This in-depth guide will teach you about the process of applying for accommodations and which accommodations are most common. You want to do your best on the ACT—disability or other condition aside—so read on to learn about how to get the ACT accommodations you need.
To get ACT accommodations, you must work with your school to submit a request. Unfortunately, this means that requests can unfortunately take a little while to process—usually at least two weeks.
Furthermore, getting accommodations approved isn’t easy. In most cases, you have to submit extensive documentation and even be prepared to resubmit information or appeal a decision.
The documentation needed, the type of accommodations you request, and the process will vary by condition and/or disability. While we can’t list the ins and outs of documentation for every single disability category, we can provide a detailed overview of the process as well as information about documentation to help you get started.
There are four broad categories of accommodations you can get on the ACT:
Special testing is reserved for very serious disabilities and conditions, or for students who need accommodations outside the US and Canada.
For example, if you have a condition that prevents you from writing independently, if you need the test in a different format such as Braille, or if you typically receive more than time and a half for regular tests at school as part of your IEP (Individualized Education Plan) or 504 Plan, you may qualify for special testing.
Essentially, if your condition prevents you from taking the ACT in a National Test Center in one sitting, or without significant format changes, you may qualify for special testing.
So which accommodations should you request? This will depend on your needs. Obviously, special testing is the hardest to obtain as it is reserved students with testing needs that differ the most from usual ACT testing procedure. A good guide as to which ACT testing accommodations you will receive is to consider the testing accommodations you already receive at school. Your ACT testing accommodations will probably match the accommodations you already receive. For example, if you're usually given extra time for tests, you'd likely benefit from extended time on the ACT.
If you're able to test in a National Testing Center as long as you have certain accommodations, you should request one of the first two options, as the approval process will be somewhat easier.
Only students with documented disabilities or conditions (including non-native speakers of English) qualify for accommodations on the ACT. The qualification process and documentation needed will vary by disability/condition and when you received your diagnosis.
As a basic rule of thumb, the more recent your diagnosis is and/or the fewer accommodations you receive in school, the more detailed documentation you'll have to provide.
There are two broad categories of documentation you will need:
You won't need to give complete diagnostic documentation if your diagnosis was reconfirmed within one year prior to your request and it's more than three years old. In this case, ACT, Inc. will accept your school’s verification of having documentation on file, though they reserve the right to request that documentation at any point.
Basically, if you’ve had your condition for a long time, your IEP or 504 Plan was updated in the past year, and you received diagnostic testing that reconfirmed a persistent diagnosis, ACT, Inc. will not request complete documentation.
The disability categories that ACT, Inc. approves requests for are as follows:
As previously mentioned, non-native English speakers may also request English learner support on the ACT. You'll need to meet one or more of the following in order to qualify for special language support on the test:
You might need to submit supporting documentation as well, such as an EL Plan, confirmation of your attendance in an English-language program, or an official accommodations plan. For more information about English-proficiency documentation, see the official ACT English Learner Support Documentation guide.
The documentation required is different depending on what condition you are applying for, but generally it follows seven basic guidelines:
As an example, let’s look at the documentation required for a learning disability—one of the most common disability categories in schools. You'd need to submit all the following to document your condition:
Whew! That’s a lot of paperwork. And that's just the documentation required for one disability. Be sure your documentation is complete and has been verified by professionals, including your doctor(s) and school officials. Remember, the documentation needed changes based on the disability.
For a complete guide, including the exact documentation needed for each condition, see ACT, Inc.’s Policy for Documentation.
If you’ve never had an IEP meeting, accommodations might be more difficult to get.
Now that you know what documentation you need and the qualification standards, let’s learn how to actually submit your request for accommodations on the ACT. (You can also get an overview of how accommodations work by reading ACT, Inc.'s Quick Start Guide.)
ACT, Inc. offers a convenient checklist of the entire accommodations request process that you can use as you work your way through the steps above.
First of all, make sure that your school official submits your request, including all documentation, no later than the late registration deadline for that particular test date. In fact, the earlier you get your documentation submitted, the better—in case ACT, Inc. requests extra materials or documentation, which can slow the approval process.
Once ACT, Inc. receives your materials, they'll pass them on for review. If you're missing important documentation, they'll notify you, and you can submit the extra materials.
Your request will either be approved, sent to a specialist for further consideration, or put on hold as you're asked to supply missing materials. Basically, if they don’t think they can approve your request, they will give you a chance to provide more evidence.
The specialist will either approve or deny your request, provide a written reason why, and notify your school official of the decision (who will then notify you). If you are denied, you will be given a chance to appeal the decision and submit new materials.
The entire process can take a few weeks, so be patient!
As you can probably tell from the above, it's somewhat tough to get accommodations on the ACT. Because ACT accommodations are based on the accommodations you receive at school, it will be very difficult to get accommodations on the ACT if you aren't already receiving services of some kind.
It should go without saying that you won’t be able to get extra time or special services if you do not have a documented disability or condition (or if you are a native English speaker).
Keep in mind that there are no additional fees for accommodations. So even though it’s a complicated process to get accommodations, you should definitely request them if you need them. The ACT is a tough test, so if you typically get accommodations in school, you'll definitely want them on the ACT as well.
And a final bit of advice? Ask your school for help! Don't be afraid to consult your school official and/or guidance counselor with any questions you have about ACT accommodations. Especially if you live in a state where all students are required to take the ACT , it’s highly likely that your school has helped previous students with getting accommodations.
Even once you get your accommodations, it’s still important to study for the ACT to maximize your score. Avoid this common ACT mistake to improve your score, and check out our strategies to raise your ACT Writing score.
Learn more about the national ACT average score and ACT score percentiles to get an idea of what score you should be aiming for. You might be curious as to what scores are considered good by various colleges. To find out, check out our guide to developing a target ACT score based on the schools you want to apply to.
Wondering about what that composite ACT score represents in terms of right and wrong questions? Check out our guide to learn the ins-and-outs of ACT scoring, and get expert tips to help you use this information to your advantage.
