Points Calculator: Leaving Cert & CAO Points (Ireland)

This points calculator adds up your Leaving Certificate results into CAO points, using the official Common Points Scale. Pick a grade for each subject, add your Maths bonus and LCVP if they apply, and it counts your best six results for you. It is for Irish students, parents and guidance teachers who want a quick, correct total before applying for college.

How CAO points are worked out

The Central Applications Office (CAO) gives each Leaving Cert result a number of points. For most undergraduate courses, your offer depends on how your points compare with other applicants. The rules are short, and the CAO sets them out on its Leaving Certificate points page.

• Only your six best results count, from recognised subjects.
• Only one sitting of the Leaving Cert counts. You cannot mix results from two different years.
• Each result is worth points based on its level (Higher or Ordinary) and grade.
• Higher Level Maths earns bonus points, and LCVP can replace a sixth subject.

The CAO’s own calculator allows up to nine results: eight subjects plus LCVP. This tool follows the same limit. Enter what you have, and it picks the best six. You can also leave a target in the last field, such as last year’s points for your course, and the calculator shows how far above or below it you are.

The scale here is the one used for Leaving Cert results from 2017 onwards. The CAO keeps a separate page for applicants who sat the exam before 2017, so this calculator is not suitable for older results.

Calculate it by hand in four steps

1. Write down each result with its level and grade, such as H3 or O2.
2. Look up the points in the grid below, and add 25 to Higher Level Maths if you got a H6 or better.
3. Add the LCVP points if you took it, treating it as one more result.
4. Sort from highest to lowest and add the top six.

The calculator does exactly this, which makes it a good way to check your own sums.

The Leaving Cert points grid

Each grade has a fixed value. Higher Level has the larger range, and the scales meet at the middle: a H5 and an O1 are both worth 56 points. You can check these numbers against the CAO’s points calculation grid.

That answers a lot of the quick searches. A H1 is 100 points, a H2 is 88, a H3 is 77, a H4 is 66 and a H5 is 56. A H8, O7 or O8 earns nothing.

The gaps between grades are not even. Going from a H3 to a H2 adds 11 points, but H2 to H1 adds 12, and H4 to H3 also adds 11. Between H6 and H5 the jump is 10. Across six subjects, one grade step moves your total by 10 to 12 points, so a single result can matter when you are close to a course’s points.

The Higher Level Maths bonus

The CAO adds 25 bonus points to Higher Level Maths for a grade of H6 or above. If you get a H6, you get its 46 points plus 25, so Maths is worth 71. A H1 becomes 125.

The rule that catches people out is that the bonus only counts when Maths is one of your best six results after the bonus is added. If you have six other results that are all worth more than your boosted Maths, Maths does not make the six, and the bonus does nothing for you. The calculator handles this automatically, and it also shows your total without the bonus so you can see exactly what it added. The CAO’s bonus points document has more examples.

A H7, H8 or any Ordinary Level Maths grade does not get the bonus. The bonus is also bigger than any single grade step on the scale, because the largest gap between two Higher Level grades is 12 points.

LCVP and Foundation Maths

The Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP) link modules are scored separately: Distinction is 66, Merit is 46 and Pass is 28. The CAO counts them in place of a sixth Leaving Cert subject, so an LCVP Distinction can replace a weaker subject in your best six. Not every college counts LCVP towards minimum entry requirements, so check the course before you rely on it.

Foundation Level Maths earns 20 points for F1 and 12 points for F2. The CAO notes that only some colleges award these points, and the same caution applies to Foundation Level Irish. The calculator includes Foundation as a Maths option because the CAO grid shows it, but ask the college before you plan around it.

Worked examples

These are made-up result sets that show how the rules work. Try them in the calculator to see the breakdown.

In example A, Maths H3 is worth 77 plus 25, so 102 points. That puts it first in the best six, and the bonus adds 25 to the final total. In example D, Maths H6 is worth 71, but seven other results are each worth 77 or more. Maths does not make the best six, so the bonus changes nothing. In example C, the LCVP Distinction (66) beats the Maths H7 (37) and a weaker subject, which is why it is worth entering.

Example E shows the highest score you can reach: five H1s at 100 each plus Higher Level Maths at 125, which is 625.

Higher or Ordinary: what the points show

The grid makes the trade-off between levels easy to see. For the same grade number, Higher Level is always worth more, and the gap shrinks as grades fall.

Three overlaps are worth knowing. A H5 earns the same 56 points as an O1. A H6 earns 46, the same as an O2. And a H7 earns 37, the same as an O3. In points terms, a modest Higher Level result matches a strong Ordinary Level one, while a H8 earns nothing, like an O7 or O8. That is a reason to think carefully before dropping a subject to Ordinary Level when you are on track for a H6 or better.

Points are only half the decision, because many courses ask for a particular level in specific subjects. A strong Ordinary Level grade may give you the points but still miss a course’s entry requirement, so read each course’s requirements as well. Your teachers and guidance counsellor know the detail for your own subjects and are the right people to ask.

What to do with your points total

Your total is only part of the story. Each course has a points requirement that changes every year, and the CAO publishes the points needed for each course on its points results page. Use last year’s figure as a guide, not a promise.

You also need to meet each course’s minimum entry requirements, such as specific subjects or grades. The CAO states that you must meet these first, whatever your points. Courses may also add their own assessments, and medicine has its own route, which the CAO explains on its entry to medicine page. Some students qualify through access routes such as DARE or HEAR, which can allow entry with reduced points. See the CAO’s access routes page for the details.

If you are still preparing for the exam, the study time planner can help you split your weeks across subjects. To track mock results, the grade average calculator and the percentage calculator work out marks and percentages, though they do not convert to CAO points. When you are planning the move itself, the Ireland cost of living calculator helps you budget for rent and daily costs, and you can find more tools in the Ireland financial calculators hub and the education calculators.

Common mistakes

• Counting more than six subjects. Only the best six count, so a seventh strong result adds nothing unless it beats one of the six.
• Combining two sittings. CAO counts one sitting only, so repeat results are not mixed with earlier ones.
• Assuming the Maths bonus is automatic. It needs a H6 or better at Higher Level and a place in your best six.
• Mixing up H and O grades. An O1 is worth 56 points, which equals a H5, not a H1.
• Treating points as an offer. Points are a ranking tool. Cut-offs move each year, and entry requirements apply as well.
• Using the calculator for older results. It applies the post-2017 scale, so results from before 2017 need the CAO’s older scale.

The tool follows the published CAO grid, but the CAO is the final authority. It accepts no responsibility for calculation or entry errors on its own calculator, and you should check your total on the CAO points calculator before you rely on it.

Frequently asked questions

How many points is a H3?

A H3 is worth 77 points. Other Higher Level grades are H1 = 100, H2 = 88, H4 = 66, H5 = 56, H6 = 46 and H7 = 37.

How are Leaving Cert points calculated?

Each result gets points based on its level and grade. The CAO then adds your best six results from one sitting, with any Maths bonus and LCVP points where they apply.

How do I calculate my CAO points?

Look up the points for each grade in the table above, add 25 to a Higher Level Maths grade of H6 or better, and take your six highest values. Or enter your grades in the calculator and let it do the sums.

Does the Maths bonus always count?

No. You need a H6 or better in Higher Level Maths, and Maths must still be in your best six once the 25 points are added.

How many points is LCVP worth?

A Distinction is worth 66 points, a Merit 46 and a Pass 28. LCVP counts in place of a sixth Leaving Cert subject.

What is the highest CAO points score?

625. That is six H1 results, with Higher Level Maths worth 125 after the bonus.