Full Breakdown on (legal) official ACT Practice Material

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If you’re a student or tutor looking for official ACT materials to prep for the ACT exam, you may have realized that when it comes to prepping for standardized tests, official practice exams are one of the most useful tools.
Official material can help:
+Diagnose weaknesses of specific content and question types you struggle with
+Familiarize yourself with the look, tone and feel of the actual exam
+Practice with vetted material that reflects test day better than anything available
+Work on pacing and timing or simulate actual test conditions
+Track your progress with highly accurate practice test scores
The bad news: with the roll out of the enhanced ACT in 2025, there are very few practice exams that adhere precisely to the pacing and section length on these new exams.
The good news: the actual questions on the ACT haven’t changed much since the 2025 reboot, so older exams in out of print ACT guides (readily available in unmarked condition on Amazon.com), can be valuable tools for students. Though you may have to get creative to use these tools for “timed” testing practice, they are absolutely still some of the best material you can use in your prep.
The tricky part: ACT notoriously repeats content year after year in its official guides, even across the legacy / enhanced transition. This means the “legacy” guides published in the year or two before the “enhanced” guides were released contain many of the same practice exams and questions.

In this blog, I’ll break down the six available “Enhanced” ACT forms that are widely available, as well as the 10+ legacy practice tests that can be legally purchased by anyone in the US, and help you pinpoint which tests you can take and exactly which editions of the books to buy to avoid repeats!

Released Enhanced ACT Practice Exams

There are currently 6 available ACT practice exams in the Enhanced format. It is also rumored that ACT plans to release one more free exam this year (2026). Every student taking the ACT should prioritize using these 6 (hopefully soon 7) tests; however, if you’ve got a long prep road ahead (more than 4 points), I advise saving most of these until the end of your prep cycle, and using older tests as you master the question types and content.
First, there are two free Enhanced ACT exams available on ACT’s website, both in pdf or online formats. If you’re taking the test on paper, print the PDF. If you’re taking the test from a computer, these are the only two official ACT exams currently available in the new Enhanced format that replicate test-day conditions. I recommend saving these until last if you’re doing the computer version!
Next, the new 2026-2027 official ACT prep guide has four Enhanced ACT exams. This book includes access to an online portal where all four exams (the same ones) can be taken in an “online” computer format, but disappointingly, the format here does not match actual “online” or computer testing conditions. Namely, it is in “practice” mode where the program offers feedback, the answer, and an explanation immediately after each question. On this test, time matters. It’s tough to practice to time when you have the right answer and wrong answer explanations pop up after every individual question. This online portal also lacks navigation options for skipping or reviewing questions, markup tools (strikeout, bookmark, etc.), and the on screen calculator. In other words, if you’re planning to test on a computer, this tool won’t help you simulate test day well.

Released Legacy Versions of ACT Practice Exams

Did you know that there is still a free, live legacy pdf of an ACT practice exam on ACT’s website? Click the link to download “Preparing for the ACT 2024-2025.“
Over the last 15 years, ACT has published numerous guides containing official ACT exams. Here is a run down of those guides and which form codes they contain– in all there are 11 nearly unique ACT exams across these books you can obtain. Note that many guides included online access to some tests, particularly as tests were “retired” from print and available in previous printed versions; online access for these materials is no longer available (the entire platform was shut down), so I won’t be tracking that information. Likewise for any online access for “Bonus Questions” mentioned as coming with the books, which were essentially a dump of questions from the “Real ACT Prep Guide” when the ACT transitioned to the “Official ACT Prep Guide.” See my full chart breakdown below, or skip ahead to learn exactly which editions to buy to maximize the number of unique official tests with minimal overlap.

Test Form Code	Original Form Code / Duplicate Form Codes	Test Date (TIR only)	Status	Physical Book Appearances ONLY
1MC			✅ Little redundancy	The Real ACT Prep Guide, 1-3rd Ed
2MC	Many math items appear in 16MC2		⚠️ Math redundant to 16MC2; complete after completing 16MC2	The Real ACT Prep Guide 1-3rd Ed
3MC			✅ Little redundancy	The Real ACT Prep Guide, 1-3rd Ed
4MC	Portions appear in 16MC3		⚠️ Skip 16MC3 (Math/Sci/Read) if you use this test	The Real ACT Prep Guide, 2nd-3rd Ed
5MC	Portions appear in 16MC3		⚠️ Skip 16MC3 English if you use this test	The Real ACT Prep Guide, 3rd Ed (two printings)
16MC1	73C + 10 math ?s from various Real ACT Guide tests	Jun-15	⚠️ TIR xcept math; do before taking Real ACT Guide tests	Official ACT Prep Guide 2017–18, Official ACT Prep Guide 2018–19, Official ACT Prep Guide 2019–20 (removed from print after)
16MC2	73G+ a few math ?s from real ACT Guides; Mostly from 2MC	Apr-15	⚠️ TIR xcept math; do before taking 2MC	Official ACT Prep Guide 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20 (removed from print after)
16MC3	Old Real ACT Guide mashup (Science & Reading 4MC/ English 5MC/Math 4MC, 73G+ random)	—	❌ Hybrid; Real ACT Guide Duplicate; Skip and do 4MC, 5MC instead	Official ACT Prep Guide 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20
18MC4	74C	Jun-17	✅ Full TIR	Official ACT Prep Guide 2018–19, 2019–20 (sometimes 2020–21)
19MC5	A10 (75E)	Dec-17	✅ Full TIR	Official ACT Prep Guide 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
20MC6	A11	Jun-18	✅ Full TIR	Official ACT Prep Guide 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
20MC7	A09	Apr-18	✅ Full TIR	Beginners Guide to the ACT 2020-2021
21MC8	C01 – Source for 25MC4 Enhanced	Jul-20	❌ TIR; Enhanced Test duplicate	2020–21 → 2025–26
22MC9	C03 – Source for 25MC3 Enhanced	Dec-19	❌ TIR; Enhanced Test duplicate	2023–24 → 2025–26
23MC1	E23 – Source for 25MC2 Enhanced	Dec-21	❌ TIR; Enhanced Test duplicate	2023–24 → 2025–26
24MC1	Mixed (F12 Reading) – Source for Test 1 / 25MC1 Enhanced	~2023 content	❌ Enhanced Test duplicate	2024–25 → 2025–26

Shopping List:

If you want as many practice tests as possible (these are overall 18 (nearly unique) complete ACT exams! Plus one Pre-ACT), and want to avoid overlap between books, here’s what I recommend downloading and purchasing (affiliate links), in order of what I use farthest from the test date, to closest to the test:

1. Take a free Pre-ACT in 9th or 10th Grade — Enhanced PreACT® Secure™ Online Practice Test: This practice test helps students prepare for the test by replicating similar testing conditions students will experience on test day in TestNav, including online accommodations. Login credentials are not required, click ‘Practice Tests’ below the sign in button then select PreACT10 Secure Practice Tests.

1. Purchase The Official ACT Prep Guide 2020-2021 OR The Official ACT Prep Guide 2021-2022; If you get the 2021-2022 guide, skip test 21MC8, so you don’t spoil the enhanced version 25MC4 in the new guide. Both editions include the same tests otherwise. Take tests with minor math redundancy to the Real ACT Prep Guide first (16MC1 / 16MC2) if you’re maximizing your number of tests to take. (5 Tests)

1. Purchase The Real ACT Prep Guide 3rd Edition (also at this link) or The Real ACT Prep Guide 3rd Edition Reprint; both are the exact same book except for the cover design, given that none of the online “bonus” resources work anymore. If you’re planning to take all the tests possible, do these after finishing any Official ACT Prep Guide tests that include a handful of math items from these tests. Of the books I recommend, they are the least accurate to the current state of the exam (passages are older, math lacks probability style items and some harder trig), but still very useful. I recommend taking these exams before 18MC4/19MC5/20MC6 in the Official Guide 2020/2021/2022. (5 Tests)

1. Purchase The Beginner’s Guide to the ACT 2020-2021. Note the printed practice test is not “easy” or beginner level. This test is not available in any other book! Again, as this book is from the legacy test, none of the online resources promised will work. (1 Test)

1. Download the free ACT legacy practice test from 2024-2025: Preparing for the ACT Packet (1 Test)

1. Purchase The Official Guide to the ACT, 2026-2027 — Do not purchase the 2025-2026 edition; it has only 3 unique exams. 2026-2027 has four (including one based on the October 2025 MAK). (4 Tests)

1. Download (or take online if computer testing) the two free Enhanced ACT exams: Free Official ACT Enhanced Practice Tests (2 Tests)

What about other official ACT materials?

Other official ACT material is out there, but some of it is sadly redundant to the official guide, while other material suffers from copyright restrictions that make it difficult for current students to legally obtain or use. While legal precedent has long upheld the right of consumers to sell and exchange used books originally sold to the public in physical form, the legal precedent for digital file control and distribution is murkier.

Official ACT Subject Guides These guides regurgitate material from The Official Guide to the ACT, 2026-2027 in their practice test sections. A few scattered questions might be official that aren’t in the tests in the advice portions of the books, but on the whole you won’t find entire, new practice sections here. It’s crazy to me that ACT sells these books on its site BUNDLED with the official guide upon ACT exam registration check out– how insulting is it to sell hundreds of pages of redundant content to students in a bundle, masquerading it as a new text?

TIRs (Test Information Release) Many students might wonder about using TIRs or Test-Information Release exams– these are tests that prior to 2025 were sent to test takers who ordered a copy of their actual ACT test to review after taking the exam. The Enhanced ACT has replaced the TIR with the MAK (My Answer Key). MAK differs from a TIR primarily in that it omits the experimental questions on the exam, so the form you get back is missing questions and can’t be taken to time like an official ACT (the TIR could be, during its time, though now again it’s the wrong length). On the legacy test, students received a 5th surprise section that was experimental, so it did not affect the TIR.
Recently, ACT has begun cracking down on scanning and distributing these TIR exams online (the original CrackACT.com is no longer; Reddit’s list of TIR links is dead). As of now, there is no means for students to directly license, legally download, or purchase these exams for practice. However, ACT struck a deal with a group of tutors (as part of the National Test Prep Association) to license these tests for use by individual “Affiliate Tutors” and tutoring centers with their students. If your tutor is an affiliate tutor, you can get legal access to these tests.
And maybe if you’re lucky, you can find one of these booklets in your older sibling’s closet.
Preparing for the ACT Packets: ACT regularly hosts a free pdf practice test on its website, and every year or three will update this packet. Here is a rundown of the free pdfs that were previously distributed. Again, however, ACT seems to be regulating the ability of websites to host these for download, and many sites that previously hosted these have removed them. These are free to use if you previously downloaded them from ACT, and the 2024-2025 packet link on the ACT site is still live, so get it before it’s gone! 

ACT’s Free “Sample Questions.” On ACT’s website you’ll find a series of sample questions. These are useful for testing out the platform ACT uses for it’s “online” testing, but not so much for practice as each set is only 3-7 questions long. These pull questions from 74F, a free pdf exam that was once upon a time easily downloaded from ACT’s site before it was pulled.
QUIZME.ACT.ORG Avoid this site! It’s official, but Quizme.act.org uses the same content as the released practice tests to formulate snazzy, fun online quizzes; don’t burn real practice test questions like this! You want practice test scores that are accurate.

What about other materials?

If you’re looking for accurate math practice, don’t forget to check out my ACT Math Books. They aren’t official material, but are the next best thing! And if you want support for the whole ACT, be sure to check out our ACT self-paced course!