The scores that an individual receives for the SAT are considered valid beginning on the Thursday following the exam, and the scores will remain valid indefinitely. However, the Educational Testing Service (ETS) will include a notice that explains that the scores may no longer be an accurate representation of the individual's abilities with any score report that is issued more than five years after the date that the individual took the exam. Moreover, some undergraduate programs that require SAT scores will not accept scores that are more than five years old. As a result, it may be wise for individuals who are not planning on attending college in the near future to wait until they apply to a college rather than take the exam now.

Individuals who receive low SAT scores on the exam or are simply unhappy with their scores can retake the exam as many times as they wish. Each score report will include information reflecting how much other exam-takers with similar scores have improved so that each individual can determine whether it is worth the time and money to take the exam again.

If the exam-taker feels that he or she has performed poorly on the exam, he or she also has the option to void the exam score by filling out a Cancel Test Scores Form on the day of the test or by sending or faxing a written request to cancel the test scores. The College Board must receive any written request to cancel an individual's test scores by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the Wednesday following the exam.

It is also important to note that many individuals feel that they have performed poorly simply due to the stress associated with taking the test. Therefore, a test-taker should cancel their exam only if reasonably certain that he or she has performed extremely poorly and could do better by repeating the test.