ACT Score Cancellation: Can You Cancel ACT Scores? (2026)

Yes, ACT has a process for requesting that scores from a particular test date be canceled, but cancellation is usually unnecessary if your real concern is that colleges might see a weak result. Canceling a registration before test day, canceling a score record after testing, and simply not sending a score are different actions. Start by checking whether any college, scholarship, state program, or school-day testing agreement requires the result before you submit an irreversible request.

First identify the action you actually need

Situation	Usually the right action	What to verify first
You cannot attend the upcoming test	Change or cancel the registration through your ACT account	ACT's current change/refund rules and deadlines
You tested but dislike the score	Usually keep it and choose where to send scores	Each recipient's reporting policy
Something serious invalidated the administration	Contact ACT promptly and document the problem	Whether ACT recommends a testing-incident review
You want a test date removed from ACT's records	Request score cancellation for that date	Consequences for every score from that administration
A college already received the score	Ask the college how it treats updated or additional results	Cancellation may not erase a copy already delivered

The important distinction is control. You can often control which ACT reports you order. You cannot assume that canceling later will retrieve every copy already sent or change a separate record held by a school.

How ACT score cancellation works

ACT's current score-cancellation directions should be treated as the source of truth because forms, addresses, eligibility rules, and processing details can change. Use the official ACT scores help page and contact ACT support if your account does not show the option you expect.

Before making the request, write down:

1. the exact test date you want addressed;
2. whether the test was national, international, school-day, or district testing;
3. every recipient selected during registration or afterward;
4. any scholarship, graduation, athletic, or state-program rule connected to the score; and
5. the reason cancellation is preferable to simply withholding a future score report.

A cancellation request generally concerns the scores from an entire administration, not one section you wish had been higher. Do not expect to preserve a strong Math result while deleting only a weaker English result from the same test date.

Decision test: should you cancel?

Use this four-question test before taking an irreversible step.

1. Is the score actually being sent?

Check your ACT account and any recipients selected at registration. If no report is going to a college and the college allows score choice, an unwanted result may require no action at all. Read our ACT score-sending guide before assuming every attempt is automatically visible.

2. Does any recipient require all attempts?

College testing policies vary and may change by entry year, program, or applicant type. Read the institution's own admissions page. A general test-optional label does not necessarily describe merit aid, honors admission, placement, or recruited-athlete review.

3. Would keeping the test date help a superscore?

A lower Composite can still contain a section high that improves a college's superscore. Compare the section scores across dates before removing anything. The ACT superscore guide explains how to model this without treating a superscore as an official policy at every school.

4. Is there a documented testing problem?

If illness, a center disruption, timing error, or suspected irregularity affected the test, contact ACT rather than guessing which form to submit. Record the date, test center, room, approximate time, staff response, and effect on testing while the details are fresh.

Worked example

Maya receives a 27 Composite after previously earning a 28. Her new Math score is 31, three points above her earlier Math result, while English and Reading declined. She plans to apply to two colleges that superscore and one scholarship that asks for an official report.

Canceling immediately would remove the administration that contains her strongest Math section. A better sequence is to verify each college's current superscore rule, check the scholarship's reporting instructions, and model the combined sections. If the new Math score helps, she keeps the date and orders reports according to each recipient's policy. If no recipient will use it, she can simply avoid ordering that report. Cancellation becomes relevant only if a separate reason makes retaining the record harmful.

Mistakes to avoid

• Confusing a canceled registration with canceled scores. Before test day, you are dealing with registration changes. After testing, score-record procedures apply.
• Assuming cancellation recalls reports. Ask ACT and the recipient what has already been transmitted and retained.
• Canceling because of one disappointing section. Review the full section profile and possible superscore value.
• Using an old downloadable form from a third-party site. Begin with ACT's current support pages.
• Ignoring school-day rules. State or district administrations may have obligations different from a Saturday national test.
• Waiting while a genuine incident goes undocumented. Contact ACT promptly when test conditions are the issue.

Cancellation checklist

• I confirmed the exact test date and testing program.
• I checked whether any score reports have already been sent.
• I reviewed every recipient's current testing policy.
• I checked scholarship, placement, state, and school-day requirements.
• I compared section scores for possible superscore value.
• I read ACT's current instructions and saved a copy of correspondence.
• I understand that the request may affect every score from that test date.

If your concern is mainly a lower-than-expected result, use the ACT retake guide to decide whether another attempt has a realistic benefit. In Makon, build a section-level plan from the errors on your latest official practice test before paying for another date; that is usually more useful than trying to make an ordinary score disappear.