ACT-Fee Waiver Eligibility Requirements

FEE WAIVER

Eligibility Requirements and Procedures

2024–2025

PROGRAM: NATIONAL | PRODUCT: THE ACT | AUDIENCE: SCHOOL/AGENCY OFFICIALS | FOR FEE

WAIVERS SUBMITTED ONLINE BY: AUGUST 31, 2025

ACT® Fee Waiver Program: ACT offers a test

fee waiver program to eligible students that

covers the regular registration fee for writing

and no-writing test options and provides

additional benefits.

Using the Fee Waiver

A student may use the fee waiver to register

for one ACT National test date for the year

noted on this document, up to the deadline

noted.

Each fee waiver has a serial number printed in

the top-right corner. Instructions for

submitting the serial number online can be

found on the fee waiver.

Usage restrictions:

 Students may use a maximum of four

separate fee waivers. Use of additional fee

waivers will be denied.

 A fee waiver is considered used once the

student registers, even if the student does

not test on the requested date. If a student

does not test on the registered test date,

the student may apply the used fee waiver

toward a future test date registration fee

but will need to pay the associated change

fee.

 Altered, copied, or obsolete forms and

requests on letterhead will not be

accepted.

 Students cannot use the fee waiver to

receive a refund for a test fee that they

already paid.

 Students cannot use a fee waiver to pay for

additional fees, products, or services.

Students must pay any fees not covered by

the fee waiver with a credit card before

submitting the registration.

Benefits and More

Additional information about the ACT Fee

Waiver, including benefits for students, is

available at:

https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-

and-services/the-act/registration/fees/fee-

waivers.html.

Note: Please provide these fee waivers only to

those who meet eligibility requirements. Fee

waiver quantities are limited. Once funds are

exhausted, fee waiver requests will become

unavailable for ordering and MyACT will no

longer accept the codes during registration.

Meeting Eligibility

Requirements

A student who participates in a federal

program for the disadvantaged, but is not

economically disadvantaged is not eligible for

an ACT Fee Waiver.

To receive a fee waiver, the student must

currently be enrolled in 11th or 12th grade AND

meets one of the below indicators of

economic need:

 Family’s total annual income is at or below

the USDA levels for free or reduced-price

lunches listed on the USDA Food and

Nutrition Service website, published at

https://www.fns.usda.gov/school-

meals/income-eligibility-guidelines.

 Family receives low-income public

assistance or lives in federally subsidized

public housing.

 Enrolled in a federally funded program for

the economically disadvantaged (e.g., Free

or reduced-price lunch program, GEAR UP,

or Upward Bound)

 Resides in a foster home, is a ward of the

state, or is homeless

Eligibility audits: To monitor compliance, ACT

may request written evidence of student

eligibility in order to monitor school/agency

compliance. Non-eligible students may be

billed and/or non-compliant schools/agencies

may not be eligible for more waivers.

Advising Eligible Students

As you identify eligible students and assist

them with using the ACT Fee Waiver,

encourage them to do the following:

 Register early: This allows for maximum

prep time. Once registration is complete,

your student will have time to benefit from

the features in The Official ACT® Self-Paced

Course, Powered by Kaplan® which

includes live, online instruction from expert

instructors and more than 20 hours of on-

demand video.

 Follow through and test: A fee waiver is an

investment from ACT intended to

financially assist a student who wishes to

test. Emphasize to students who register

with a fee waiver the importance of taking

the test. When students use a fee waiver to

valuable opportunity, and the action may

limit access to testing for other eligible

students.

 Reschedule if needed: Except for standby

students denied admission, please advise

fee waiver students who do not test to

reschedule for a later ACT test date.

 •Avoid wasting fee waivers: Discourage

students from using multiple fee waivers

simply to register; they do not receive the

full benefits of their fee waivers unless they

actually test.

o While not recommended, students who

choose not to reschedule can register

for another test date with another fee

waiver code.

 Use the college application fee waiver or

deferral: A student can use the Request for

Waiver or Deferral of College Admission

Application Fee form unlimited times when

applying to schools. Have students send

the completed form along with their

college application(s). Note: Colleges and

universities may consider the request but

are not obligated to waive or defer their

admission fees for any particular applicants.

Ordering and Distributing

Fee Waivers

ACT Fee Waivers are available to high schools,

active Upward Bound projects, and qualifying

not-for-profit assistance organizations.

Officials who identify eligible students may

contact ACT to proactively order fee waivers.

 To order or reorder fee waivers, please visit:

http://www.act.org/the-

act/supportmaterials.

 Fee waiver forms are normally delivered

within ten working days of receiving the

order and are emailed to the account on

record.

 Please monitor your fee waiver quantities.

Reorder only if needed prior to the

registration period for each test date.

If you have questions about placing an order,

please contact ACT Customer Support

at 319.337.1320.