How Do CAO Points Work?
The Leaving Cert points system explained: the full H1-H8 and O1-O8 grade table, your best six results, the 25 maths bonus points, LCVP, and round one offers.
ExamAI Team7 min read 
Your Leaving Cert grades turn into a points score, and college places are awarded on that score. The CAO is the Central Applications Office, the body that takes applications for undergraduate college courses in Ireland and issues the offers. It converts grades to points using one scale that all the higher education institutions have agreed on, called the Common Points Scale.
Every number below comes from the CAO Handbook 2026 and the points calculation grid on cao.ie.
What the grades mean
A Leaving Cert grade has a letter and a number. The letter is the level you sat the paper at, H for Higher Level, O for Ordinary Level and F for Foundation Level. The number is which band of marks you landed in, from 1 at the top to 8 at the bottom.
The bands are the same at both levels. Each band down to H7 and O7 is 10 percentage points wide, and everything under 30% falls into the bottom band, H8 or O8. An H1 and an O1 both mean 90% or above. They carry different points, 100 and 56.
The full points table
| Marks in the subject | Higher Level | Ordinary Level |
|---|---|---|
| 90% to 100% | H1, 100 points | O1, 56 points |
| 80% to under 90% | H2, 88 points | O2, 46 points |
| 70% to under 80% | H3, 77 points | O3, 37 points |
| 60% to under 70% | H4, 66 points | O4, 28 points |
| 50% to under 60% | H5, 56 points | O5, 20 points |
| 40% to under 50% | H6, 46 points | O6, 12 points |
| 30% to under 40% | H7, 37 points | O7, 0 points |
| under 30% | H8, 0 points | O8, 0 points |
An H8 scores nothing, so a Higher Level subject you score under 30% in contributes zero to your total. At Ordinary Level the zero starts a band earlier, at O7, so an O7 and an O8 are both worth nothing.
An O1 is worth 56 points, the same as an H5. The top grade at Ordinary Level and a middling grade at Higher Level score the same, which is the arithmetic behind a decision to drop a subject to Ordinary Level.
Only your best six results count
The CAO adds up the six best scores, in recognised subjects, from one Leaving Certificate Examination. If you sit seven or eight subjects, the weakest ones are dropped and cost you nothing.
Only one sitting counts. You cannot combine your strongest grade in each subject across two different years.
The CAO Handbook works through this example, for an applicant with seven results in 2026.
| Subject | Level | Grade | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Irish | Higher | H2 | 88 |
| English | Ordinary | O2 | 46 |
| Maths | Higher | H5 | 56 + 25 = 81 |
| French | Higher | H6 | 46 |
| Biology | Higher | H3 | 77 |
| Geography | Ordinary | O3 | 37 |
| History | Higher | H5 | 56 |
The six best scores are 88, 81, 77, 56, 46 and 46, which come to 394 points. The Geography O3, worth 37, is the one that drops out.
The 25 bonus points for Higher Level maths
25 bonus points are added for Higher Level Mathematics at H6 and above. An H6 in Higher maths is worth 46 + 25 = 71 points.
The order of the calculation matters. You add the 25 bonus first, then pick your best six. The bonus only ends up in your total if maths is still in your best six after the bonus has been added. An H7 in Higher maths gets no bonus, because the bonus stops at H6.
An H1 in Higher maths is therefore worth 125 points, against 100 for an H1 in any other subject. An H6 with the bonus, at 71 points, scores more than an H5 in a subject without one, at 56. The Leaving Cert maths past papers and their marking schemes are all free from the State Examinations Commission. The past paper finder puts each paper beside its scheme. Our post on studying with past papers covers what to do with one once you have it.
Foundation Level maths
F1 is worth 20 points and F2 is worth 12 points. The CAO Handbook flags that some institutions do not award the points shown on the grid for Foundation Level Mathematics, so check with the admissions office of the college you are applying to.
LCVP Link Modules
The Link Modules are the assessed part of the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP), a programme some schools offer alongside your normal subjects. They are graded Distinction, Merit or Pass.
Every higher education institution awards points for the Link Modules in place of a sixth Leaving Certificate subject, at these values.
| Link Modules result | Points |
|---|---|
| Distinction | 66 points |
| Merit | 46 points |
| Pass | 28 points |
A Distinction is worth 66 points, the same as an H4, so it can take one of your six places. Eligibility works separately from points. Not all institutions count LCVP towards the minimum number of subjects you must pass, so read the literature for the specific course.
A new specification for the LCVP Link Modules is being introduced in the 2026/27 school year, along with several redeveloped subjects (gov.ie). The CAO publishes its points scale each year, so check the handbook for your own year before you plan around a number.
Points alone are not enough
Before your points are compared with anyone else's, the CAO checks that you meet the minimum entry requirements for each course you applied for. These are the specific grades a course demands, such as a certain grade in maths or in a language, and they are set by the institution offering the course. A high total does not get you a place on a course whose requirements you have missed.
How round one offers work
Round One is the offer round for applicants applying on their school leaving exam results, so it is the round that matters if you sat the Leaving Cert this year. In 2026, results are issued on Friday, 21 August and Round One offers go out at 2pm on Wednesday, 26 August. You then have until 3pm on Tuesday, 1 September to accept (CAO important dates).
For each course you are eligible for, applicants are placed in an order of merit, meaning a list sorted by points score with the highest at the top. The institution tells the CAO how many offers to make for that course, and the CAO works down the list. If you are 20th on the list and the college asks for 25 offers, you get an offer.
So the points figure quoted for a course is the score of the last person offered a place. It is produced by that year's demand and it is not set in advance, which is why last year's figure is a guide and no more. Working down one list at a time also means you are offered the highest course on your preference list that you qualify for, and never a lower one in the same round.
Where several applicants have the identical score and there are fewer places than applicants, random number selection decides it. Every applicant is assigned a random number for each course choice, and the place goes to the highest random number.
If you receive no offer by the end of Round One, you get a Statement of Application email instead, listing what the CAO holds for you. Check it and tell the CAO straight away if anything is wrong.
Accepting an offer lower down your preference list does not rule out the courses above it. You stay in the running for the courses above it in later rounds, and accepting a new offer cancels the earlier acceptance automatically. You cannot move back down your list, so a course below the one you accepted is gone.
FAQ
How many points is a H1? 100 points. An H1 means 90% or more at Higher Level.
How many points is a H4? 66 points, for 60% to under 70% at Higher Level.
What is the maximum number of CAO points? 625. That is six H1s at 100 points each, plus the 25 bonus points for Higher Level maths.
How many points is an O1? 56 points, the same as an H5.
Do you get points for LCVP? Yes. The Link Modules are worth 66 for a Distinction, 46 for a Merit and 28 for a Pass, and they count in place of a sixth subject. Not every institution counts LCVP towards eligibility requirements, so check the course.
Do you get bonus points for Ordinary Level maths? No. The 25 bonus points apply to Higher Level Mathematics at H6 or above only.
Does a seventh subject count for points? Only if it is among your best six. The other results are dropped.
Do points from two different years add together? No. Only one sitting of the Leaving Certificate Examination counts for points.
Every grade band on that table is reached one question at a time. The ExamAI tutor is built on the real past papers and their marking schemes, and it works through the exact step you are stuck on, in every subject.