This page has one job: the dates. It lists what the John Locke Institute has published for the current cycle, what to expect for 2027 on the basis of the last two years, and how to plan backwards from the deadline. For rule changes and question analysis, see our 2027 tracker. Last checked against the official competition page: October 6, 2026.
Has the 2027 deadline been announced?
No. As of October 6, 2026, the Institute's competition page still describes the 2026 cycle, whose awards were presented in London on October 2 to 4, 2026. The 2027 questions, registration window and submission deadline have not been published. Based on the 2025 and 2026 cycles, they are expected in late January 2027. Every 2027 date below is an expectation, not an announcement, and we update this page the day the Institute publishes.
The 2026 dates, as published
| Milestone | 2026 date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Questions released | Late January 2026 | All ten categories at once |
| Registration opens | February 2, 2026 | Free |
| Registration deadline | March 31, 2026 | Free |
| Late registration | April 30, 2026 | US$10 fee |
| Submissions open | April 1, 2026 | Registered entrants only |
| Submission deadline | May 31, 2026 | Free; the age cut-off date |
| Late submission | June 7 or June 21, 2026 | £25 or £75 fee |
| Shortlist notified | July 7, 2026 | By email |
| Academic conference and awards | October 2 to 4, 2026 | London |
The expected 2027 calendar
The 2026 cycle ran about a month earlier than 2025. The safest planning assumption is that 2027 follows 2026.
| Milestone | Expected 2027 | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Questions released | Late January 2027 | High: two cycles running |
| Registration opens | Early February 2027 | High |
| Registration deadline | Late March 2027 | Medium: moved in 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Late May 2027 (May 31 if unchanged) | High |
| Paid late submission | Early to late June 2027 | Medium |
| Shortlist | Early July 2027 | High |
| Conference and awards | Autumn 2027 | Medium: location may change |
Treat late May as the working deadline. If the Institute publishes an earlier date, a student working to late May is already ahead; if it publishes a later one, the extra weeks go on revision.
Age limits and the Junior category
Eligibility is set by the regular submission deadline. In 2026 the rule was that entrants must be "under 19 years old as of the regular submission deadline (31 May, 2026)", and that "students who are under the age of 15 as of 31 May will be judged in the Junior Category. All other eligible students will be judged in the Senior Category." There is no minimum age. Junior and Senior entrants answer the same questions and are judged separately, with a full set of prizes in each.
If your child turns 15 in late May, the exact 2027 deadline decides which category they are judged in. That is one reason to check this page once the dates are published.
What the deadlines mean in practice
Two thousand words is not a long essay, but a shortlisted one is usually a fourth or fifth draft built on six to eight weeks of reading. Working back from a late-May deadline:
By mid-February: questions read, a shortlist of two, and the first reading done on both. Decide by the end of the month; students who change question in April rarely finish well.
By the end of March: reading complete, a thesis in one sentence, an outline with the objection paragraph written first. Register before the free deadline.
By mid-April: a full first draft. It will be too long and too polite; that is normal.
By mid-May: second and third drafts with feedback from someone who will tell you where the argument is thin. Endnotes and bibliography checked against the formatting rules.
Final week: proofread, PDF export, filename in the Institute's required form, submitted at least two days early. Do not plan on the paid extension; plan on not needing it.
Our free John Locke essay planner lays this out as a printable sheet, and our John Locke Essay Competition prep programmes run January, February and March cohorts timed to this calendar.
Late fees and what they buy
In 2026, registration after March 31 cost US$10 until April 30, and submission after May 31 cost £25 for a further week or £75 for three weeks. The extension buys time, not leniency: late essays are judged to the same standard. The fee is low enough that a student who is genuinely a week from a better draft should take it, and high enough that it should never be the plan.
The questions release is the real start
The single most useful date is the one the Institute never announces in advance: the day the questions appear. In 2025 and 2026 that was late January. When it happens, every one of our category question pages carries the new questions with analysis within 48 hours, and this page and the tracker are updated the same day.
More John Locke guides
For everything that is not a date (rules, categories, judging, prizes), read the complete guide to the John Locke Essay Competition. The John Locke Essay Competition prep page has the 2026 results and all four programmes compared. See also the guide to the interview after shortlisting, our analysis of the published winning essays, and whether the competition is worth entering.