What Is an SAT Fee Waiver?
SAT fee waivers allow eligible students to take the SAT for free and get other benefits to apply to college.
Fee Waiver Benefits
SAT fee waivers offer students many benefits that help with costs toward college. These benefits include:
- Free tests and feedback
- 2 free opportunities to take the SAT
- 2 free opportunities to access Answering Service
- Free college application benefits
- Unlimited score reports to send to colleges
- Waived application fees at participating colleges
- Free CSS Profile applications to apply for financial aid from participating schools
Additional fee waiver benefits include:
- Fee reductions for score verification reports
- No non-U.S. regional fees for free tests (if a U.S. student is testing abroad)
- No late registration fees for free tests (if in the U.S. or U.S. territories)
- No change or cancellation fees (upon cancellation, unused fee waiver benefits will be returned to the student)
What Fee Waivers Don't Cover
Even if students have a fee waiver, it doesn't cover some of the costs for registration changes. Students still have to pay fees associated with:
- Changing test center.
- Changing the date they're taking the SAT.
- Requesting rush scores.
- Requesting to receive scores by phone.
FAQ
When will I receive fee waivers for the coming year?
Fee waiver materials (including fee waivers codes) should arrive at your school in mid-to-late August.
How can I order more fee waiver materials?
You should have received enough fee waivers to serve your eligible students through the end of the school year, eliminating the need, in most cases, to call the College Board for additional supplies. However, if you need additional fee waiver materials, please contact the SAT Educator Helpline.
I am not a school; how can my institution receive fee waivers?
If your organization is a non-high school that primarily serves low-income high school students and provides educational support services, you may be eligible to be an SAT Fee Waiver Agency, allowing you to receive and distribute SAT fee waiver codes to first-time fee waiver-eligible students.
An agency that wants to provide SAT fee waivers must:
- Receive at least 50 percent of its total funding from federal, state, or city government sources
- Primarily serve low-income students
- Provide educational support services to high school students
To apply, an agency must submit the following required information:
- A formal request for a Fee Waiver Agency code on official organizational letterhead. The request must include an overview of the organization, its mission, a description of the population of students served, and a description of the programs and services offered.
- An official copy of any grant funding award letter(s) documenting local, state, or federal funding sources.
- A copy of its annual budget highlighting federal, state, or local government funding sources that comprise at least 50 percent of its total operating budget.
- The total number of students served annually and the proportion that meet SAT fee-waiver eligibility criteria.
- The total number of eligible, low-income, college-bound students requiring a fee waiver for the current academic year.
- The actual requested quantity of fee waivers for the current academic year.
- A summary of how the agency will validate students' eligibility to receive an SAT fee waiver.
To apply for your agency code, please submit the required items noted above to:
SAT Program Fee Waiver Service
Fee Waiver Agency Code Request
College Board
11955 Democracy Drive
Reston, VA 20190
You can also email this documentation directly to [email protected] or fax to (216) 916-4365, Attn: Customer Service.
How can I find out whether my students used their fee waivers?
Educators can access the Roster Report in the K–12 Reporting Portal to see which of their students registered for the SAT, who was absent on test day, who used a fee waiver to register, and more.