Digital AP exams — which are digital and how Bluebook works
Every AP exam now runs through the Bluebook app, either fully digital or hybrid, where you handwrite your free-response answers on paper. This guide explains which AP exams are fully digital, which are hybrid, which subjects are assessed by portfolio instead, how the Bluebook app works, and what to expect on test day.
What digital AP exams are
Starting in 2025, the College Board moved most AP exams onto Bluebook, the same secure testing app used for the digital SAT. Instead of a paper booklet and a bubble sheet, you take the exam on a laptop or tablet in a locked-down, full-screen app.
The change rolled out by subject rather than all at once, so the exact format you sit for now depends on which exam you are taking. The sections below break down the three formats and how the app behaves.
Which AP exams are digital?
For the 2027 exams, every AP exam with an end-of-course test is digital, according to the College Board’s list of AP exam modes. What changes from subject to subject is how you answer, and every subject falls into one of three groups.
Confirming your exam format
The College Board still changes which exams are fully digital and which are hybrid from year to year. For 2027, AP Statistics and the world language exams move to fully digital, and AP Music Theory moves to hybrid. Before test day, check your specific exam’s format on the official AP site or with your AP Coordinator, since assuming the wrong format is an easy way to be caught off guard. Our AP exam schedule lists each exam’s format next to its date and start time.
The Bluebook app
Bluebook is the College Board’s secure testing application. Once it starts your exam, it takes over the screen, blocks other apps, and does not rely on a constant internet connection, so a brief drop will not erase your work.
You install it ahead of time and complete an exam setup step a few days before. For more on how this kind of locked-down testing environment behaves, see our guide to the AP lockdown browser.
How a digital AP exam works
A few days before the exam you download Bluebook and run exam setup, which checks your device and downloads what you need. On test day you sign in, enter the start code your proctor reads aloud, work through the timed sections, and the app submits your responses automatically when time is called.
For hybrid exams you complete part in Bluebook and hand-write the rest on paper that the proctor collects. Bring a fully charged device and know your school’s backup plan, since most schools expect you to test on a laptop or tablet that meets the requirements.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers, written by humans.
Are all AP exams digital?
Yes, for the 2027 exams. Every end-of-course AP exam runs in Bluebook, either fully digital or hybrid, where you handwrite your free-response answers in a paper booklet. AP Art and Design and AP Research have no end-of-course exam and are assessed through portfolio work instead.
What is the Bluebook app?
Bluebook is the College Board’s secure testing app, the same one used for the digital SAT. It locks down your device during the exam and submits your answers automatically.
Do digital AP exams need internet?
You need a connection to start and submit, but not during the exam itself. If your wifi drops mid-test, Bluebook keeps your work and syncs once the connection returns.
Which AP exams are digital?
All of them. Most reading and writing subjects, plus statistics, environmental science, and computer science, are fully digital; calculus, precalculus, biology, chemistry, physics, economics, and music theory are hybrid. The list updates yearly, so confirm your exam’s format before test day.
How do digital AP exams work?
You install Bluebook ahead of time, run exam setup, then sign in on test day with a start code. The app times each section and submits automatically, and hybrid exams add handwritten work on paper.