2020 LSAT Costs and Fee Waivers

The basic fee for the LSAT during the 2020 academic year is $200, and this cost increases for each law school to which you apply. Additional fees include things like test date changes, test center changes, and handscoring of your exam. A typical law school applicant will often spend over $500 on the LSAT, and nearly all law schools require the LSAT. The tables below provide details on the fees associated with the LSAT.

Basic Fees

The LSAT Test	$200	Basic fee includes Digital LSAT and LSAT Writing
Credential Assembly Service (CAS)	$195	LSAC's service that summarizes undergrad transcripts, creates law school reports, and processes letters of recommendation and electronic law school applications. Your CAS account remains active for 5 years.
Law School Report	$45	The LSAC provides a Law School Report to each law school to which you apply. The Law School Report includes an academic summary report, LSAT scores and writing sample, transcripts, admission index, and letters of recommendation.
Standalone LSAT Writing test	$15	For applicants who wish to retake the LSAT Writing

LSAC offers package options if you’re sure that you will be applying to one or more law schools after taking the exam. The single-report package and six-report package include the LSAT, LSAT Writing, CAS, and Law School Report(s). The packages offer a small discount over individual pricing.

Auxiliary Fees

Test Center Change	$125	Fee to change testing location. You may choose another available test center before the change deadline.
Test Date Change	$125	Fee to change the date of your LSAT exam to another date within the same testing year. The date change request must be made before the deadline for your current test administration.
Handscoring (optional)	$100	After you receive your LSAT Score Report, you may request handscoring if you believe your test has been scored incorrectly. Requests for handscoring must be received no later than 40 days from the test date.
Nonpublished Domestic Test Centers	$295	If you can't travel to a published/listed test center, and you're farther than 100 miles from an open, published center, you may request to test elsewhere. The nonpublished test center fee for Domestic Test Centers is in addition to the LSAT Test Fee.
Nonpublished International Test Centers	$390	The nonpublished test center fee for International Test Centers. This fee is in addition to the LSAT Test Fee.
LSAT Registration Refund	$50	Partial refund for LSAT registration fees. Request for a refund must be made before the refund request deadline for your test administration date. Note that change of test date, change of test center, and nonpublished test center fees are not refundable.
CAS Registration Refund	$50	Partial refund for Credential Assembly Service (CAS) fees may be requested as long as transcript summary process has not begun, no letters of recommendation have been received, no electronic applications have been sent to LSAC for processing, and CAS registration has not expired.

LSAT Fee Waivers

Fee waivers for the LSAT are available, but the criteria to qualify for a waiver are stringent. Those eligible to be considered for LSAT Fee Waivers are limited to U.S., Canadian, or Australian citizens, U.S. nationals, U.S. permanent resident aliens, those who have applied for or been granted deferred action under DACA, permanent residents of Canada, or refugees in Canada.

Qualified applicants need to meet specific standards, and, according to LSAC, “only those with extreme need should apply.” After submitting an application for a fee waiver, applicants will be required to submit federal tax forms for verification. If qualified, the waivers will cover two LSAT tests, which must be taken within a two-year period, one LSAT writing, one CAS registration, and six CAS Law School Reports. Those applying to more than six schools will need to cover the additional costs independently. Note that some law schools will waive application fees for LSAC fee waiver recipients. The LSAC website provides additional information about how to apply for the LSAT fee waiver.

Case Studies

The $200 LSAT exam fee represents just a portion of the costs associated with applying to law school. Chances are you are going to pay $500 or more in total LSAT costs as the examples below illustrate.

Greta is applying to five law schools, and each of those schools requires the Credential Assembly Service. She will need to pay for the LSAT registration, CAS, and five score reports. Her situation is typical of most law school applicants. Total Cost: $620.
Justin registered for the LSAT, and he is planning on applying to eight law schools, but he had to change his testing date. Each of those schools either requires or recommends the Credential Assembly Service. Justin will get billed for the LSAT, testing date change, CAS, and eight score reports. Total Cost: $880.
Fernando is applying to six law schools. The first time he takes the LSAT, he doesn't get scores that are strong enough to be admitted to his top choice schools, so he takes the LSAT again. When a family crisis comes up, he has to change his test center location. His schools all require the Credential Assembly Service. Fernando will need to pay for the LSAT twice, CAS, his test center change, and six score reports. Total Cost: $990.

Source

“LSAT & CAS Fees and Refunds.” The Law School Admission Council.

Article edited and expanded by Allen Grove