IB Exam Schedule May 2027: Full Timetable, Start Times and Exam Zones

Quick answer: The IB exam schedule for May 2027 runs from Friday 23 April to Tuesday 18 May 2027. That is 18 exam days spread over four weeks, with a morning and an afternoon session each day. Your local start time depends on your school’s exam zone: morning papers start between 08:30 and 10:00 local time, and afternoon papers between 12:30 and 14:00. Results usually come out in early July.

If you’re looking for the IB exam schedule, you probably want three things. You want to know when each of your papers is. You want to know what time it starts where you live. And you want to know how heavy your worst week will be. This guide answers all three.

Every date and paper length below comes from the IB’s final May 2027 examination schedule for Diploma Programme (DP) and Career-related Programme (CP) students. We read the full document line by line in November 2026. The IB’s public exam schedule page still lists sessions only up to November 2026, so your school’s copy is the one to trust. Your IB coordinator can confirm anything you’re unsure about.

We also added the parts the official timetable leaves out. You’ll find a week-by-week summary, a worked example of one student’s full timetable, the crunch days for common subject mixes, and a simple revision plan built backwards from your first paper. Educifly’s tutors have helped IB students through every May session since 2018, and these are the questions families ask us every spring.

When is the IB exam schedule for May 2027?

The May 2027 IB exams start on Friday 23 April and end on Tuesday 18 May 2027. That makes the session four weeks long, plus one opening Friday.

The first Friday is light. Only two small groups sit papers that afternoon: school-based syllabus (SBS) courses and Language and culture SL. For most students, the real start is the week of Monday 26 April.

Here is the whole session at a glance.

A few patterns jump out straight away.

Sciences show up every week. Physics is in week 1, Chemistry in week 2 and Biology in week 3. The IB does this on purpose so that no single week holds all the heavy science papers.

Maths sits near the end. Maths papers 1 and 2 fall on 13 and 14 May. If you take Maths at Higher Level (HL), your paper 3 is the very last exam of the session, on the afternoon of Tuesday 18 May.

English, French and Spanish each get their own days. Every other language is grouped together earlier. So a student taking English A and Spanish B sits them on different days from a student taking, say, German A and Hindi B.

The full May 2027 IB exam timetable, day by day

Every paper in the May 2027 session is listed below, with its morning or afternoon slot and its length. Find your subjects, note the dates, and write them on a calendar today.

A quick key before the tables. HL means Higher Level and SL means Standard Level. “HL/SL” means both levels sit that paper in the same session. “Paper 1 (1a and 1b)” in the sciences is one sitting with two sections. Language B and ab initio paper 2 has a reading part and a listening part, and they’re sat in different sessions.

Where a line says “except English, French and Spanish”, those three languages are scheduled on their own days later in the session.

Opening day: Friday 23 April 2027

Week 1: Monday 26 April to Friday 30 April 2027

Week 2: Monday 3 May to Friday 7 May 2027

Week 3: Monday 10 May to Friday 14 May 2027

Week 4: Monday 17 May to Tuesday 18 May 2027

Visual arts, film, theatre, dance and music don’t appear in the written timetable. Those courses are assessed through work your school uploads before the exam session, so your teacher sets those deadlines.

Quick lookup: IB exam dates by subject

If you just need your own dates, this table lists the main subjects and the days they’re examined. It covers the subjects most Educifly students take.

Two quirks are worth knowing. Economics paper 2 comes before paper 1, on the afternoon of Tuesday 11 May. And Psychology papers 1 and 2 are sat in the same afternoon, back to back, on Thursday 29 April.

What time do IB exams start? Exam zones explained

IB exams start at fixed local times that depend on your school’s exam zone: 08:30 to 10:00 for the morning session and 12:30 to 14:00 for the afternoon session. Every school in the world belongs to one zone, and that zone doesn’t change from session to session.

The IB splits schools into three zones, called A, B and C. Each zone has numbered sub-zones. The number lines up with the hours ahead of or behind GMT. Here are the local start times from the May 2027 schedule.

The IB says these are local times and you don’t need to adjust them for daylight saving. So if your school is in a zone that starts at 09:00, your morning paper starts at 09:00 on your school clock. Full stop.

Why do zones exist at all? The IB runs the same session in more than 150 countries. Zones help keep papers secure across time zones. Students in different zones can sit different versions of the same paper. The syllabus, format and mark scheme stay the same. Only the questions change.

This matters when you use past papers. You’ll often see papers labelled “TZ1” or “TZ2” (time zone 1 and 2). Both are fair practice. If you want a clean mock, pick the version your school’s zone didn’t sit that year, so it feels fresh. Our guide to IB past papers explains where to find them and how to use them well.

Don’t guess your zone. Ask your IB coordinator. They know it, and they’ll tell you the exact local start times for your school.

How many hours of exams will you sit? A worked example

A typical full IB Diploma student sits around 13 to 15 papers and roughly 20 to 24 hours of written exams across the four weeks. The exact number depends on how many HL subjects you take and which ones.

To make this real, here’s one common subject mix worked through the May 2027 schedule. This student takes Maths analysis and approaches HL, Physics HL, Chemistry HL, English A Language & Literature SL, Economics SL and Spanish B SL.

That adds up to 14 papers and 23 hours 15 minutes of exam time. It’s a lot. But look at how it’s spread.

Week 1 is gentle. Only Physics falls there, and it’s done by Thursday lunchtime. Week 2 has one hard day: Thursday 6 May, with Chemistry paper 2 in the morning and English paper 1 in the afternoon. That’s 3 hours 45 minutes of writing in one day.

Week 3 is the crunch. From Tuesday 11 May to Friday 14 May, this student sits seven papers in four days. Wednesday 12 May alone has Economics in the morning and Spanish in the afternoon. Then Maths paper 1 lands on Thursday afternoon and paper 2 on Friday morning.

Then there’s a long weekend gap before the last Maths paper on Tuesday 18 May. That gap is a gift. It’s three clear days to fix weak Maths topics before paper 3.

This is why we tell families to map the schedule in November, not April. Once you know your crunch week, you can plan revision so the right subjects peak at the right time.

The crunch days for common subject mixes

For most IB students, the hardest stretch of the May 2027 session is Tuesday 11 May to Friday 14 May, when Biology, Economics, Spanish and both Maths papers 1 and 2 fall within four days. But your crunch depends on your subjects.

Here’s a quick guide to the heaviest points for some common combinations.

A student who takes Maths HL and French B finishes on Tuesday 18 May with French listening in the morning and Maths paper 3 in the afternoon. Plan for that day like it’s an exam day in its own right, because it is.

What’s new in the May 2027 IB exams?

Psychology, Computer science and Design technology are examined on new syllabuses for the first time in May 2027, and that shows up in the timetable. If you take one of these, your past papers won’t match your exam perfectly.

Design technology is the clearest example. In the May 2027 schedule, both HL and SL sit only papers 1 and 2. There is no Design technology paper 3 any more.

Psychology keeps an HL paper 3, but it sits on its own on the morning of Friday 30 April, after papers 1 and 2 the afternoon before. Your teacher will have the new specimen papers. Use them alongside older papers so you practise the new question styles.

Computer science now has HL and SL papers 1 and 2 on Friday 30 April and Monday 3 May. Again, lean on specimen papers and your teacher’s guidance, because older past papers were written for a different course.

The Extended Essay also changes for students finishing in 2027. That doesn’t change the exam timetable, but it does change how you plan your autumn and winter. Get the essay done well before April so it isn’t competing with revision.

Physics and Chemistry papers now say “paper 1 (1a and 1b)”. That’s because their new syllabuses, first examined in 2025, split paper 1 into a multiple-choice section and a data-based section. Biology papers follow the same pattern. You sit both parts in one go.

What if two of your exams clash?

If two of your papers fall in the same session, your IB coordinator handles it under IB rules, and you never move an exam to a different day without IB approval. The schedule itself says exams can’t be rescheduled without permission from the IB’s assessment team.

Clashes are rarer than you might think. The IB uses registration data from schools around the world to place subjects so that as few students as possible have a clash. It also keeps almost every subject on consecutive days. That way, if you’re ill on one day, you don’t miss a whole subject.

Clashes do still happen, mostly with less common subject pairs. A student taking Physics HL and Sports, exercise and health science HL, for example, would find both paper 1s in the same afternoon on Wednesday 28 April. In that case your school follows the IB’s procedures for the extra sitting. Your job is simply to tell your coordinator early, ideally the week the timetable comes out.

The same goes for illness or a family emergency during the session. Talk to your coordinator the same day. The IB has formal processes for students who miss a paper for a genuine reason. Your school knows how to apply them.

When do May 2027 IB results come out?

IB results for the May session normally come out in early July; in 2026, students could see their results from 6 July. The IB confirms the exact 2027 date and time closer to the release.

In 2026, schools received results on 5 July, and students could log in to the IB candidate website on 6 July. The release was staggered by time zone, starting at 13:00 UK time. If your school hands out results directly, you may hear from them a little earlier.

Your predicted grades are sent to universities long before this. For UK and many other applications, those predictions do most of the work in the autumn of your final year. If you want to understand how schools set them and what you can do now, read our guide to IB predicted grades.

For the full story on release times, how to log in and what to do if a grade looks wrong, see when IB scores come out. It also covers remarks and retakes.

How to plan revision around the IB exam schedule

Plan your revision backwards from your first paper, and make each subject peak just before its own exam date, not all at once. The May 2027 timetable gives you a clear order to follow.

Here’s the simple four-step method we use with our students.

Step 1: Write your personal timetable. Pull your papers out of the tables above into one list. Put the date, session and length next to each. Stick it on the wall. Most students are surprised by how spread out it is.

Step 2: Find your first paper and your crunch week. For a student with Physics, the first paper is 28 April. For a student with no week 1 subjects, it might be 4 May or later. Your crunch week is wherever three or more papers fall in four days.

Step 3: Sort subjects into “early”, “middle” and “late”. Early subjects (week 1) need to be exam-ready by late April. Late subjects, like Maths and French, can keep improving into May. Give early subjects more of your March and early April time.

Step 4: Plan the gaps. Every gap between papers is revision time for the next one. In our worked example, the student has five days between Physics paper 2 and Chemistry paper 1. That’s Chemistry week. The long weekend before Maths paper 3 is Maths week.

Here’s a rough timeline that works for most Diploma students sitting in May 2027.

Two tips make the biggest difference. First, practise papers at the right time of day. If your Maths paper 1 is an afternoon paper, do your timed practice in the afternoon. Second, practise the full length. A 2-hour paper feels very different from a 40-minute topic quiz.

If Maths is the subject that worries your child most, a specialist can help them plan the weeks before 13 May. Our IB Maths tutors work one-on-one with AA and AI students at both levels. We also match students with subject specialists across the Diploma through our IB tutoring service.

How the IB builds the exam schedule

The IB builds the schedule to spread the heaviest subjects across four weeks, keep each subject on consecutive days and keep the session as short as possible. Knowing the rules helps you read it.

The May 2027 schedule lists the principles the IB follows. Here they are in plain English.

The schedule also looks ahead. The IB says the May 2028 session is planned to start on Tuesday 25 April 2028 and end on Friday 19 May 2028, with no exams on 1 May. That’s subject to confirmation, so treat it as a guide for students starting the Diploma now.

The November IB exam session

The IB also runs a November exam session, mainly for schools in the southern hemisphere and for students retaking papers. It follows the same rules as May, with its own schedule.

Most students in Europe, North America, the Middle East and India sit in May. Many schools in Australia, New Zealand and parts of South America sit in November, because their school year runs on a different calendar.

The November session is also where many students retake a subject after May results. If your child is thinking about a retake, check with the coordinator early. Schools have registration deadlines for each session, and they’re well before the exams themselves.

Exam day: what to know before each paper

Arrive early, bring the right equipment, and check whether your paper allows a calculator. Small mistakes on the day cost more than a missed revision session.

Here’s a short checklist for each paper.

Know your session and local start time. Morning papers start between 08:30 and 10:00 depending on your zone. Afternoon papers start between 12:30 and 14:00. Plan to arrive at least 20 to 30 minutes early.

Check the calculator rules. In Maths analysis and approaches, paper 1 is the no-calculator paper. Paper 2 allows a graphic display calculator (GDC). HL paper 3 also allows one. If you take Maths, make sure your calculator is on your school’s approved list and has fresh batteries.

Bring clean copies of what you’re allowed. The IB gives you formula and data booklets in the exam room for subjects that use them, like Maths, Physics and Chemistry. Practise with the same booklet beforehand so you know where everything is.

Expect to stay in the room for a while. Many schools ask students not to leave in the first part of an exam for security reasons. Your coordinator will tell you your school’s rule.

Sleep matters more than one more hour of notes. On days with a morning and an afternoon paper, eat lunch and rest between them. Don’t spend the lunch break cramming the afternoon subject.

Frequently asked questions

When are the IB exams in 2027?

The May 2027 IB exams run from Friday 23 April to Tuesday 18 May 2027. That’s 18 exam days across four weeks, with a morning and an afternoon session each day. Most students start in the week of Monday 26 April, because only two small courses sit papers on 23 April.

What is the first IB exam in May 2027?

The first papers are on the afternoon of Friday 23 April 2027: school-based syllabus SL paper 1 and Language & culture SL paper 1. For most Diploma students, the first big papers come the next week. Language A papers for most languages are on Monday 26 April, and Physics paper 1 is on Wednesday 28 April.

What is the last IB exam in May 2027?

The last papers are on Tuesday 18 May 2027. French papers fill the morning. In the afternoon, Maths analysis and approaches HL paper 3 and Maths applications and interpretation HL paper 3 close the session. So any student taking Maths HL finishes on that day.

When are the IB Maths exams in 2027?

Maths paper 1 (both AA and AI, HL and SL) is on the afternoon of Thursday 13 May 2027. Paper 2 is on the morning of Friday 14 May. HL students sit paper 3 on the afternoon of Tuesday 18 May, which is the last exam of the session.

What time do IB exams start?

IB exams start at fixed local times based on your school’s exam zone. Morning papers start at 08:30, 09:00, 09:30 or 10:00. Afternoon papers start at 12:30, 13:00, 13:30 or 14:00. The IB says these times are local and don’t change for daylight saving. Your IB coordinator can tell you your zone and exact times.

What are IB exam zones?

Exam zones are groups of schools that sit papers at the same local times. The IB uses three zones, A, B and C, each split into numbered sub-zones that line up with hours ahead of or behind GMT. Students in different zones can sit different versions of the same paper, with the same syllabus and mark scheme. A school’s zone stays the same for every session.

Can I reschedule an IB exam?

Not on your own. The IB’s schedule states that an exam can’t be rescheduled without authorisation from the IB’s assessment team. If you have a clash, an illness or an emergency, tell your IB coordinator straight away. They’ll apply the IB’s official procedures for your situation.

Are the IB exams the same in every country?

The syllabus, paper format and mark scheme are the same everywhere. But students in different exam zones can sit different versions of a paper, with different questions. That’s why past papers are often labelled TZ1 and TZ2. Both versions are good practice.

When do May 2027 IB results come out?

The IB usually releases May results in early July. In 2026, schools received results on 5 July and students could see them online from 6 July. The IB announces the exact 2027 date nearer the time. Check our guide to when IB scores come out for the latest details.

How many IB exams will I take?

A full Diploma student usually sits around 13 to 15 written papers. HL subjects often have three papers and SL subjects two, though it varies by subject. In our worked example, a student taking Maths, Physics and Chemistry at HL sat 14 papers and about 23 hours of exams.

When is the May 2028 IB exam session?

The IB plans to run the May 2028 session from Tuesday 25 April to Friday 19 May 2028, with no exams on 1 May. The IB says these dates are still subject to confirmation, so check again before you plan around them.

Exam season goes smoother when the plan starts early. If your child wants help building a revision plan around their own timetable, or needs a subject specialist before May, you can book a free trial class with Educifly and meet a tutor matched to their subjects.