Competition Roundups
A practical guide to AMC registration outside the US, the new 2027 AIME rules, and who can continue to USAJMO or USAMO
Content updated: 10 October 2026
The approaching AMC 10/12 deadline is easy to misunderstand outside the United States. The Mathematical Association of America's regular registration deadline for new competition managers in the US and Canada is 15 October 2026, but international students do not normally register through that route. They must use the International Group Leader or official AMC partner for the country where they live, and local deadlines, fees and test-centre arrangements can be different. For students in much of Europe, including the United Kingdom and Ireland, that route is AMC Europe.
The more consequential distinction comes after AMC. An overseas student may be able to take AMC and, under the local partner's rules, AIME. That does not automatically make the student eligible for USAJMO or USAMO. The 2027 US olympiad policy is based less on nationality than many families assume: an international or exchange student can qualify if they are enrolled full-time and physically attending an eligible school in the US or Canada and meet every other condition. A student who remains enrolled and studying overseas generally does not meet those US/Canada participation requirements. Families should therefore separate two questions from the start: “Can my child enter AMC here?” and “Which later stages are actually open from our location?”
| Where the student is entering | Registration route | Current AMC 10/12 deadline |
|---|---|---|
| United States or Canada | An eligible school, university, maths circle or learning centre registers a Competition Manager | 15 October 2026 for regular registration and for new Competition Managers |
| Countries covered by AMC Europe | School registration, an authorised centre, or AMC Europe's individual-student matching route | 31 October 2026 for AMC 10A, 10B, 12A and 12B |
| Other countries and regions | The MAA-listed International Group Leader for the student's country of residence | The local organiser's deadline; do not assume the US deadline applies |
For the US and Canada, returning Competition Managers can use late registration until 28 October, at the higher late-registration fee. That extension is not available to a new Competition Manager. International partners operate their own registration processes, so an overseas family should check its local organiser even when an MAA date is prominently shown online.
The practical rule: students and parents do not register directly with MAA. Start with the school or the official international partner for the country where the student lives.
You can review the core formats and age rules on the CompeteMap AMC 10 page and CompeteMap AMC 12 page.
For the 2026–27 cycle, MAA states that AMC competitions are offered to schools with US, Canadian or APO/FPO/DPO mailing addresses, and to schools registered through an approved AMC international partner. International students must register through the International Group Leader for the country where they reside.
That creates a different process from the one used by a US school:
If no organiser is listed, families should contact MAA's international programme rather than registering through an unrelated commercial provider. An organisation advertising AMC preparation is not necessarily authorised to administer the competition.
AMC Europe currently organises AMC 8, AMC 10 and AMC 12 in:
Schools in another European country can submit an account application as a request for AMC Europe to consider expanding coverage. Some European countries are served by a different International Group Leader, so the MAA list remains the final starting point.
AMC Europe says that an individual student can register through its system and be matched with a school willing to host an external candidate. It also lists authorised test centres, some of which accept students who are not enrolled at the host institution. Availability, additional invigilation charges and local arrangements depend on the centre.
This is particularly useful for families in the UK and Ireland, where a student may want to enter even when their own school has not established an AMC programme. The request should still be made early: matching a student to a host site takes more coordination than adding a student at a school that is already registered.
AMC 10 and AMC 12 each have two separate versions. The A paper is held on the first competition date and the B paper on the second. They are different sets of questions, but A and B have the same status: B is not a higher level and it is not a resit of A.
A student may enter one date or both dates. The restriction is that only one competition can be taken on the same date.
| First competition date | Second competition date | Permitted? |
|---|---|---|
| AMC 10A | AMC 10B | Yes |
| AMC 12A | AMC 12B | Yes |
| AMC 10A | AMC 12B | Yes |
| AMC 12A | AMC 10B | Yes |
| AMC 10A and AMC 12A on the first date | — | No |
| AMC 10B and AMC 12B on the second date | — | No |
Each sitting needs its own student licence. Taking both dates gives the student two independent competition experiences and two opportunities to earn an AIME-qualifying score. It does not guarantee that one paper will be easier than the other.
The eligibility choice still matters:
A younger eligible student can take AMC 10 on one date and AMC 12 on the other. A student cannot take both on the same date. If more than one result qualifies the student for AIME, the student still takes AIME only once during the 2027 exam period.
👉 CompeteMap's view: two sittings make sense when the student wants the experience and can prepare without turning the month into a high-pressure campaign. One well-chosen paper is still a complete AMC entry.
MAA says the basic administration of AMC 10 and AMC 12 remains the same as in the previous cycle. The major changes begin with the 2027 AIME and the way students are selected for USAJMO and USAMO.
For the US and Canada pathway, AIME qualification now uses fixed AMC thresholds rather than a percentage-based cut-off:
| Qualifying paper | AIME threshold |
|---|---|
| AMC 10A or AMC 10B | 100 or above |
| AMC 12A or AMC 12B | 85 or above |
The score is not the only requirement. A student must also meet the applicable age, grade, school-location and attendance rules.
For 2027, a student must be at least 13 years old on the day of AIME. A younger student who reaches the AMC score threshold is not permitted to take the US/Canada AIME, and MAA says there is no alternative administration for that student.
The 2027 AIME in the US and Canada moves to Pearson Professional Centers and computer-based delivery in English. The examination still contains 15 questions with answers from 000 to 999, but it is divided into:
Once the second part begins, a participant cannot return to the first part. Students cannot bring rulers, compasses or their own materials into the room; Pearson supplies laminated graph-paper booklets and pens. The registration fee is $85 plus applicable taxes, with financial assistance available to qualifying families who need it.
There is no longer a choice between AIME I and AIME II in the traditional sense. A qualified student schedules one sitting during the official two-day window and may take AIME only once.
For a fuller explanation, see 2027 AIME Changes Explained.
No. This is where an apparently simple announcement becomes misleading for overseas families.
An international or exchange student can use the US/Canada AIME route if every official condition is met. The student must have taken a qualifying AMC, be enrolled full-time in an authorised primary or secondary school in the US or Canada, be physically attending there for the required period, meet the grade and age limits, and receive the official invitation. The student then registers with Pearson using the personalised invitation link.
Citizenship alone is not the deciding factor. A non-US citizen studying full-time at an eligible US or Canadian school can qualify.
MAA tells AMC International participants to follow the policy of their country's International Group Leader. An overseas participant should not assume that the US/Canada Pearson process, price or test-centre rule applies locally.
For example, AMC Europe currently says that students who qualify through its AMC 10/12 administration take AIME through the European programme at no additional cost. Its published timeline describes local answer-sheet submission rather than travel to a Pearson Professional Center. Families should follow the instructions sent by AMC Europe or their own regional organiser.
An AMC score can establish academic qualification, but the administration route still depends on where and through whom the student entered.
This question needs a more precise answer than “international students are eligible” or “only Americans are eligible.”
Under the official 2027 policy, a student participating in USAJMO or USAMO in the US/Canada system must:
International and exchange students may participate if they meet every condition. The policy does not make US citizenship the general entry test.
The practical outcomes are:
| Student situation | AMC/AIME possibility | USAJMO/USAMO position under the US/Canada policy |
|---|---|---|
| Non-US citizen attending an eligible US school full-time | May qualify through the standard US route | May be eligible if all requirements and score criteria are met |
| International student attending an eligible Canadian school full-time | May qualify through the standard Canada route | May be eligible if all requirements and score criteria are met |
| Student attending school in the UK, Ireland or another overseas country | May enter AMC and possibly AIME through the relevant international partner | Does not normally meet the US/Canada school-location and physical-attendance requirements |
| US citizen living and attending school overseas | May have an AMC International route | Citizenship alone does not satisfy the US/Canada school-location requirements |
An overseas student can still gain substantial mathematical value and recognition from AMC and AIME. The limitation is specifically about access to the United States national olympiad and team-selection pathway, not about whether the earlier examinations are worthwhile.
The familiar historical index combining an AMC score with ten times the AIME score is no longer the main 2027 selection method. MAA states that selection will be based primarily on AIME scores; AMC scores will no longer be a factor in the qualification calculation.
The qualifying AMC route helps determine which olympiad applies:
MAA expects to invite more than 400 students across the two olympiads and reserves the right to consider additional factors connected with US international-team selection. An excellent AIME score is therefore central, but eligibility requirements still apply before an invitation can be used.
❌ Do not register through a US portal simply because the US deadline appears first in search results.
✔ Register through the official route for the student's country of residence.
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