The ACT test is currently transitioning between an old ACT and the new, Enhanced ACT 2025 test.

The new, Enhanced ACT 2025 is 2 hours and 5 minutes long for mandatory sections:

New ACT 2025 Format

Test Section Number of Questions Time Limit (minutes) Time Per Question (seconds)
English 50 35 42
Math 45 50 ~67
Reading 36 40 ~67
Science (optional) 40 40 60
Essay (optional) 1 40 n/a
Totals: 131 + 41 optional 125 + 80 optional n/a

The old, Pre-2025 ACT without the writing test takes roughly 3 hours and 30 minutes to complete.

If students elect to write the optional essay, the test takes an additional 40 minutes to complete (so roughly 4 hours, including breaks):

  • English: 75 questions (45 minutes)
  • Math: 60 questions (60 minutes) 
  • Reading: 40 questions (35 minutes) 
  • Science: 40 questions (35 minutes)
  • Writing: 1 prompt (40 minutes)