How to register for the LSAT, and the deadlines that sit behind it

Registering itself is straightforward — an account, a date, a payment. The part worth planning is what the registration deadline drags along with it, because several other decisions are keyed to that date rather than to your test day.

The mechanics

Register earlier than you need to. Not because seats are the constraint, but because everything below has a deadline attached to registration, and a late registration compresses all of them at once.

What the registration deadline governs

This is the one that catches people, because accommodation requests need documentation, and documentation needs an appointment with a clinician whose calendar you do not control. If accommodations are even a possibility for you, work backward from the registration deadline by weeks, not days.

So the registration deadline is also the last free moment to change your mind. Past it the price climbs to the cost of the test itself. If you are genuinely unsure whether you will be ready, that uncertainty is cheapest to resolve before this date.

Decide these at registration

• Whether you want Score Preview, and buy it at the cheap tier rather than after.
• Whether you need accommodations, because the deadline is now rather than later.
• Whether this date leaves room for a second attempt before your applications go in. Registering for a date with no slack behind it is the most common planning error in the whole cycle.
• Whether you have applied for a fee waiver, if you may be eligible — do that before paying for anything.