May: The CAO change-of-mind facility opened on May 5th. Candidates get a statement of application record by post before the end of May, listing all details supplied by applicants to date. Inform the CAO if you do not receive it or if it contains any errors when it does arrive.
June 8th: Leaving Certificate written examinations begin and continue until Friday, June 24th.
June 27th: Applicants under 23 years of age who sat the Hpat test on February 27th receive their results, enabling them to factor these marks into their final consideration of course choices before the July 1st CAO deadline.
July 1st: 5.15pm Final date for any amendments to course choices and order of preference on all CAO applications for entry to colleges in September. The majority of current-year Leaving Cert applicants make their final amendments during this change-of-mind period in May-June each year.
First week of July: Initial CAO offers. The CAO will make more than 6,000 offers to mature applicants (that is, to those over 23 years old) and to applicants who accepted and then deferred their places in 2015. These offers are made by post and on the CAO website, and remain open for a week. Mature and deferred applicants who may be away from home should ensure that any offer received in early July is dealt with, as offers lapse if not accepted within a week.
July 22nd: An exceptional closing date for current third-level students who wish to drop out of their current college course and reapply for a new list of choices through the CAO application process. More than 300 students exercised this option in 2015.
Early August 2016: Round Zero offers. More than 2,000 places on courses are offered to applicants presenting further-education awards and to an additional cohort of mature applicants. Applicants for a place on graduate medicine are also offered places in this round. Offers are open for one week. Wednesday, August 17th: The State Examinations Commission (SEC) delivers the 2016 Leaving Cert results to more than 700 schools, and makes them available through a secure on line service at examinations.ie from noon that day.
August 22nd: The CAO releases round-one offers to candidates online at 6am. Offer notices are sent by post to candidates to arrive on this date. Minimum points required for entry to each course are available on the CAO website from 6am. and are printed in full in that day's Irish Times supplement.
August 23rd: Leaving Cert students who are unhappy with any of their grades and who wish to review their marked exam scripts in their school must return the application forms enclosed in their Leaving Cert results envelope to their school by this date. There is no charge for viewing your marked exam scripts.
August 29th, 5.15 pm: Closing date for receipt of acceptance of CAO round-one offers. Wednesday, August 31st: The CAO posts round-two offers to applicants to arrive by post on Thursday, September 1st. The minimum points required for entry to each course are released on the CAO website at 6am on that date, and are published in the Irish Times second-round supplement. Friday-Saturday, September 2nd-3rd Students, along with one person of their choice, can view their scripts in school. The scripts cannot be viewed by anyone else unless the student is present.
September 7th, 5.15 pm Final date for acceptance of CAO round-two offers. Final date for receipt by the SEC of Leaving Cert appeals applications. A fee of €40 per subject applies; it is refunded in the case of an upgrade. Mid-October Results of Leaving Cert appeals released by the SEC. Final offers of places by the CAO will be made up to October 19th.
