying to. Now, as you can imagine, this can be a very tedious process for law school applicants.
Now where CAS comes in is that instead of you having to submit your individual documents to every school, you instead submit the documents to CAS, and CAS then submits them to the respective schools on your behalf.
CAS standardizes your information and documents, therefore making your life so much easier and your Law school application process more straightforward.
Most Law schools approved by the American Bar Association, ABA, require applicants to use CAS. Just as well, all ABA-approved Law schools have their electronic applications available on the CAS portal, which saves you time and effort too.
That being said, not all law schools require JD applicants to use CAS. If the law school you’re applying to doesn’t require you to use CAS, then you do not have to register for it.
Regardless, you may still choose to sign up for CAS to use the law school’s electronic application or letter of recommendation service.
Signing up for CAS will cost you $200, and your CAS subscription is valid for 5 years.
You don’t need to sign up for CAS when you register for the LSAT. However, you should sign up at least 4 to 6 weeks before your first law school application deadline. It takes CAS about 2 weeks to process a transcript once you’ve sent it in.
Once you have submitted your documents to CAS, the service standardizes your grades, authenticates and evaluates your academic records, processes your letters of recommendation, and then compiles everything into creating a law school report known as the CAS Report.
CAS Report Fee
CAS law school reports cost $45 each.
Meaning you will need to purchase a CAS report for each law school to which you are applying, including if you are re-applying to schools.
Even if you reapply to a school in a subsequent admission year, you will still need to purchase a new CAS report.
There are occasions when LSAC can send an updated CAS report to the law schools you have applied to at no additional charge.
This applies if the following circumstances occur within the same admission year of your application:
- You retake the LSAT.
- You submit an updated transcript.
- An error in a transcript or its summarization is reported and corrected.
- LSAC receives an additional letter of recommendation that you’ve assigned to that particular school.
Auxiliary LSAT Fees
Aside from the basic LSAT fees, there are other auxiliary costs that are not mandatory but optional LSAT services that may apply to different students based on their specific needs and preferences.
Auxiliary LSAT Fees | |
LSAT Score Preview | $45 Or $75 |
Official Candidate LSAT Score Report | $50 |
Score Audit | $150 |
Test Date Change | Free, $135 Or $222 |
LSAT Score Preview
LSAC offers a score preview option whereby you can see your LSAT score before deciding whether you want to keep it as part of your LSAC transcript and have it reported to law schools.
Accessing this option, though, will attract a fee.
If you purchase the score preview option prior to the day before the first test sessions of a given LSAT administration, it will cost you $45.
However, if you purchase it after your test administration period has concluded, it will cost you $75.
With score preview, you are given 6 days from the day of your score release to decide whether you wish to cancel or keep the score.
Official Candidate LSAT Score Report
Not to be confused with the CAS report, the official candidate LSAT score report refers to a compilation of all the LSAT scores you’ve ever earned.
This includes non-reportable scores as well, i.e., the scores that are no longer valid for use in applying to law school.
Keep in mind that you are not required to order an official candidate LSAT score report in order to apply to law schools. LSAC automatically provides your scores to law schools when you apply.
Rather, the purpose for an official candidate LSAT score report is for other purposes, such as when applying to intellectual organizations like MENSA or if you simply need a paper copy of your score.
Getting an official candidate LSAT score report will cost you $50.
Score Audit
If you are dissatisfied with your LSAT score, you could request a score audit.
This will cost you $150, but if you have been pre-approved for a fee waiver, it will only cost you $75.
Test Date Change
Once you have registered for the LSAT exam, it is possible to change your test date should you wish to take the LSAT on a different date but within the current testing year.
The LSAC allows for a test date change period, whereby as long as your test administration registration is still open, you can change your test date at no extra cost.
Once that deadline has passed, though, changing your test date will attract a fee.
If you change your LSAT test date within 10 days after your test administration’s registration deadline has lapsed, it will cost you $135.
If you change your test date any period between 11 days after your test administration’s registration deadline till a day before testing begins, that will cost you $222.
You can check out the other reviews we did on other LSAT prep courses below:
LSAT And CAS Fee Waivers
LSAT fee waiver benefits vary in degree depending on different levels of students’ financial need.
Nevertheless, LSAT fee waivers apply to the following LSAC services:
- LSAT registration fees
- CAS registration fees
- CAS reports
- LSAC’s LawHub Advantage subscription
- Score Preview
More information regarding LSAT fee waivers, eligibility and the respective fees waived can be accessed here.
A few things to note, though:
- Fees previously paid cannot be waived retroactively, and no refunds will be issued.
- Some law schools will waive their application fees for LSAC fee waiver recipients.
- Successful applicants get to have all their basic LSAT fees waived, including at least 3 CAS reports and 1 score preview.
- Successful applicants get free access to LawHub Advantage for a full year.
How Much Does LSAT Prep Cost?
Most law school applicants opt to take an LSAT prep course because they save time and provide more of a guided LSAT prep study approach.
This means that in addition to your LSAT test cost, you will also need to factor in the cost of the prep course you’ll be taking.
LSAT test prep providers who offer their prep courses on a month-by-month basis and price them as such help to make your LSAT prep a bit more affordable, seeing as the prices range from about $70 per month to about $300 per month.
Other prep course options can be quite pricey, costing about $750 for a self-paced course and well over $4,000 for premium tutoring.
On average, if perhaps you plan to put in 4 months of LSAT study time, expect to pay between $1,200 and $1,500 for a full-feature LSAT prep course complete with live classes and textbooks.
FAQs About How Much The LSAT Costs
How Much Does It Cost To Take The LSAT?
It costs $467 to take the LSAT, provided you are applying to a law school that requires CAS, you are having a CAS report sent to just 1 law school and you choose not to have a score preview.
In short, $467 is the basic fee you would incur when taking the LSAT.
The more schools you apply to, the higher your LSAT cost goes because you will have to pay more for the additional CAS reports.
Should you opt to have a score preview, then your minimum LSAT fee will amount to $512.
If the law school you are applying to doesn’t require you to use CAS, then that reduces your test fee by $245. In this case, you will only be required to pay the $222 LSAT registration fee.
Can I Take The LSAT For Free?
Yes, you can take the LSAT for free if you qualify for the LSAC fee waiver program.
You will not only get to take the LSAT for free but will also get free access to LawHub Advantage, which means that you won’t have to incur any costs for your LSAT practice materials either.
What’s The Cost Of Retaking The LSAT?
The cost of re-taking the LSAT is $222, which is the same as the cost of taking the LSAT the first time around.
The writing sample is not priced separately. This means that even if you are not re-taking LSAT Writing, you will still pay the full $222 to retake the multi-choice portion of the exam.
Can I Get An LSAT Refund?
Yes, you can get a full refund of your LSAT registration fee.
The LSAC provides a full refund period which ideally coincides with the test registration deadline.
This means that as long as your test administration registration is still open, you can request a full refund of your LSAT registration fee.
Once the full refund deadline has passed, you can request a partial refund which equates to 50% of the fee amount. This applies as long as you are within your test’s partial refund deadline.
If you registered for the LSAT using a coupon or fee waiver and requested a refund, your waiver of coupon will be returned to your account, allowing you to use the coupon or fee waiver for a future test.
CAS fees are only partially refundable, meaning if your CAS refund request is successful, you will only receive $50 back.
Auxiliary LSAT fees regarding test date change, score preview and score audit are all non-refundable.
