LSAT Format and Scoring: What Law School Applicants Should Know

What the LSAT covers now

The LSAT is a multiple-choice test built from four 35-minute sections, according to LSAC's test format page . Two sections are Logical Reasoning, one is Reading Comprehension, and one is an unscored experimental section that LSAC uses to test new questions for future exams.

You will not know which section is unscored while you take the test, so answer every question as if it counts.

Logical Reasoning sections give you short arguments or sets of facts and ask you to evaluate, strengthen, weaken, or complete them. Reading Comprehension gives you long, dense passages, similar to material you would read in law school, and tests how well you pull out structure and meaning under time pressure.

Logic games are gone

Through 2024, the LSAT also included an Analytical Reasoning section, widely known as logic games, where you arranged people, objects, or events based on a set of rules. LSAC removed that section starting in August 2024, following a legal settlement with two blind test takers who argued the visual, spatial nature of the section put them at an unfair disadvantage.

The LSAT you take today has no logic games. It tests reasoning and reading only.

The writing sample

Beyond the multiple-choice sections, every applicant completes LSAT Argumentative Writing, an unscored essay you write online through a separate proctored tool. You get 15 minutes to plan and 35 minutes to write, and the tool opens 8 days before your test date and stays open for up to a year, so you can complete it before or after your multiple-choice test, per LSAC's LSAT overview . Law schools read this sample alongside your score, so treat it as a real writing sample, not a formality.

How scoring works

Your raw score is the total number of questions you answer correctly across the three scored sections. LSAC states plainly that all questions carry the same weight and there is no penalty for a wrong answer, so answer every question even when you are unsure.

That raw score converts to a scaled score between 120 and 180, the range LSAC uses for every test administration . A 180 is a perfect score. Most test takers land in the middle of the range, and even a few extra correct answers can shift your scaled score by several points, especially near the middle of the scale where the curve is steepest.

Who sees your score

LSAC releases your score only to you and to the law schools you apply to through their application system. You decide whether to share it more broadly, for example through LSAC's Candidate Referral Service if you want additional schools or advisors to see it. Your score report and writing sample flow to schools as part of your application, so there is no separate step to send scores yourself once you apply.

Scores stay usable for five testing years. LSAC counts testing years from July through June, so a score from a July 2021 administration remains usable through June 2027. If you take the test more than once, law schools can see your full reportable history from that window, not just your highest score, though most schools focus on your highest score when they evaluate your application.

Test day and delivery

You take the LSAT on a tablet provided at the test center, either your own device set up through LSAC's testing software or a loaner at select locations. LSAC ran a remote, at-home version of the test during the pandemic years, but after cheating concerns surfaced around remote administrations in 2026, LSAC moved most testing back to in-person centers. Remote testing remains available only for applicants with approved medical accommodations or documented extreme hardship, so plan to test at a center near you.

Register early. Seats at popular centers near application deadlines fill up months in advance, and LSAC requires you to select a test date and location before it assigns you a seat.

Free official prep

LSAC offers official practice tests through its own site, including past PrepTests you can use to simulate real conditions. Use the most recent PrepTests you can find, since exams administered before August 2024 still include the retired Analytical Reasoning section and will not match what you see on test day.

How to prepare with the current format

• Practice with official LSAT PrepTests released after August 2024, since older tests still include the retired logic games section.

• Time yourself in 35-minute blocks per section, since pacing across Logical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension differs from older practice materials built around three question types.

• Draft your writing sample once under real time pressure before test day. It is unscored, but law schools do read it.

• Check LSAC's site for your specific test date, since testing formats and remote-testing eligibility can change between administrations.

The shift to a two-skill test, logical reasoning and reading comprehension only, means your prep time is best spent on those two question types instead of splitting effort across a third, now-retired section.