Get Ready for the 2026 US National Chemistry Olympiad!

The local High School Olympiad Exam will take place in March 12 & 13, 2026. This local exam is the first step of the US National Chemistry Olympiad process. All local chemistry exams will be in person, and most exams will be given by the students’ chemistry teacher at the student’s high school in the to-be-announced time window. ACS National headquarters is managing the first phase of registration, and requires that parents be the point of contact for this purpose.

To sign up: If your child is interested in participating in the 2026 USNCO local qualifying exams, sign them up at the ACS website: https://www.acs.org/education/olympiad.html. Registration is open now. Signing up here only indicates interest in participation; participation is not guaranteed.

The SCALACS deadline for student registration is Friday, January 23, 2026. No exceptions or late submissions will be accepted. Although the national ACS website lists February 27, 2026, as the registration deadline, that date applies only to ACS headquarters. Each local section sets its own deadlines, and SCALACS follows an earlier schedule to allow adequate time for exam distribution, proctoring coordination, and processing. All SCALACS registrations must be completed by Friday, January 23, 2026.

To pay exam fees: SCALACS will contact the local high school chemistry teachers designated in the sign-up form to find out if they are willing to proctor the exam. Once SCALACS knows who is interested in participating and has confirmed the teachers’ participation, SCALACS will reach out to parents/teachers to collect a modest exam fee of $12 per student to cover the costs for administering the local exam and the later national exam. Parents/guardians need to check the inbox of the email address that is submitted on the USNCO registration form for the payment link. SCALACS will sent out invoices to schools covering costs for their students.

Note for High School teachers who are paying the registration fee on behalf of their students must email us at office@scalacs.org by January 23, 2026, so we can coordinate registration and payment.

The 2026 SCALACS Local Exam will take place on March 12 & 13. SCALACS will administer a printed exam. Exam packets will be mailed directly to the Olympiad teacher proctoring the exam. Teachers need to ensure that SCALACS office has your current and accurate mailing address, so exam materials arrive on time. Teachers will need to select (and inform SCALACS office) which of the two dates they will be proctoring the exam at their school.

More information about the US National Chemistry Olympiad can be found at the USNCO Registration Platform: https://www.acs.org/education/olympiad.html

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