Alabama AP Exam Fee Assistance

Funding for Alabama Schools for May 2026 AP Exams

For the 2025–2026 school year, the Alabama State Department of Education will pay College Board directly to reduce public school students’ costs.

College Board provides a fee reduction of $37 per AP Exam for qualifying low-income students. In combination with the contributions from the Alabama State Department of Education, the final fee for any AP Exam taken by a fee-reduced public school student is $0. Schools are expected to forgo their $9 rebate for these exams. 

For standard-fee students in public schools, the Alabama State Department of Education will pay College Board directly for AP Computer Science Principles (CSP), AP Environmental Science, AP Precalculus, and AP Seminar Exams. In combination with the contributions from the Alabama State Department of Education, the final fee for AP CSP, AP Environmental Science, AP Precalculus, and AP Seminar Exams taken by standard-fee public-school students is $0. 

Note: It remains a school-level decision whether to keep or forgo the $9 per exam school rebate from standard-fee students. For more information on rebate policy and procedures, please see State AP Exam Fee Assistance.

Fees for Alabama Public School Students

For more details on how College Board's fees work, or to see information for another state, please visit State AP Exam Fee Assistance.

ALSDE Direct Billing Process

For May 2026 AP Exams, the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) will continue using a direct-billing arrangement with College Board.

The Alabama State Department of Education will pay College Board directly the full cost of:

• All AP Exams taken by low-income public school students.
• AP Computer Science Principles (CSP), AP Environmental Science, AP Precalculus, and AP Seminar Exams taken by non-low-income public school students.

These state subsidies will be applied as credits to each school’s invoice and the covered amounts will be billed to the Alabama State Department of Education.

Steps for AP Coordinators

Before the Exams

• For your invoice to accurately reflect fee reductions, the AP coordinator must indicate the fee reduction status for each eligible student in AP Registration and Ordering.
  • For each student who is eligible for the College Board fee reduction, check the Reduced Fee box next to their name in the student roster.
  • For students who aren't eligible for the fee reduction, no action is needed.
• Fee reduction status should be indicated only once per student, not for each exam.
• Once a student’s fee reduction status is marked as reduced or left as standard in AP Registration and Ordering, the Alabama state subsidies will automatically be calculated and applied for eligible exams.
• If possible, indicate the fee reduction status for each student by the time you submit your exam order. This ensures you have time to plan for and collect the appropriate exam fees from students.
  • However, if you need more time to verify this information, the deadline to indicate students' fee reduction status in AP Registration and Ordering is April 30, 2026 (11:59 p.m. ET).

After the Exams

• Your invoice is automatically generated in AP Registration and Ordering and emailed to you after the late-testing administration ends. At that point, you can also access and print your invoice through AP Registration and Ordering.
• June 15, 2026, is the postmark deadline for payment due to College Board.
• Schools are responsible for paying College Board for all other AP Exam fees not outlined above and any additional fees incurred, such as late order fees, unused/canceled exam fees, late-testing fees, etc. Alabama’s state funding does not cover these fees.
• AP coordinators do not need to submit a copy of their invoice to ALSDE.

For More Information

Contact Dr. Michal G. Robinson, AP/IB Program Manager, Alabama State Department of Education, Instructional Services Section.

P.O. Box 302101
Montgomery, AL 36130-2101

T. 334-694-4768