Competition week · January 21–27, 2027
AMC 8 2027
The AMC 8 2027 dates, how a family gets a seat through a school or host, when scores and certificates arrive, what the award levels mean, and how to prepare before January.
Competition week (your host picks the day)
And under 15.5 years old on contest day
Multiple choice in 40 minutes, 1 point each
AMC 8 2027 dates and deadlines
As of October 2026, from MAA's official AMC registration page. Confirm at maa.org/amcreg before you rely on a date.
| What | Date | Fee / note |
|---|---|---|
| Early-bird host registration deadline | October 28, 2026 | $55 registration fee |
| Regular host registration deadline | January 5, 2027 | $75 registration fee |
| Late host registration deadline | January 14, 2027 | $115 registration fee, returning competition managers only |
| AMC 8 competition week | January 21–27, 2027 | Each host picks its day inside this window |
These deadlines and fees are for the host school or site, which also pays $2.50 per student (sold in bundles of ten). A host may charge families a small fee to cover running the test. If you are asking a school to add the AMC 8, mention the early-bird deadline.
How to register for the AMC 8 as a family
- Ask your child's school first. Families can't sign up with MAA. A competition manager at a school or other host (a college, university, math circle or learning center) enrolls the students; MAA's rules say a parent or guardian of a student may never register.
- If the school isn't hosting, look nearby. MAA publishes a public list of sites registered for this season and a school search by zip code on its AMC site. You contact the host yourself and ask whether it will take an outside student.
- Plan for an on-site test. The AMC 8 is taken in person at the host's premises. Remote proctoring isn't allowed, and home schools can't register as hosts.
- Confirm the day. Each host picks one day in competition week. Students may take the AMC 8 only once that week.
Who can take it and what the test looks like
- • Eligibility: grade 8 or below and under 15.5 years old on the day of the competition. There is no lower grade limit.
- • Format: 25 multiple-choice questions in 40 minutes, on paper or on screen depending on the host.
- • Scoring: 1 point per correct answer, so the score is the number right out of 25. Nothing is taken off for a wrong answer, so your child should answer every question.
- • Allowed: pencils or pens, blank scratch paper, a ruler and an eraser.
- • Not allowed: calculators, phones, smartwatches, any computing device, compasses, protractors and graph paper.
When AMC 8 results come out
- The competition manager gets scores first. For the digital test, score reports reach the host within 24 hours. Paper answer sheets are scanned, and those scores are validated before they are shared with students.
- MAA announces when scores are final. Students can then see their own score in their AMC student portal. MAA's teacher's manual puts this a few weeks after the competition dates; it has not published a 2027 results date.
- Certificates come from the host. The competition manager prints MAA's certificates for participation and high scores, so ask your host when it hands them out.
AMC 8 awards and score cutoffs
| Award | Who earns it |
|---|---|
| Achievement Roll | Students in 6th grade and below who score 15 or more |
| Honor Roll | About the top 5% of scores |
| Distinguished Honor Roll | About the top 1% of scores |
| Perfect score | 25 out of 25 |
The Achievement Roll line is fixed at 15. The Honor Roll and Distinguished Honor Roll are set by percentile, so their point cutoffs move with each year's paper. MAA publishes the cutoffs and its score distributions, including tables of how many students in each grade earned each score and the matching percentile, on its AMC statistics pages. We don't repeat past cutoffs here because they don't predict next year's.
What is a good AMC 8 score?
15 out of 25 is the first real milestone. It is the Achievement Roll line for students in 6th grade and below: 60% correct on a test written for students up to 8th grade. A 6th grader or younger who reaches it earns MAA recognition.
For a first try, accuracy beats speed. Work carefully through as many questions as time allows and check each answer, then fill in a guess for every question left in the last minute, since a wrong answer costs nothing.
Honor Roll scores are about the top 5% of everyone who takes it. For most students that is a later goal, reached after timed practice on full papers.
How to prepare for the AMC 8 before January
Free full-length practice test
25 original questions to time at 40 minutes, with every answer explained.
Free practice problems
10 AMC 8 style problems with full solutions, for short daily sessions.
AMC 8 prep guide
12 chapters, 120 problems and two more full practice tests.
With a few months to go, a simple plan works: one timed test now to see where your child stands, two or three problems a day by topic, then a second timed paper a week or two before the contest. MAA also posts the 2023 AMC 8 free as a sample, with solutions. The full week-by-week plan is in our AMC 8 parent's guide.
AMC 8 2027 FAQ
When is the AMC 8 2027? +
The 2027 AMC 8 competition week is January 21 to 27, 2027. Each school or host site gives the test on one day inside that window, so ask your host which day it picked.
How do I register my child for the AMC 8? +
Parents can't register directly with MAA. Your child takes the AMC 8 through a school or another registered host, such as a college, university, math circle or learning center, whose competition manager enrolls the students. Ask your school first; if it isn't hosting, use MAA's list of registered sites or its search by zip code and contact a host near you.
When do AMC 8 results come out? +
Your competition manager gets score reports first: within 24 hours for the digital test, while paper answer sheets are scanned and checked before scores are shared. MAA announces when scores are final, and students can then see their own score in their AMC student portal, a few weeks after the competition week. Certificates come from the competition manager.
What is a good AMC 8 score? +
Your score is the number of correct answers out of 25. MAA puts students in 6th grade and below who score 15 or more on the Achievement Roll, so 15 is a strong first-year goal. The Honor Roll is about the top 5% of scores and the Distinguished Honor Roll about the top 1%; their exact cutoffs change every year.
Can a 5th grader take the AMC 8? +
Yes. The rule is grade 8 or below and under 15.5 years old on the day of the competition, with no lower grade limit. Younger students are recognized too: the Achievement Roll is only for students in 6th grade and below.
This guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) or the American Mathematics Competitions. “AMC 8” is a trademark of its respective owners.