Regulations

1. General

1.1 The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is governed by these General Regulations together with the Annual Regulations and the Articles of Association of the IMO Association (the Articles of Association), which specify details specific to each IMO or required by national law. The Annual Regulations take precedence over the General Regulations.

1.2 An IMO takes place on dates and in a country or territory (the "Host Country") specified in the Annual Regulations.

1.3 A "Host Organisation" specified in the Annual Regulations has overall responsibility for the organisation of an IMO. The Host Organisation is responsible for ensuring that the arrangements for that IMO support the aims of the IMO and competition in the spirit of fair play. The Host Organisation may approve extensions of the deadlines specified in the Annual Regulations.

1.4 The aims of the IMO are:

• to discover, encourage and challenge mathematically gifted young people in all countries;
• to foster friendly international relationships among mathematicians of all countries;
• to create an opportunity for the exchange of information on school syllabuses and practices throughout the world;
• to promote mathematics generally.

1.5 The IMO Board is governed by the Articles of Association, the Regulations and Responsibilities of the IMO Board (IMOB) and the Rules Associated with the Election of Members to the IMO Board; those documents may be amended by resolution of the Jury (see clause 6). In particular, the IMO Board:

• makes recommendations to the Jury regarding future IMOs;
• acts on behalf of the Jury between IMOs.

On the proposal of the President or the Secretary General, the IMO Board may appoint up to three co-opted members to the Board, through a vote in which a majority of all appointed (non-co-opted) Board Members vote in favour, regardless of attendance or abstentions. Co-opted members shall be appointed to strengthen the capacity of the IMO Board by providing specific expertise. Co-opted members may be appointed at any time, and their term of service shall be up to four years. At the end of their term, co-opted members may stand for election by the full membership or be re-appointed by the Board at the end of their term. Co-opted members have voting rights.

1.6 The General Regulations may be amended, for future IMOs, by resolution of the Jury.

1.7 The Annual Regulations for an IMO must be approved by the IMO Board.

1.8 The Host Country of an IMO must contribute at least USD 5000 to the IMO Foundation (the Foundation) towards ongoing IMO infrastructure costs.

1.9 The official languages of the IMO are English, French, German, Russian and Spanish.

1.10 The International Mathematical Olympiad must be free from bullying, sexual harassment and any other form of discrimination (for example on grounds of gender identity, nationality, physical abilities, religion or sexual preference). All participants (including volunteers and organisers) must conduct themselves with dignity and show respect to everyone. No one may take advantage of the IMO for political purposes. The IMO Ethics Committee will investigate allegations of inappropriate conduct, and may sanction individuals who have violated this code of behaviour. Sanctions may include being required to leave the IMO and not to attend future IMOs. Persons against whom the Ethics Committee recommends sanction may appeal against the decision to the elected members of the IMO Board. The decision of the elected IMO Board is final. This regulation is in addition to the laws of the Host Country. The laws of the Host Country take precedence over this regulation, and allegations of serious misconduct will be reported to the police.

2. Participation

2.1 Participation in an IMO is by invitation only. Each invited country (or territory in some exceptional cases approved by the IMO Board) is entitled to send a team consisting of up to six contestants (the "Contestants"), a Leader (also: Jury member), and a Deputy Leader, to be known collectively as the participants (the "Participants"). A team must have a Leader. If a team does not have a Deputy Leader, the Leader must follow the Official Programme for Deputy Leaders, and does not receive the Shortlist (see sub-clause 6.5) or form part of the Jury (see clause 6) until after the Contest. Countries and territories participating in an IMO are referred to below as "Countries". An invitation to participate in an IMO does not confer any form of political recognition by the IMO, the IMOB or the Host Country. Measures against IMO participating countries will only be taken for breaching IMO regulations.

2.2 A Country's Contestants should be selected through that Country's national Mathematical Olympiad or equivalent selection programme. Contestants must have been born on or after 1 July in the year x-20 where x is the year of participation at the IMO. Contestants must have been normally enrolled in full-time primary or secondary education on or after 1 December in the year prior to the IMO, or, in the case of home-schooled students, must not have received a high-school diploma (or equivalent), and must be working toward such a credential on 1 December.

Contestants of Country X should normally be citizens of Country X, but genuine long-term foreign residents who are not citizens (and who are being educated in Country X) are permitted to be in the IMO team of Country X provided that the student has already spent at least one full academic year being educated in Country X, and will spend a total of at least two years in full-time education in Country X before they leave secondary education. Such a foreign education must be for a bona fide family reason, and not artificially to change national IMO status.

Note that IMO tourism is not permitted: a student may not attempt the final selection examinations of more than one country in a given IMO year.

The Board may approve deviations from this regulation in exceptional circumstances, and will publish its reasons for so doing.

2.3 Observers, including family members, (the "Observers") may apply to accompany the Participants. Observers may be:

• Observer A, accompanying the Leader and residing at or near the Leaders' sites;
• Observer B, accompanying the Deputy Leader and residing at or near the Deputy Leaders' sites;
• Observer C, accompanying the contestants and residing at their site.

The Annual Regulations specify the charges for Observers and the deadlines for payment of such charges. Since extra accommodation is limited, no guarantee is given that applications to accompany the Participants will be successful. Members of the IMO Board who are not Leaders may attend as Observers A; the Host Organisation may, but is not obliged to, waive the charges for them. The Host Organisation should waive the charges for one Observer A and one Observer B from the Host Country for the following year's IMO.

2.4 The official programme (the "Official Programme") as referred to below is the programme and outline itinerary for an IMO and associated events. The Host Organisation reserves the right to amend or revise the Official Programme in whole or part. If it becomes necessary to make any significant changes, Participants and Observers of the invited Countries must be notified. Before the Host Organisation makes significant changes, the changes should be approved by the IMO Board.

• The Official Programme contains, among other things, details of accommodation arrangements (including food) for Participants and Observers and the venues for various official events associated with an IMO. The detailed Official Programme may not be disclosed until arrival.

2.5 Each invited Country wishing to participate in an IMO must confirm their participation online (https://local.imo-official.org) using the username and password provided by the Host Organisation, no later than the date specified in the Annual Regulations. This also confirms that the Leader agrees to abide by the General Regulations and the Annual Regulations for that IMO. Participants, Observers and their travel details must be registered by the dates specified in the Annual Regulations.

2.6 Leaders and Deputy Leaders are responsible for the conduct of the Contestants, and for the avoidance of doubt the Leaders and Deputy Leaders are acting in loco parentis for their Contestants except where the Host Organisation has been notified in writing that an Observer has been nominated to act in loco parentis.

2.7 Leaders and Deputy Leaders must ensure that their Contestants know and fully understand clause 5 of these Regulations. They must also make it clear that any Contestant who violates any of these Regulations may be liable to disqualification from an IMO. In order to avoid any trouble or accident, Leaders and Deputy Leaders must also fully inform their Contestants of the information for Contestants provided by the Host Organisation.

2.8 The Host Organisation should invite a team from each Country that has participated in any of the three previous IMOs. In special cases the IMO Board should specify the Countries to be invited, taking into account financial and accommodation constraints and the following guidelines:

• where two or more Countries that have each participated in past IMOs unite to form one country or territory, one team from the united Country should be invited;
• where a Country that has participated in past IMOs breaks up to become a number of separate countries or territories, each of the new countries or territories should be invited to send a team to the IMO, but no invitation should be sent to the former Country that has now been divided (there should not be "double representation").

2.9 A country or territory that has not participated in any of the three previous IMOs may be invited to send a team, or to send an Observer with a view to sending a team to the following IMO, with the approval of the IMO Board and the Host Countries for the following two IMOs.

2.10 The Leader should be sufficiently involved in mathematics to carry out the following responsibilities.

• Inform the Contestants, the Deputy Leader and other persons involved, of the regulations for the Olympiad. In particular the Leader has to inform the Contestants that the use of notebooks, mathematical tables, calculators, computers, etc. is not allowed.
• Ensure that their Country submits problems to the Problem Selection Committee of the Host Country. Ensure that the proposed problems and their solutions are kept secret.
• Attend all the meetings of the Jury of the IMO and take part in its work.
• Inform the Jury if any shortlisted problem is already known to them, their team or other people involved in the preparation of the team.
• Ensure the preparation of an accurate translation of the chosen problems into the contestants' own languages for the use of their team.
• Ensure that the deadlines set by the Host Country are met.
• Ensure that the Contestants from their Country receive fair scores in coordination that are consistent with the marking schemes and fairly reward the quality of their work.
• Keep their Country's contact details on https://local.imo-official.org up to date.
• Inform their national committee of decisions taken by the Jury during the IMO.

2.11 The Deputy Leader should be sufficiently involved in mathematics to help the Leader, and in case of an emergency to replace the Leader. In particular, the Deputy Leader should:

• assist the Leader with the evaluation of the team's solutions to the problems;
• assist the Leader during the coordination of the problems.

Additional responsibilities include:

• Inform the Contestants of the regulations pertaining to the examination.
• Supervise the conduct and welfare of the team during the activities of the IMO.

2.12 Government officials and other non-mathematicians are welcome to attend the IMO and are encouraged to do so as Observers.

3. Responsibility for Accommodation and Expenses

3.1 The official arrival and departure sites are specified in the Annual Regulations.

3.2 The Host Organisation covers all official expenses for Participants and Observers, including accommodation, meals, transport between the official arrival and departure sites and the accommodation sites, as well as other necessary transport between the accommodation sites and other venues on the Official Programme for all the Participants and Observers.

3.3 Other than in respect of the provision of accommodation, meals and transport during the Official Programme as detailed in sub-clause 3.1, the Host Organisation is not liable under any circumstances for any costs or expenses whatsoever or howsoever incurred by any Participant or Observer in connection with an IMO. In particular, the Host Organisation is not liable for any expenses derived from:

• spending extra days in the Host Country outside the periods specified in the Annual Regulations;
• travel to and from the Host Country incurred by Participants or Observers;
• travel within the Host Country prior to arrival at the chosen official arrival site or following departure from the chosen official departure site incurred by Participants or Observers.

3.4 All Participants and Observers are responsible for obtaining full accident, health and travel insurance. It is the Leader's responsibility to confirm online (https://local.imo-official.org) using the username and password provided by the Host Organisation that this condition has been met for all Participants and Observers of their team.

3.5 The Host Organisation must offer opportunities to Participants and Observers for excursions and/or cultural trips but is under no obligation to organise specific activities.

3.6 The Annual Regulations specify whether accommodation is in shared or single rooms. Where accommodation is in shared rooms, the Annual Regulations may permit application to be made for a single room, and specify the charges for accommodation in single rooms and the deadlines for payment of such charges. Since extra accommodation is limited, no guarantee is given that such applications will be successful. No charge is made for single rooms for members of the IMO Board who are Leaders.

4. Proposals for Problems

4.1 Each participating Country other than the Host Country is expected to submit up to six proposed problems, with solutions, to be received by the Problem Selection Committee no later than the date specified in the Annual Regulations. Only the Leader may submit the proposals, following a secure procedure.

4.2 The proposals should, as far as possible, cover various fields of pre-university mathematics and be of varying degrees of difficulty. They should be new and may not have been suggested for or used in any other mathematics competition.

4.3 The proposals must only be written in the official languages. The proposals and solutions should be accompanied by their English versions.

5. Contest Regulations

5.1 The contest element of an IMO (the "Contest") takes place on two consecutive days specified in the Annual Regulations, neither of which should normally be a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, under the direction of the Chief Invigilator appointed by the Host Organisation. On each day of the Contest the examination starts in the morning and lasts for four and a half hours. Each of the two examination papers consists of three problems. The IMO exam can only be taken remotely in the event of Force Majeure (e.g. war, natural disasters such as earthquakes or tsunamis). No other exceptions are possible, such as health issues, religious reasons, etc.

5.2 Each Contestant may receive the problems in one or two or three languages, previously requested on the registration form, provided that the Jury (as defined in sub-clause 6.1) has approved the relevant translation. At least one of the requested languages must be an official language.

5.3 Each Contestant must work independently and submit solutions in their own language. The solutions must be written on answer forms provided by the Host Organisation. Contestants must write on only one side of each answer form.

5.4 The only instruments permitted in the Contest are writing and drawing instruments, such as rulers and compasses. In particular, books, papers, tables, calculators, protractors, computers and communication devices are not allowed into the examination room. Requests for special needs will generally not be granted if they would provide contestants with conditions from which other contestants could also benefit, such as additional time, the use of a computer for writing, a separate room or similar arrangements.

5.5 The Jury, Observers and any others who have any knowledge of the problems and solutions before the examinations must do their utmost to ensure that no Contestant has any information, direct or indirect, about any proposed problem. They must also ensure that all Contest problems and solutions are kept strictly confidential until after the entire Contest has finished. They are barred, from the moment of their arrival at the Jury site until the conclusion of the second examination, from having any external communication with Contestants, Deputy Leaders and Observers B and C. However, if such communication becomes necessary because of an emergency, the Host Organisation must provide proper assistance. Similarly, Contestants, Deputy Leaders and Observers B and C are barred from contacting Leaders and Observers A during the same period of time. Information about arrivals, delays and similar messages are to be directed exclusively to the published IMO office and may be forwarded by the office to the Leaders upon request.

5.6 The total number of prizes (first, second and third) must be approved by the Jury and must not exceed half the total number of Contestants unless this is approved by at least two thirds of the members of the Jury. The numbers of first, second and third prizes must be approximately in the ratio 1:2:3.

5.7 Special prizes may be awarded for solutions considered outstanding by the Jury. Proposals for such special prizes are put forward by the Chief Coordinator appointed by the Host Organisation.

5.8 The prizes are awarded at the Closing Ceremony. Each Contestant who has not received a first, second or third prize receives a Certificate of Honourable Mention if they have received seven points for the solution of at least one problem.

5.9 Each Participant and Observer receives a Certificate of Participation.

5.10 Participants and Observers consent to the publication of their names and photographs on the IMO website. Results may be anonymised and photographs removed on a request made by a Contestant at least two years after their final participation at the IMO. Such a request must be made through the registered IMO contact for that Contestant's Country.

6. Jury Regulations

6.1 The "Jury" consists of all Leaders (also: Jury members), together with a Chair. A Leader may be replaced by their Deputy Leader in an emergency (subject to the prior approval and consent of the Chair of the Jury). Members of the IMO Board who are not already members of the Jury, members of the Problem Selection Committee and the Coordinators (as defined in clause 7 below) may also attend meetings of the Jury as observers. Observers may attend meetings of the Jury only with the permission of the Chair of the Jury, but are not entitled to speak or vote. However, they may exceptionally speak at the explicit request of the Chair of the Jury. Deputy Leaders may attend, as observers, meetings of the Jury held after the Contest.

6.2 Only Jury members may vote in the decisions of the Jury and each Jury member has one vote. A motion is carried by a simple majority of those voting. In the event of a tie, the Chair has a casting vote.

6.3 The Jury may appoint sub-committees to consider specific matters.

6.4 The meetings of the Jury are conducted principally in English. The Chair should request a translation into some of the official languages as needed.

6.5 In reference to clause 4, the Problem Selection Committee appointed by the Host Organisation selects a number of submitted problem proposals to form the Problem Shortlist of an IMO ("Shortlist"). Each Jury member receives the Shortlist for themself and their Observers A on the first day of the Official Programme for Leaders, or upon arrival at the Jury site if later.

6.6 The Shortlist has to be kept strictly confidential until the conclusion of the following International Mathematical Olympiad.

6.7 Before the Contest the Jury

• verifies that all Contestants comply with the prescribed conditions for participation;
• selects the Contest problems from the Shortlist;
• prepares and approves the official versions of the Contest problems in the official languages;
• approves the translations of the Contest problems into all required languages;
• approves the marking schemes that have been prepared under the direction of the Chief Coordinator.

6.8 On each day of the Contest, the Jury considers written questions raised by Contestants during the first half hour of the Contest and decides on replies.

6.9 After the Contest, the Jury

• receives and approves a report made by the Chief Invigilator on the conduct of the examinations;
• receives a report from the Chief Coordinator on any unresolved disputes which may have arisen during coordination (as in sub-clause 7.5) and determines the appropriate scores;
• approves the scores of all Contestants;
• decides winners of first, second and third prizes;
• considers and makes decisions on all proposals to award special prizes;
• considers matters raised about future International Mathematical Olympiads.

6.10 Any allegation or suspicion of a violation of the Regulations generally must be reported to the Chair of the Jury. If they consider there is a prima facie case, they must form a committee to investigate further. The committee must report its findings to the Jury. The Jury must decide whether a violation has occurred and, if it decides that one has, then it must decide what sanction, if any, to apply. Possible sanctions include the disqualification of an individual Contestant or an entire team from the competition. The decision of the Jury is final.

7. Coordination

7.1 Coordination is the process where the official scores of each Contestant are determined in a homogeneous, fair and transparent manner. Leaders of each country must submit the papers of their Contestants to a coordination group provided by the Host Organisation. The coordination group consists of a Chief Coordinator and, for each problem, a Problem Captain and a group of Coordinators for that problem.

7.2 For each problem, each Contestant receives an integer score out of a maximum of seven points.

7.3 Prior to coordination, Contestants' solutions are assessed by Leaders and Deputy Leaders, and, independently, by Coordinators, in accordance with the marking schemes approved by the Jury. Before the official approval of the results only Participants and Observers at the IMO and other people present at the IMO at the invitation of the Host Organisation may see Contestants' solutions. Leaders, Deputy Leaders, and Observers are encouraged to assist the Leaders and Deputy Leaders of other Countries in cases of difficult solutions.

7.4 Each coordination session involves two Coordinators provided by the Host Organisation and representatives of the relevant Country. Two representatives, normally the Leader and Deputy Leader, are permitted to participate actively in any one session. With the approval of the Chief Coordinator, one further representative or Coordinator may be present to observe the coordination process but cannot take any active part in it.

7.5 The Leader and the designated Coordinators should agree on the scores for each Contestant. These scores are recorded on official forms and signed by the Leader and the Coordinators. If the Leader and the Coordinators fail to agree on a score for a Contestant, the matter is first referred to the Problem Captain for that problem, provided by the Host Organisation. If there is still no agreement, the matter is referred to the Chief Coordinator. If the Leader and Chief Coordinator then fail to agree on a score, the Chief Coordinator reports the matter to the Jury with a recommendation as to what the score should be. The Jury then determines the score.

7.6 If, during a coordination session, the designated Coordinators consider that an irregularity may have occurred, they must immediately refer the matter to the Chief Coordinator. Unless they are satisfied that there is no case to answer, they must report the situation to the Chair of the Jury (see sub-clause 6.10).

7.7 For each problem, solutions by Contestants from the Host Country are coordinated by the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Country that submitted the problem, with the assistance of the Problem Captain for that problem.

8. Entire Agreement and Understanding

8.1 The Participants and Observers acknowledge that the Articles of Association, these Regulations, and the documents referred to herein, constitute the full agreement and understanding of their parties and supersede any previous discussions or representations made by or on the behalf of the Host Organisation in respect of an IMO.

9. Force Majeure

9.1 In these Regulations, "force majeure" means any cause preventing the Host Organisation from performing any or all of its obligations that arises from or is attributable to acts, events, omissions or accidents beyond the reasonable control of the party so prevented, including without limitation strikes, lock-outs or other industrial disputes (whether involving the workforce of the party so prevented or of any other party), act of God, war, riot, civil commotion, malicious damage, compliance with any law or governmental order, rule, regulation or direction, accident, breakdown of plant or machinery, earthquake, typhoon, fire, flood, storm, or default of suppliers or sub-contractors.

9.2 If the Host Organisation is prevented from or delayed in performing any of its obligations to the Participants and Observers under these Regulations by force majeure, it has no liability in respect of the performance of those obligations affected by the force majeure events, both during the continuation of such events and for such time after they cease as is necessary for the Host Organisation to recommence its affected operations in order for it to perform its obligations.

Overview

• All deadlines are at 17:00 Beijing Time (UTC +8:00).
• All sums of money mentioned are denominated in CNY (RMB).
• The 67th International Mathematical Olympiad is henceforth known as IMO 2026.
• IMO 2026 is governed by these regulations and the IMO General Regulations.
• Where there is a conflict between the IMO 2026 Annual Regulations and the IMO General Regulations, the Annual Regulations take precedence.

Official Information

• The host organisations for IMO 2026 are the Chinese Mathematical Society and the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission.
• Invoices will be sent from 67imo2026@sina.com.
• The IMO 2026 official website: https://www.imo2026.cn.
• The Host Region for IMO 2026 is Shanghai, China.
• The IMO 2026 Exam will be held at Shanghai High School.

Summary of Key Dates

Program and Deadlines

1. The official program begins on Friday 10 July 2026.
2. Official Arrival Days are:
   1. IMO Board (IMOB) - Thursday 9 July 2026
   2. Leaders - Friday 10 July 2026
   3. Observer A (Obs A) - Friday 10 July 2026
   4. Coordinators - Sunday 12 July 2026
   5. Students - Monday 13 July 2026
   6. Deputy Leaders - Monday 13 July 2026
   7. Observer B (Obs B) - Monday 13 July 2026
   8. Observer C (Obs C) - Monday 13 July 2026
3. The official program terminates on Tuesday 21 July 2026 (Departure Day) for all attendees.
4. The Contest Days for IMO 2026 are:
   1. Wednesday 15 July 2026
   2. Thursday 16 July 2026
5. Deadlines:

   a)	Friday 13 February 2026	Online registration of countries / territories
   b)	Friday 20 March 2026	Online registration of Leaders / Deputies / Observers
   c)	Friday 20 March 2026	Online registration of student numbers
   d)	Friday 17 April 2026	Final date to submit problems for the Shortlist
   e)	Friday 17 April 2026	Final date to request remote sitting
   f)	Friday 29 May 2026	Online registration of full student details
   g)	Friday 1 May 2026	Official invitations (Individual) sent
   h)	Friday 29 May 2026	Full payment of fees
   i)	Friday 5 June 2026	Online registration of travel details

Transport and Arrivals

6. Official Arrival Sites:
   1. Shanghai Pudong International Airport ↗
   2. Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport ↗
   Official Arrival Dates:
   1. 9 July - IMOB
   2. 10 July - Leaders / Obs A
   3. 12 July - Coordinators
   4. 13 July - Students / Deputy / Obs B / Obs C
7. The organizers will arrange the following transportations:
   1. Buses will be organized from the Official Arriving Sites to attendees' accommodation, on the official arrival days only.
   2. Buses will be organized for the leaders and coordinators from the Leaders' Site to Deputy / Obs B / Obs C Site on 16 July 2026.
   3. Shuttle buses will operate between the Deputy / Obs B / Obs C Sites and the Students' Sites from 13 to 20 July 2026, 8:00 am to 9:00 pm daily (with additional buses during "peak times").
   4. Buses on Departure Day will transfer attendees to both Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.
8. Early Arrivals can be booked independently into Hua Ting Hotel by telephone at 86-21-64391000. (For leaders who arrive earlier and stay at Hua Ting Hotel, shuttles may be arranged or requested to move to the Leader's Site on 10 July 2026.)
9. Students who arrive before the event and stay at Hua Ting Hotel are required to move to the on-campus dormitories of Shanghai High School on 13 July 2026.
10. Transport outside of these parameters will not be supported by IMO 2026.

Accommodation

11. There are three (3) primary accommodation locations for IMO 2026:
    1. "Leaders' and Coordinators' Site" (IMOB, Leaders, Obs A, Coordinators)
    2. "Deputy, Obs B, Obs C's Site"
    3. "Students' Site"
12. Leaders' and Coordinators' Site:
    1. Leaders' Site
       • Check-in 10 July 2026 (IMOB on 9 July 2026)
       • Check-out 16 July 2026
    2. IMOB / Leaders / Obs A will move sites on 16 July to Hua Ting Hotel
       • Check-in 16 July 2026
       • Check-out 21 July 2026
    3. Standard accommodation is a single room per person.
13. Deputy, Obs B, Obs C's Site:
    1. The Kunlun Hua Ting Hotel & Towers, Shanghai (Hua Ting Hotel for short)
       • Check-in 13 July 2026
       • Check-out 21 July 2026
    2. Standard accommodation is a single room per person.
14. Students' Site:
    1. On-campus dormitories of Shanghai High School
       • Check-in 13 July 2026
       • Check-out 21 July 2026
    2. Twin-share room accommodation.
15. Deputy leaders or Observers who wish to stay at the Students' Site may submit a formal request (through their leaders). The event organizers will decide on the request, in consultation with the IMO Board. We may not guarantee single rooms.

Single Rooms and Delegations

16. All registered leaders, deputies, and observers (except those staying at the Students' Site) will be accommodated in single rooms.
17. Payment for participation in IMO 2026:
    • Obs A: CNY 20,000
    • Obs B and Obs C staying at hotels: CNY 10,000
    • Obs B and Obs C staying on-campus at Shanghai High School: CNY 7,000
    There are no refunds on fee payments for non-attendance or changes in circumstances.
18. Invitations for countries/territories to attend IMO 2026 will be issued by 30 December 2025.
19. Official contacts on the IMO-Official website will receive official invitations for individuals by no later than Friday 1 May 2026, provided all details and roles have been submitted.
20. Participating countries are strongly encouraged to investigate their visa requirements for China as soon as possible.
21. Communications not sent from the official email address of a Leader or official national IMO contact will not be responded to.
22. Participating countries are strongly encouraged to investigate their insurance requirements for travel to and while in China, with IMO 2026 organizers accepting no responsibility for travel and health insurance of the members of any delegation.
23. All persons attending IMO 2026 in any capacity will be legally bound by the laws of China.

In Loco Parentis and Exam

24. For each student less than 18 years old, Deputy Leaders must supply a legally notarized document valid in their country, signed by the parents of the student, assigning in loco parentis (legal guardianship) to the Leader, Deputy Leader or an Observer during the event.
25. This document must be completed in Chinese or English.
26. The IMO 2026 Exams will be held at Shanghai High School.
27. The Exam Room will be open from 7:30 am.
28. From 8:15 am, students will not be permitted to leave the room until after Q&A.
29. Students will sit the exam from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm.
30. The Q&A period will be held from 8:30 am to 9:00 am.
31. Contestants will not be permitted entry to the exam after 9:00 am.
32. Students from the same team are not permitted to leave the Exam Room at the same time.
33. Students will not be permitted to leave the exam room in the final 15 minutes.
34. The exam will finish at 1:00 pm, with students released in an orderly manner thereafter.
35. The times listed above are all indicative only and may change due to unforeseen circumstances.

Non-Students, Safety and Shortlist

36. Deputy Leaders / Obs B will be permitted the opportunity to undertake the IMO 2026 exam under conditions determined by the host country, which will be provided on arrival.
37. Deputy Leaders / Obs B granted the opportunity to undertake the exam will not be considered participants in the contest.
38. Security protocols will be in place at venues, and unauthorized persons will not be permitted at any site, including parents who are not part of official delegations.
39. The IMO 2026 Safety and Wellbeing Manager has primary responsibility for the safety of students and will provide a report to the Jury and make recommendations regarding safety and wellbeing to the IMO 2026 Event Director, IMO Ethics Committee, IMOB and Jury where required throughout the event.
40. The laws of China take precedence over these Regulations and the IMO General Regulations, and serious allegations will be reported to police and/or may result in removal from the venue at the cost of the individual.
41. Proposals for problems must be received by Friday 17 April 2026.
42. Proposals must be submitted via the portal on the IMO Official website.
43. The final shortlisted problems will be available to Leaders and Observers A on 10 July 2026 (Leaders' Arrival Day).

Remote Sitting

44. Remote sitting will not be provided, except in exceptional circumstances at the absolute discretion of the event organizers, in consultation with the IMOB.
45. The exam shortlist is not provided to countries/territories participating remotely.

Procedure to be followed by a new country wishing to take part in the International Mathematical Olympiad

If a country would like to become a participant in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO), the procedure is as follows:

1. The Ministry of Education of the country, and/or the country's national Mathematical Association, should send a formal letter of application for an invitation to send an Observer to the next IMO. The letter of application should be addressed to the Secretary General of the IMO Board, at the address provided in the PDF document, and it can be sent by e-mail.

2. The application should include information on how the country plans to select and prepare its national team for the event. Copies of national Mathematical Olympiad papers, for example, should be included. Any other relevant information (such as participation in regional Mathematical Olympiads) should also be included.

3. The application is then considered by the IMO Board. If the application for Observer status is approved, the host country of the next IMO will issue an invitation to the country to send an Observer or Observers (who must be adults) to the IMO. The country will be responsible for paying all costs involved, including the travelling expenses of the Observer/s, and the relevant accommodation costs as set by the host country. (When a country becomes a full member of the IMO, all accommodation costs of the Team Leader, Deputy Team Leader and the team members are covered by the host country.)

4. At the IMO the Observer will be able to gain a great deal of insight into how the IMO is run, the standards expected of participating countries, and how other countries select and train their teams.

5. With the agreement of the host countries for the following two years, full membership of the IMO is then granted for the following year by the IMO Board.