IB Exam Schedule 2027: May Dates, Session Times and Results

By Michael Thompson · Education Specialist; 10 years teaching the IB at Bromsgrove School · Published 4 October 2026 · Updated 6 October 2026

The IB exam schedule 2027 May session runs from Friday 23 April to Tuesday 18 May 2027, spanning 18 weekdays of written exams. The IB has issued the final schedule to schools and the full timetable is reproduced below, paper by paper; the IB's public exam-schedule page lists sessions only up to November 2026 at the time of writing, so your coordinator holds the copy with your school's zone and start times. This guide also explains how the timetable is structured, what exam zones mean for your local start times, when May 2027 results are released, what the November 2027 session looks like, and how to turn the schedule into a personal revision plan.

Key Takeaways

In This Article

  1. What Is the IB Exam Schedule 2027 and Where to Find It
  2. How the IB Diploma Exam Timetable Is Structured
  3. May 2027 IB Exam Timetable: Every Paper by Date
  4. IB Exam Zones and Local Start Times for May 2027
  5. Redesigned Courses with First Assessment in May 2027
  6. IB MYP Exam Schedule 2027: A Separate Timetable
  7. Building a Personal Revision Plan from the IB Exam Timetable
  8. May 2027 IB Results Date and Enquiry Upon Results
  9. IB November 2027 Exam Schedule and the 2028 Session
  10. What to Do Next

1. What Is the IB Exam Schedule 2027 and Where to Find It

The IB exam schedule 2027 covers the May session, which runs from Friday 23 April 2027 to Tuesday 18 May 2027, with written exams on 18 weekdays. The IB spreads the highest-candidature subjects as evenly as it can over the four weeks, so your papers are likely to fall in more than one week.

The IB's public exam-schedule page lists its published timetables up to November 2026 at the time of writing. The final May 2027 schedule has been issued to schools, and the full timetable from it is reproduced in section 3. Your school's IB coordinator holds the copy that applies to your school, with the start times for your exam zone, and the IB directs students and teachers there for the authoritative version.

May 2027 is also the first assessment session for several redesigned Diploma Programme courses, including Psychology, Computer Science, Design Technology and Visual Arts, and for the revised Extended Essay. If you are sitting any of those, section 5 covers what that means for preparation.

Your first practical step is simple: find your papers in the timetable below, note which of the four weeks each falls in, and confirm your zone's start times with your coordinator.

2. How the IB Diploma Exam Timetable Is Structured

Each exam day in the IB diploma examination schedule contains two sessions: a morning session and an afternoon session. The IB schedules almost all subjects on consecutive days, so Paper 2 is typically the morning after Paper 1 rather than a week later; the IB says this is to minimise the impact of absence on any given day while maintaining continuity for students.

The IB builds its timetable around a few firm principles that are worth understanding before you read your own schedule:

One practical consequence: rescheduling an exam is not a school-level decision. Per the IB November 2026 examination schedule, no examination can be rescheduled without authorisation from the Assessment Division at the IB Global Centre in Cardiff. The criteria and process are set out in the IB's assessment procedures, and any request goes through your school's coordinator.

3. May 2027 IB Exam Timetable: Every Paper by Date

Every paper in the May 2027 session, day by day, from the IB's final May 2027 examination schedule. Each day has a morning and an afternoon session; the local start time of each session depends on your school's exam zone, covered in the next section. The duration is the paper length the IB lists, and HL and SL versions of the same paper are shown separately where they differ. Rows marked "except English, French and Spanish" are the slots for Language A, Language B and ab initio papers in every other language; the IB schedules English, French and Spanish separately, so those papers have their own rows later in the session.

The session opens with two papers on the Friday before the first full week.

Friday 23 April 2027

SessionPaperDuration
AfternoonSchool-based syllabus SL paper 1see school
AfternoonLanguage & culture SL paper 11h 30m

Week 1

Monday 26 April 2027

SessionPaperDuration
MorningSchool-based syllabus SL paper 2see school
MorningLanguage & culture SL paper 21h 30m
AfternoonLanguage A Literature HL paper 1 (except English, French and Spanish)2h 15m
AfternoonLanguage A Literature SL paper 1 (except English, French and Spanish)1h 15m
AfternoonLanguage A Language & Literature HL paper 1 (except English, French and Spanish)2h 15m
AfternoonLanguage A Language & Literature SL paper 1 (except English, French and Spanish)1h 15m

Tuesday 27 April 2027

SessionPaperDuration
MorningLanguage A Literature HL/SL paper 2 (except English, French and Spanish)1h 45m
MorningLanguage A Language & Literature HL/SL paper 2 (except English, French and Spanish)1h 45m
AfternoonBusiness management HL/SL paper 11h 30m
AfternoonBusiness management HL paper 31h 15m

Wednesday 28 April 2027

SessionPaperDuration
MorningBusiness management HL paper 21h 45m
MorningBusiness management SL paper 21h 30m
AfternoonPhysics HL paper 1 (1a and 1b)2h
AfternoonPhysics SL paper 1 (1a and 1b)1h 30m
AfternoonSports, exercise & health science HL paper 1 (1a and 1b)1h 45m
AfternoonSports, exercise & health science SL paper 1 (1a and 1b)1h 30m

Thursday 29 April 2027

SessionPaperDuration
MorningPhysics HL paper 22h 30m
MorningPhysics SL paper 21h 30m
MorningSports, exercise & health science HL paper 22h 30m
MorningSports, exercise & health science SL paper 21h 30m
AfternoonPsychology HL/SL paper 11h 30m
AfternoonPsychology HL/SL paper 21h 30m

Friday 30 April 2027

SessionPaperDuration
MorningPsychology HL paper 31h 45m
AfternoonComputer science HL paper 12h
AfternoonComputer science SL paper 11h 15m
AfternoonEnvironmental systems & societies HL paper 12h
AfternoonEnvironmental systems & societies SL paper 11h

Week 2

Monday 3 May 2027

SessionPaperDuration
MorningComputer science HL paper 22h
MorningComputer science SL paper 21h 15m
MorningEnvironmental systems & societies HL paper 22h 30m
MorningEnvironmental systems & societies SL paper 22h
AfternoonHistory HL/SL paper 11h
AfternoonHistory HL/SL paper 21h 30m

Tuesday 4 May 2027

SessionPaperDuration
MorningHistory HL paper 32h 30m
AfternoonLanguage B HL paper 1 (except English, French and Spanish)1h 30m
AfternoonLanguage B HL paper 2 - Reading comprehension (except English, French and Spanish)1h
AfternoonLanguage B SL paper 1 (except English, French and Spanish)1h 15m
AfternoonLanguage B SL paper 2 - Reading comprehension (except English, French and Spanish)1h
AfternoonLanguage ab initio SL paper 1 (except English, French and Spanish)1h
AfternoonLanguage ab initio SL paper 2 - Reading comprehension (except English, French and Spanish)1h
AfternoonLatin HL paper 12h
AfternoonLatin SL paper 11h 30m

Wednesday 5 May 2027

SessionPaperDuration
MorningLanguage B HL paper 2 - Listening comprehension (except English, French and Spanish)1h
MorningLanguage B SL paper 2 - Listening comprehension (except English, French and Spanish)45m
MorningLanguage ab initio SL paper 2 - Listening comprehension (except English, French and Spanish)45m
MorningLatin HL paper 21h 30m
MorningLatin SL paper 21h 30m
AfternoonChemistry HL paper 1 (1a and 1b)2h
AfternoonChemistry SL paper 1 (1a and 1b)1h 30m
AfternoonDesign technology HL paper 11h 30m
AfternoonDesign technology SL paper 11h

Thursday 6 May 2027

SessionPaperDuration
MorningChemistry HL paper 22h 30m
MorningChemistry SL paper 21h 30m
MorningDesign technology HL paper 22h 30m
MorningDesign technology SL paper 21h 30m
AfternoonEnglish A Literature HL paper 12h 15m
AfternoonEnglish A Literature SL paper 11h 15m
AfternoonEnglish A Language & Literature HL paper 12h 15m
AfternoonEnglish A Language & Literature SL paper 11h 15m
AfternoonEnglish B HL paper 11h 30m
AfternoonEnglish B HL paper 2 - Reading comprehension1h
AfternoonEnglish B SL paper 11h 15m
AfternoonEnglish B SL paper 2 - Reading comprehension1h
AfternoonEnglish ab initio SL paper 11h
AfternoonEnglish ab initio SL paper 2 - Reading comprehension1h

Friday 7 May 2027

SessionPaperDuration
MorningEnglish A Literature HL/SL paper 21h 45m
MorningEnglish A Language & Literature HL/SL paper 21h 45m
MorningEnglish B HL paper 2 - Listening comprehension1h
MorningEnglish B SL paper 2 - Listening comprehension45m
MorningEnglish ab initio SL paper 2 - Listening comprehension45m
MorningLiterature & performance SL paper 11h 45m
AfternoonGeography HL paper 12h 15m
AfternoonGeography SL paper 11h 30m
AfternoonPhilosophy HL paper 12h 30m
AfternoonPhilosophy SL paper 11h 45m
AfternoonSocial & cultural anthropology HL paper 12h
AfternoonSocial & cultural anthropology SL paper 11h 30m

Week 3

Monday 10 May 2027

SessionPaperDuration
MorningGeography HL/SL paper 21h 15m
MorningGeography HL paper 31h
MorningPhilosophy HL/SL paper 21h
MorningPhilosophy HL paper 31h 15m
MorningSocial & cultural anthropology HL paper 22h 30m
MorningSocial & cultural anthropology SL paper 21h 30m
AfternoonBiology HL paper 1 (1a and 1b)2h
AfternoonBiology SL paper 1 (1a and 1b)1h 30m

Tuesday 11 May 2027

SessionPaperDuration
MorningBiology HL paper 22h 30m
MorningBiology SL paper 21h 30m
AfternoonEconomics HL/SL paper 21h 45m
AfternoonWorld religions SL paper 11h 15m

Wednesday 12 May 2027

SessionPaperDuration
MorningEconomics HL paper 11h 15m
MorningEconomics HL paper 31h 45m
MorningEconomics SL paper 11h 15m
MorningWorld religions SL paper 21h 30m
AfternoonClassical Greek HL paper 12h
AfternoonClassical Greek SL paper 11h 30m
AfternoonSpanish A Literature HL paper 12h 15m
AfternoonSpanish A Literature SL paper 11h 15m
AfternoonSpanish A Language & Literature HL paper 12h 15m
AfternoonSpanish A Language & Literature SL paper 11h 15m
AfternoonSpanish B HL paper 11h 30m
AfternoonSpanish B HL paper 2 - Reading comprehension1h
AfternoonSpanish B SL paper 11h 15m
AfternoonSpanish B SL paper 2 - Reading comprehension1h
AfternoonSpanish ab initio SL paper 11h
AfternoonSpanish ab initio SL paper 2 - Reading comprehension1h

Thursday 13 May 2027

SessionPaperDuration
MorningClassical Greek HL paper 21h 30m
MorningClassical Greek SL paper 21h 30m
MorningSpanish A Literature HL/SL paper 21h 45m
MorningSpanish A Language & Literature HL/SL paper 21h 45m
MorningSpanish B HL paper 2 - Listening comprehension1h
MorningSpanish B SL paper 2 - Listening comprehension45m
MorningSpanish ab initio SL paper 2 - Listening comprehension45m
AfternoonMathematics: analysis and approaches HL paper 12h
AfternoonMathematics: analysis and approaches SL paper 11h 30m
AfternoonMathematics: applications and interpretation HL paper 12h
AfternoonMathematics: applications and interpretation SL paper 11h 30m

Friday 14 May 2027

SessionPaperDuration
MorningMathematics: analysis and approaches HL paper 22h
MorningMathematics: analysis and approaches SL paper 21h 30m
MorningMathematics: applications and interpretation HL paper 22h
MorningMathematics: applications and interpretation SL paper 21h 30m
AfternoonDigital Society HL paper 12h 15m
AfternoonDigital Society SL paper 11h 30m
AfternoonGlobal politics HL/SL paper 11h 15m
AfternoonGlobal politics HL/SL paper 21h 45m

Week 4

Monday 17 May 2027

SessionPaperDuration
MorningDigital Society HL/SL paper 21h 15m
MorningDigital Society HL paper 31h 15m
MorningGlobal politics HL paper 31h 30m
AfternoonFrench A Literature HL paper 12h 15m
AfternoonFrench A Literature SL paper 11h 15m
AfternoonFrench A Language & Literature HL paper 12h 15m
AfternoonFrench A Language & Literature SL paper 11h 15m
AfternoonFrench B HL paper 11h 30m
AfternoonFrench B HL paper 2 - Reading comprehension1h
AfternoonFrench B SL paper 11h 15m
AfternoonFrench B SL paper 2 - Reading comprehension1h
AfternoonFrench ab initio SL paper 11h
AfternoonFrench ab initio SL paper 2 - Reading comprehension1h

Tuesday 18 May 2027

SessionPaperDuration
MorningFrench A Literature HL/SL paper 21h 45m
MorningFrench A Language & Literature HL/SL paper 21h 45m
MorningFrench B HL paper 2 - Listening comprehension1h
MorningFrench B SL paper 2 - Listening comprehension45m
MorningFrench ab initio SL paper 2 - Listening comprehension45m
AfternoonMathematics: analysis and approaches HL paper 31h 15m
AfternoonMathematics: applications and interpretation HL paper 31h 15m

Source: IB Diploma Programme and Career-related Programme May 2027 examination schedule, final version, all exam zones. "School-based syllabus" papers are for schools running an IB-approved school-based syllabus; the IB lists no duration for them, so check with your school.

4. IB Exam Zones and Local Start Times for May 2027

Every IB school is assigned to one of three exam zones, A, B or C, and that allocation stays fixed across sessions. The zones follow UTC offsets:

ZoneUTC coverage
AUTC+3 to UTC+12
BUTC+0 to UTC+3
CUTC-3 to UTC-10

Across the three zones, morning sessions start between 08.30 and 10.00 local time and afternoon sessions between 12.30 and 14.00. The exact time depends on the zone and the school's UTC offset: a UTC+3 school starts at 09.00 in zone A but 10.00 in zone B, for example, and the IB says there is no variance in start times within a morning or afternoon session. These local start times do not shift for daylight saving, so if your country adjusts its clocks in spring, your exam time stays the same on the clock as the IB printed it.

Per the IB November 2026 examination schedule, a school's zone allocation does not change between examination sessions, so a school that sat in zone B for November 2026 will remain in zone B for the May 2027 session.

Your coordinator holds the version of the schedule that applies to your school. Confirm your zone and your exact morning and afternoon start times with your IB coordinator before the session begins.

5. Redesigned Courses with First Assessment in May 2027

May 2027 is the first assessment session for four redesigned Diploma Programme courses, Psychology, Computer Science, Design Technology and Visual Arts, and for the revised Extended Essay. The cohort that started the programme in August or September 2025 is the first to be examined on the new guides, and the IB's curriculum-updates pages for each subject set out what changed. None of this alters the timetable above: a redesigned paper takes the same session slot as any other.

What it changes is preparation. No past papers exist for a redesigned course, so the specimen papers and the new guide's assessment criteria are the only official models until the IB publishes material from the 2027 session. These guides cover the changes subject by subject: IB Psychology, IB Computer Science and the Extended Essay from 2027. History's new course runs a year behind, with first assessment in May 2028; see IB History new syllabus.

6. IB MYP Exam Schedule 2027: A Separate Timetable

This page covers the Diploma Programme and Career-related Programme timetable. The Middle Years Programme is assessed separately through MYP eAssessment, which runs its own May and November sessions with on-screen examinations and ePortfolios, on dates the IB publishes separately; nothing in the DP timetable above applies to it.

Specific MYP 2027 exam dates are not published at the time of writing. Ask your MYP coordinator for your school's confirmed session window.

7. Building a Personal Revision Plan from the IB Exam Timetable

The IB exam schedule 2027 runs across four distinct weeks, and the shape of those weeks matters more than most students realise when building a personal plan.

Start by mapping your own papers across the four weeks. The IB deliberately spreads high-candidature subjects across all four weeks rather than clustering them, so your papers are unlikely to all fall in week one. Print or copy the dates that apply to you and mark which week each paper falls in before you do anything else.

Next, flag any days where you have both a morning and an afternoon paper. These are the sessions that need their own approach the night before: full review of two separate papers in one evening is rarely useful, so prioritise the subject you find harder and do light recall only for the other.

Most subjects' papers fall on consecutive days, which creates a specific planning opportunity. If your Paper 1 sits on a Monday, Paper 2 will likely be Tuesday. Spend the evening after Paper 1 on a focused, light review of the Paper 2 content only, not a full revision session. Your working memory is still primed on the subject, and reinforcing rather than overloading it tends to serve better the next morning.

In the final week of the session, narrow your focus to only the subjects with papers in that window. Returning to week-one subjects at that point adds cognitive load without meaningful return.

Because language and science exams are spread across the session (languages in all four weeks, sciences in weeks 1 to 3 in 2027), a student taking two sciences and two languages is likely to have papers in most weeks of the session, not just at the start or end. Identify that pattern early and build recovery days into the middle weeks deliberately.

8. May 2027 IB Results Date and Enquiry Upon Results

May 2027 results are released on the candidate website from 12.00 GMT on 6 July 2027. Per the IB Assessment FAQ, what you see at that point includes subject grades, your total points score, and any EE/TOK bonus points. Component marks are not shown on the candidate results page.

Your IB coordinator can choose to share additional detail: the scaled total mark, the upper and lower grade boundary for each subject, and the number of marks you would have needed to reach the next grade up. That last figure is worth checking calmly, since it tells you whether an enquiry upon results is worth pursuing.

Enquiry upon results (EUR) is a formal re-mark process, and it runs through your school, not through you. The IB Assessment FAQ is explicit: the IB does not accept EUR requests directly from candidates or parents. Your coordinator submits on your behalf, a fee applies, and - critically - a remarked grade can go down as well as up, which is why the IB requires your written consent before the request is lodged.

The window between results day and university confirmation decisions can be short, so if you think you may want an EUR, speak to your coordinator before 6 July so that the consent and fee arrangements are already in place.

For the November session, results are issued to schools on 16 December from 9.00pm GMT, released at staggered intervals by time zone.

9. IB November 2027 Exam Schedule and the 2028 Session

The November 2027 session is expected to run from Friday 22 October 2027 to Friday 12 November 2027, subject to confirmation. The dates come from the IB's November 2026 examination schedule, which lists them as subject to confirmation; the full November 2027 timetable had not been published at the time of writing.

Candidates in November 2027 sit the same redesigned courses as the May 2027 cohort: once a course has had its first assessment, every later session examines the new guide.

Looking further ahead, the IB's May 2027 schedule states that the May 2028 session will start on Tuesday 25 April 2028 and end on Friday 19 May 2028, with no exams on 1 May, subject to confirmation.

Dates for both sessions will be confirmed by the IB. Monitor ibo.org and check with your coordinator, who will receive the official timetable before it appears publicly.

10. What to Do Next

The May 2027 session runs from 23 April to 18 May 2027, and the full timetable is in section 3. The start times that apply to you depend on your school's exam zone, and your IB coordinator holds the zoned copy.

The IB's exam-schedule page itself tells students to contact their school coordinator about which schedule applies to them, and your zone allocation sets your morning and afternoon start times throughout the session.

This week, mark every one of your paper dates from the timetable above on a calendar and confirm your zone's start times with your coordinator, before you build a single revision block. For what happens on 6 July, see the IB results day guide.

FAQ

When do IB exams start and end in May 2027?

The May 2027 IB exam session runs from Friday 23 April 2027 to Tuesday 18 May 2027, covering 18 weekdays of written exams.

Are there IB exams on 1 May 2027?

No. 1 May 2027 is a Saturday, and the IB's scheduling principles make 1 May the one public holiday the timetable avoids in any case; the 2028 session is planned around it.

When are IB May 2027 results released?

May 2027 results are available on the candidate website from 12.00 GMT on 6 July 2027.

What are the IB exam zones and how do they affect start times?

Schools are assigned to zone A (UTC+3 to UTC+12), B (UTC+0 to UTC+3), or C (UTC-3 to UTC-10); morning sessions start between 08.30 and 10.00 local time and afternoon sessions between 12.30 and 14.00, with no daylight-saving adjustment - confirm your zone's exact times with your coordinator.

When is the November 2027 IB exam session?

The November 2027 IB exam session is expected to run from Friday 22 October to Friday 12 November 2027, subject to confirmation; the full timetable had not been published at time of writing.

Is there a separate IB MYP exam schedule for 2027?

Yes - MYP eAssessment runs in separate May and November sessions distinct from the DP timetable; specific 2027 MYP dates are not published at time of writing, so students should contact their coordinator.

References