Dealing with an offer now? Use the 2026 dates below. Planning an application for 2027? Read the 2027 round guide and application calendar. The two cycles are deliberately kept separate.
2026 Round Two points are published. Compare the Round One and Round Two course figures in the existing points table. Round Two replies close 9 September 2026 at 3pm Irish time, according to the CAO offer calendar, checked 8 September 2026. Check the deadline on your own offer.
Read our CAO Round 2 Points 2026 analysis for the biggest falls, unchanged scores and the higher figures marked as new competitions.
The 2026 offer dates
All times are Irish local time. Checked against the official CAO timetable on 7 September 2026.
| Round | Offers issue | Replies close |
|---|---|---|
| Round A | 6 July, 10am | 9 July, 3pm |
| Round Zero | 6 August, 10am | 11 August, 3pm |
| Round One | 26 August, 2pm | 1 September, 3pm |
| Round Two | 7 September, 2pm | 9 September, 3pm |
| Round Three | 15 September, 10am | 17 September, 3pm |
| Round Four | 22 September, 10am | 24 September, 3pm |
| Round Five | 29 September, 10am | 1 October, 3pm |
Check the reply deadline on your actual offer. See the 2026 dates archive for the wider calendar.
Offers for 2027: what is known
The 2027 handbook, printed page 28 distinguishes these categories:
| Stage | Applicants described in the handbook | 2027 timing |
|---|---|---|
| Early Round A | Deferred, mature, mature nursing/midwifery, some graduate pathways, certain visa-arrangement applicants and completed Access-course applicants | Early July; exact date not confirmed here |
| Early Round Zero | Graduate Medicine, additional mature/deferred/Access applicants and QQI applicants for quota courses | Early August; exact date not confirmed here |
| Main Round One | School-leaving qualifications, QQI non-quota courses and additional mature applicants | To be confirmed |
| Later rounds | Remaining places after earlier acceptance deadlines | Exact dates to be confirmed |
Round A and Round Zero are not early versions of ordinary Leaving Certificate offers. QQI entry can fall in different rounds depending on the course's quota status.
How to accept a CAO offer
Log in to My Application and read the course code and reply date. If you want the place, accept online before that deadline. Check the acknowledgement email and the recorded acceptance in your account.
You can receive one offer from each list, but can only accept one offer, in any one round, from either the Level 8 or Level 7/6 list. You still need to complete the college's registration process afterwards. Handbook, printed pages 29 and 32.
Accept now and still receive a higher preference?
Accepting a lower preference does not prevent a later offer for a higher preference on the same list. If that offer arrives, accepting it automatically cancels the earlier acceptance; ignoring it leaves the earlier acceptance in place. Whether another offer arrives depends on eligibility and a place becoming available. Handbook, printed page 29.
For example, accepting your third choice does not remove your first and second choices from consideration. It does not keep your fourth choice available. The downward limit follows the offer, not a tactic of accepting or refusing it. See preference order.
Round Two and later offers
After the Round One reply deadline, CAO issues Round Two offers for remaining places. Further rounds fill vacancies as necessary. A course need not have a later vacancy or a lower cutoff. Keep checking your account and reply by the deadline on any offer you choose to accept. Handbook, printed pages 28–29.
If you have no offer
First check that your recorded results, exemptions and courses are correct. CAO sends a Check and Confirm email after Round One to applicants without an offer in the preceding main rounds. Report errors promptly. Handbook, printed page 28.
Then distinguish the possibilities:
- A later offer may become available for an eligible preference.
- Available Places is a separate facility, not a promise that a particular course is open.
- PLC/QQI and other entry routes may offer another path.
- If you matched a published cutoff, check entry requirements and random selection before assuming an error.
These are options to investigate, not a recommendation to reject an offer you would be willing to take.
Deferring an offer
Do not accept the offer you want to defer. Ask the college, following its own deferral policy. The handbook requires the request at least two days before the reply date. An approved deferral still requires you to re-apply next year, pay the application fee, put the course as your first and only preference and tick the Deferred Applicant indicator. Handbook, printed page 32.
Use the complete deferral checklist for the email details and the following year's application.
Sources and verification
Checked 7 September 2026. The dated 2026 table uses the CAO events timetable. Process guidance uses CAO Handbook 2027, printed pages 20 and 28–32. Exact 2027 offer, acceptance and season-closing dates remain to be confirmed.