CAO points 2026: Live updates as round one offers to be released

Main PointsCAO points requirements for courses will be revealed this afternoon at 2pmThis comes after more than 70,000 Leaving Cert pupils received their exam results on FridayThere are 5,000 more CAO applicants in 2026 than were in the system in 2025, something that will push up points overallHowever, a further reduction in enhanced grades in 2026 will also lead to an easing of pointsKey ReadsWill CAO points rise or fall? The questions students are askingLeaving Cert points calculator: How many CAO points are your results worth?What can you do if you don’t get your first CAO choice?Leaving Cert results and CAO 2026: our experts answer your questionsNiamh Towey - 0 minutes agoCAO helpdeskOur guidance counsellors Deirdre Garrett and Brian Howard will be back answering your questions from 1pm tiday. They can give you quick and clear feedback as you navigate college offers, choices and deciding your next steps over the coming days.Please contact them using the form below. Niamh Towey - 17 minutes agoGet in touchIf you feel you missed out on your course, are disappointed not to get the offer you wanted, or are delighted today with your fist choice offer, we would love to hear from you.Please email me at niamh.towey@irishtimes.com.Niamh Towey - 23 minutes agoKey datesWednesday, August 26th, 2pmThe CAO releases round-one offers to candidates online. Minimum points required for entry to each course will be available on the CAO website. Shortly afterwards, students who are unhappy with a grade they received and wish to view their marked exam scripts may do so online. There is no charge for viewing marked exam scripts. Students who wish to appeal the result in one or more subjects can apply online through the SEC Student Portal to do so between these dates.Tuesday, September 1st, 3pmClosing date for receipt of acceptance of CAO round-one offers.Monday, September 7th, 2pmThe CAO makes round-two offers available to applicants online. The minimum points required for entry to each course are released on the CAO website later that day.Wednesday, September 9th, 3pmClosing date for receipt of acceptance of CAO round-two offers.Friday, September 25thResults of Leaving Cert appeals are released by the SEC to students. Students whose scripts have been upgraded may receive a new offer of a place on a course higher up their CAO order of preference previously offered. The offer may be for the 2026 academic year, but in some cases where there is no capacity to accommodate additional students on a course, the offer may be for a place in the 2027 academic year.Niamh Towey - 26 minutes agoRound One CAO offers are released at 2pm today. What do we know so far?Entry points for Irish colleges are set to remain broadly the same as last yearThere are a total of 95,710 applicants to the CAO this year – an increase of 6,402 compared with last yearSome 20,527 of this year’s CAO applicants sat their Leaving Cert in a previous year. Many of these students could have higher grades due to increased grade inflation in the years they sat their exams.Points for traditionally hard to access courses such as medicine and dentistry are unlikely to fallData from the CAO shows a significant increase in first-preference applications for veterinary medicine (up 82 per cent), physiotherapy (up 27 per cent), and medicine (up 22 per cent).In the fields of engineering and architecture, driven by the construction boom, application numbers are up 15 and 12 per cent respectively.There is a substantial decrease in interest in information and communication technology (ICT) programmes this year, with applications down 9 per cent compared with last year. Other disciplines seeing smaller declines include agriculture and primary school teaching.