The information on this page is about returning paper and pencil AP Exams.
Important Updates
- Update May 2021: To submit your packing list in AP Registration and Ordering, you’ll click the yellow Submit Packing List button near the top right of the Packing List & Invoice page. This is a correction of the information on page 90 in the 2020-21 AP Coordinator’s Manual, Part 2 which previously stated to click the submit button at the bottom of the page. We have corrected this information in the AP Coordinator’s Manual, Part 2.
- Monday, June 7 is the final deadline for all exam materials to be shipped to AP Services. (This is an update to the previous deadline of June 1 for the AP Program to receive materials. This deadline has been updated due to the change in the 2021 exam schedule.) Schools are billed twice the fee for each exam in shipments returned after this date.
- In 2021, there are some updates to the packing return process for shipments within the United States and Puerto Rico. See the packing and shipping instructions below. There’s also a video walkthrough of the new exam materials return process for AP coordinators.
All secure AP Exam materials (exam booklets, orange booklets included with some of the exams, exams on CD, and master CDs) must be returned to the AP Program.
Review the details below about specific deadlines for return shipments.
If your school ordered 150 or more paper AP Exams for Administration 1:
- Schools that ordered 150 or more regularly scheduled AP Exams for Administration 1 and are administering exams over both weeks of the AP Exam administration must return week 1 and week 2 exam materials following the split shipment procedures, which are detailed in the AP Coordinator’s Manual, Part 2.
If your school ordered fewer than 150 paper AP Exams for Administration 1 or any number of paper exams for Administrations 2 and/or 3:
- Schools that ordered fewer than 150 paper AP Exams (or any number of paper exams for Administrations 2 and/or 3) need to ship their exam materials before close of business the day following the school’s last scheduled exam of a particular AP Exam administration period. For example, a school that administers its last exam on a Friday must return its exams by the end of the day on the following Monday.
For all AP Exams:
- Braille and large-type exam materials administered on the regularly scheduled exam dates are shipped to schools separately from the regular exam materials and should be returned separately.
- ATC, multiple-day testing, and greater than 20-point exam materials are shipped to schools separately from the regular exam materials and should be returned separately.
- Exams administered during Administration 1 should not be returned in the same shipment as exams administered during a later administration. Exams must be packed in the special cartons in which they were received. Using other cartons may delay receipt. If these cartons get damaged, exam materials could be lost.
- Reminders: There are no physical Art and Design or AP Chinese and AP Japanese materials this year.
For AP World Languages and Cultures and AP Music Theory Exams:
- Log in to the DAS portal to upload and submit all student audio response files for AP French, German, Italian, and Spanish Language and Culture and AP Music Theory Exams. Files must be uploaded and submitted before the close of the next business day after the school’s last scheduled exam of a particular AP Exam administration period. Submitting files after this point could result in score delay.
Packing and Shipping Instructions
The AP Coordinator’s Manual, Part 2 gives detailed instructions for packing, labeling, and returning exam materials. Make sure cartons are sealed securely. Follow instructions in the AP Coordinator’s Manual, Part 2 for preparing and including a packing list with your return shipment.
New! There are some updates to the return packing process. AP coordinators will pack exam materials that require priority processing (items 5–12 below) in cartons separate from unused exam packets, used multiple-choice booklets, used orange booklets, and used and unused master CDs (items 1–4 below). You’ll receive two types of return shipping labels, which will need to be affixed to your cartons depending on which materials are in the cartons. These changes are to ensure prompt processing of the materials requiring high priority.
Below is an overview of the updated process. For full details see the “Returning Exam Materials” section in the AP Coordinator’s Manual, Part 2.
- First pack all items 1–4 in as many cartons as needed. When you’re done packing items 1–4, pack items 5–12, starting with a new carton. Combine items 1–4 and items 5–12 in the same carton only if you don’t have enough cartons to pack the items separately.
- You’ll need to use different return labels on cartons that contain only items 1–4 and cartons that contain any items 5–12.
- On cartons containing only items 1–4: Use the return label without the “A” on the outside of the carton.
- On cartons containing any items 5–12: Use the return label with the large “A” near the top on all cartons that contain items 5–12. If you need to include items 5–12 in the same carton with items 1–4, use the label with the large “A” on that carton as well. Any box that contains any items 5–12 must have the return label with the large “A” affixed to the outside of the carton. These are the items that must be processed with high priority, so using the correct return label is important to ensure your students’ scores aren’t delayed.
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Cartons Containing Only These Items (Items 1–4): Use the Return Label Without the “A” |
Cartons Containing Any of These Items (Items 5–12): Use the Return Label With the “A” |
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1. Unused Exam Packets |
5. Used Free-Response Booklets |
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2. Used Multiple-Choice Booklets |
6. U.S. History, European History, and World History: Modern Short-Answer Response Booklets Return Envelope(s) |
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3. Used Orange Booklets |
7. Answer Sheet Return Envelopes |
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4. Used and Unused Master Audio CDs |
8. Nonstandard Administration Report (NAR) Return Envelope(s) |
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9. Incident Report (IR) Return Envelope(s) |
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10. Calculator Release Statement(s) |
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11. AP Score Cancellation Form |
| 12. Packing List |
Post-Exam Paperwork
You must complete or reference various forms during the exam. Some may need to be included in your shipment. Forms include:
- Incident Report (IR) form: This form must be completed if warranted by an incident during the exam administration. Review information about administration incidents in the AP Coordinator’s Manual, Part 2.
- Nonstandard Administration Report (NAR): This form must be completed per student for each exam taken with accommodations. See the AP Coordinator’s Manual, Part 2 for details about completing the NAR.