LSAT moves to in-person testing in August after China cheating scandal
The LSAT will require in-person testing starting in August 2026, following a cheating services scandal in the remotely administered test in mainland China last year. (Image from Shutterstock)
The LSAT will require in-person testing starting in August 2026, following a cheating services scandal in the remotely administered test in mainland China last year.
“Moving back to in-person testing for the vast majority of test-takers will provide additional layers of protection against anyone who tries to undermine the integrity of the test,” wrote Susan L. Krinsky, the executive vice president for operations and the chief of staff for the Law School Admission Council, in a blog post Tuesday.
Exceptions will be made.
“A small number of test-takers with approved medically justified accommodations that cannot be provided at a test center will be allowed to test remotely,” as well as examinees who prove that they live more than 180 miles from a test center, Krinsky said.
She noted that remote examinees will face heightened security measures and real-time human proctoring.
To accommodate the move, the LSAC expects to increase capacity up to 20% more in test center seats than the overall total number of test-takers each month the year before, according to the LSAC. For instance, in August, the goal is to accommodate more than 32,000 examinees in Prometric test centers based on the 26,559 examinees who took the test in August 2025, when 39% tested remotely, according to the LSAC.
The test will be offered in August, September, October, November, January, February, April and June, as well as the LSAT-Puerto Rico in February, exclusively designed for law school applicants in Puerto Rico, according to the blog post. Registration is now open.
The move to in-person testing comes as interest in law school increases. According to the most recent figures from the LSAC, current year applicants are up 9.2% to 78,747 people, while applications are up 11.7% to 565,398.
In addition, the registration fees for the exam increased to $253 from $248, according to the LSAC.
The LSAT first moved to a digital format in September 2019 for North American test-takers. In May 2020, it went remote domestically and October of that year marked the first international remote administration.
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