IB Exam Schedule 2026 - important dates
The schedule for the 2026 Diploma Programme (DP) and Career-related Programme (CP) examination sessions are presented below. If you need help with IB, book your trial lesson with an experienced IB tutor.
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Crucial notes for IB Exams in April & May 2026
IB exams of 2026 are tentatively scheduled to start on Friday, April 24 and end on Wednesday, May 20, subject to confirmation by the IB in 2024. There will be three time zones to conduct M26 examinations.
Please note that for Studies in language and literature and Language acquisition, English, French and Spanish are scheduled individually from all other languages.
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May 2026 IB Examination Schedule - All exam zones
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WEEK 0
Friday 24 April
Morning Session
No examination
Afternoon Session
School-based syllabus SL paper 1
Language & culture SL paper 1 - 1h 30m
WEEK 1
Monday 27 April
Morning Session
School-based syllabus SL paper 2
Language & culture SL paper 2 - 1h 30m
Afternoon Session
Language A Literature HL paper 1 - 2h 15m
Language A Literature SL paper 1 - 1h 15m
Language A Language & Literature HL paper 1 - 2h 15m
Language A Language & Literature SL paper 1 - 1h 15m
* Except: English, French & Spanish
Tuesday 28 April
Morning Session
Language A Literature HL/SL paper 2 - 1h 45m
Language A Language & Literature HL/SL paper 2 - 1h 45m
* Except: English, French & Spanish
Afternoon Session
Physics HL paper 1 (1a and 1b) - 2h
Physics SL paper 1 (1a and 1b) - 1h 30m
Sports, exercise & health science HL paper 1 (1a and 1b) - 1h 45m
Sports, exercise & health science SL paper 1 (1a and 1b) - 1h 30m
Wednesday 29 April
Morning Session
Physics HL paper 2 - 2h 30m
Physics SL paper 2 - 1h 30m
Sports, exercise & health science HL paper 2 - 2h 30m
Sports, exercise & health science SL paper 2 - 1h 30m
Afternoon Session
Business management HL/SL paper 1 - 1h 30m
Business management HL paper 3 - 1h 15m
Thursday 30 April
Morning Session
Business management HL paper 2 - 1h 45m
Business management SL paper 2 - 1h 30m
Afternoon Session
Computer science HL paper 1 - 2h 10m
Computer science SL paper 1 - 1h 30m
Environmental systems & societies HL paper 1 - 2h
Environmental systems & societies SL paper 1 - 1h
Friday 1 May
Morning Session
No examination
Afternoon Session
No examination
WEEK 2
Monday 4 May
Morning Session
Computer science HL paper 2 - 1h 20m
Computer science HL paper 3 - 1h
Computer science SL paper 2 - 1h
Environmental systems & societies HL paper 2 - 2h 30m
Environmental systems & societies SL paper 2 - 2h
Afternoon Session
History HL/SL paper 1 - 1h
History HL/SL paper 2 - 1h 30m
Tuesday 5 May
Morning Session
History HL paper 3 - 2h 30m
Afternoon Session
Language B HL paper 1 - 1h 30m
Language B HL paper 2:
Reading comprehension - 1h
Language B SL paper 1 - 1h 15m
Language B SL paper 2:
Reading comprehension - 1h
Language ab initio SL paper 1 - 1h
Language ab initio SL paper 2:
Reading comprehension - 1h
* Except: English, French & Spanish
Latin HL paper 1 - 2h
Latin SL paper 1 - 1h 30m
Wednesday 6 May
Morning Session
Language B HL paper 2:
Listening comprehension - 1h
Language B SL paper 2:
Listening comprehension - 45m
Language ab initio SL paper 2:
Listening comprehension - 45m
* Except: English, French & Spanish
Latin HL paper 2 - 1h 30m
Latin SL paper 2 - 1h 30m
Afternoon Session
Psychology HL paper 1 - 2h
Psychology SL paper 1 - 2h
Thursday 7 May
Morning Session
Psychology HL paper 2 - 2h
Psychology HL paper 3 - 1h
Psychology SL paper 2 - 1h
Afternoon Session
English A Literature HL paper 1 - 2h 15m
English A Literature SL paper 1 - 1h 15m
English A Language & Literature HL paper 1 - 2h 15m
English A Language & Literature SL paper 1 - 1h 15m
English B HL paper 1 - 1h 30m
English B HL paper 2:
Reading comprehension - 1h
English B SL paper 1 - 1h 15m
English B SL paper 2:
Reading comprehension - 1h
English ab initio SL paper 1 - 1h
English ab initio SL paper 2:
Reading comprehension - 1h
Friday 8 May
Morning Session
English A Literature HL/SL paper 2 - 1h 45m
English A Language & Literature HL/SL paper 2 - 1h 45m
English B HL paper 2
Listening comprehension - 1h
English B SL paper 2
Listening comprehension - 45m
English ab initio SL paper 2
Listening comprehension - 45m
Literature & performance SL paper 1 - 1h 45m
Afternoon Session
Geography HL paper 1 - 2h 15m
Geography SL paper 1 - 1h 30m
Philosophy HL paper 1 - 2h 30m
Philosophy SL paper 1 - 1h 45m
Social & cultural anthropology HL paper 1 - 2h
Social & cultural anthropology SL paper 1 - 1h 30m
WEEK 3
Monday 11 May
Morning Session
Geography HL/SL paper 2 - 1h 15m
Geography HL paper 3 - 1h
Philosophy HL/SL paper 2 - 1h
Philosophy HL paper 3 - 1h 15m
Social & cultural anthropology HL paper 2 - 2h 30m
Social & cultural anthropology SL paper 2 - 1h 30m
Afternoon Session
Biology HL paper 1 (1a and 1b) - 2h
Biology SL paper 1 (1a and 1b) - 1h 30m
Tuesday 12 May
Morning Session
Biology HL paper 2 - 2h 30m
Biology SL paper 2 - 1h 30m
Afternoon Session
Economics HL/SL paper 2 - 1h 45m
World religions SL paper 1 - 1h 15m
Wednesday 13 May
Morning Session
Economics HL paper 1 - 1h 15m
Economics HL paper 3 - 1h 45m
Economics SL paper 1 - 1h 15m
World religions SL paper 2 - 1h 30m
Afternoon Session
Classical Greek HL paper 1 - 2h
Classical Greek SL paper 1 - 1h 30m
Spanish A Literature HL paper 1 - 2h 15m
Spanish A Literature SL paper 1 - 1h 15m
Spanish A Language & Literature HL paper 1 - 2h 15m
Spanish A Language & Literature SL paper 1 - 1h 15m
Spanish B HL paper 1 - 1h 30m
Spanish B HL paper 2
Reading comprehension - 1h
Spanish B SL paper 1 - 1h 15m
Spanish B SL paper 2
Reading comprehension - 1h
Spanish ab initio SL paper 1 - 1h
Spanish ab initio SL paper 2
Reading comprehension - 1h
Thursday 14 May
Morning Session
Classical Greek HL paper 2 - 1h 30m
Classical Greek SL paper 2 - 1h 30m
Spanish A Literature HL/SL paper 2 - 1h 45m
Spanish A Language & Literature HL/SL paper 2 - 1h 45m
Spanish B HL paper 2
Listening comprehension - 1h
Spanish B SL paper 2
Listening comprehension - 45m
Spanish ab initio SL paper 2
Listening comprehension - 45m
Afternoon Session
Mathematics:
analysis and approaches HL paper 1 - 2h
analysis and approaches SL paper 1 - 1h 30m
Mathematics:
applications and interpretation HL paper 1 - 2h
applications and interpretation SL paper 1 - 1h 30m
Friday 15 May
Morning Session
Mathematics:
analysis and approaches HL paper 2 - 2h
analysis and approaches SL paper 2 - 1h 30m
Mathematics:
applications and interpretation HL paper 2 - 2h
applications and interpretation SL paper 2 - 1h 30m
Afternoon Session
Chemistry HL paper 1 (1a and 1b) - 2h
Chemistry SL paper 1 (1a and 1b) - 1h 30m
Design technology HL paper 1 - 1h
Design technology SL paper 1 - 45m
Design technology HL/SL paper 2 - 1h 30m
WEEK 4
Monday 18 May
Morning Session
Chemistry HL paper 2 - 2h 30m
Chemistry SL paper 2 - 1h 30m
Design technology HL paper 3 - 1h 30m
Afternoon Session
Digital society HL paper 1 - 2h 15m
Digital society SL paper 1 - 1h 30m
Global politics HL/SL paper 1 - 1h 15m
Global politics HL/SL paper 2 - 1h 45m
Tuesday 19 May
Morning Session
Digital society HL/SL paper 2 - 1h 15m
Digital society HL paper 3 - 1h 15m
Global politics HL paper 3 - 1h 30m
Afternoon Session
French A Literature HL paper 1 - 2h 15m
French A Literature SL paper 1 - 1h 15m
French A Language & Literature HL paper 1 - 2h 15m
French A Language & Literature SL paper 1 - 1h 15m
French B HL paper 1 - 1h 30m
French B HL paper 2 - 1h
Reading comprehension
French B SL paper 1 - 1h 15m
French B SL paper 2
Reading comprehension - 1h
French ab initio SL paper 1 - 1h
French ab initio SL paper 2
Reading comprehension - 1h
Wednesday 20 May
Morning Session
French A Literature HL/SL paper 2 - 1h 45m
French A Language & Literature HL/SL paper 2 - 1h 45m
French B HL paper 2
Listening comprehension - 1h
French B SL paper 2
Listening comprehension - 45m
French ab initio SL paper 2
Listening comprehension - 45m
Afternoon Session
Mathematics:
analysis and approaches HL paper 3 - 1h 15m
Mathematics:
applications and interpretation HL paper 3 - 1h 15m
Local start times for the May 2026 examination session
Schools need to confirm their designated exam zone, which remains constant across different examination sessions.
The table below provides the specific local start times for all zones. Start times remain consistent within both morning and afternoon sessions.
The indicated local start times are aligned with the local time and do not require any adjustments for daylight saving. We describe below Morning and Afternoon sessions of each Exam zone.
EXAM ZONE A
Exam Zone A 12 - 10.00, 14.00
Exam Zone A 11 - 10.00, 14.00
Exam Zone A 10 (includes 9.5) - 9.30, 13.30
Exam Zone A 9 - 9.00, 13.00
Exam Zone A 8 - 9.00, 13.00
Exam Zone A 7 - 9.00, 13.00
Exam Zone A 6 (includes 6.5) - 9.00, 13.00
Exam Zone A 5 (includes 5.5 + 5.75) - 9.00, 13.00
Exam Zone A 4 - 9.00, 13.00
Exam Zone A 3 (includes 3.5) - 10.00, 14.00
EXAM ZONE B
Exam Zone B 3 - 10.00, 14.00
Exam Zone B 2 - 9.30, 13.30
Exam Zone B 1 - 9.00, 13.00
Exam Zone B 0 - 9.00, 13.00
EXAM ZONE C
Exam Zone C -3 - 10.00, 14.00
Exam Zone C -4 (includes -3.5) - 9.30, 13.30
Exam Zone C -5 - 9.00, 13.00
Exam Zone C -6 - 9.00, 13.00
Exam Zone C -7 - 9.00, 13.00
Exam Zone C -8 - 9.00, 13.00
Exam Zone C -9 - 9.00, 13.00
Exam Zone C -10 - 9.00, 13.00
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Check out other IB exam dates!
IB - May 2025 Exam Schedule
IB - May 2026 Exam Schedule
IB - November 2025 Exam Schedule