The dates below are the deadlines a California community college student meets on the way to a UC or CSU. Each item carries a permanent link, the date as tracked in the TransferRoute dataset, and either its official source with a verified-on date or, for the two academic prep items, a clear advisory tag. Advisory items are TransferRoute timing guidance, not official external deadlines. Select the # beside any item to copy a direct link to it.
October 1 is the statutory open date set by the FAFSA Deadline Act of 2024, and the Department of Education says the next form is on track for it. Recent cycles have opened late, so treat this as an expected date and confirm the live open date at studentaid.gov. File as early as you can, because some aid is first-come, first-served.
File your FAFSA or California Dream Act Application and have your verified GPA on file by March 2 for the award year of your transfer. This is the deadline that governs your transfer-year Cal Grant, so do not miss it.
AB 540-eligible students file the California Dream Act Application instead of the FAFSA. The Cal Grant deadline is the same March 2, and the verified-GPA requirement is the same.
September 2 is a Cal Grant priority deadline for students currently attending a California community college, for the aid year already underway at your college. The March 2 deadline still governs the award for the year you transfer.
The Transfer Admission Guarantee filing period opens September 1 for the following fall term, at one of the six UCs that offer it: Davis, Irvine, Merced, Riverside, Santa Barbara, or Santa Cruz.
September 30 is the last day to file a TAG. That is two months before the December 1 UC application deadline, and the two are separate submissions, so do not confuse them.
The UC transfer application opens August 1. You can start your answers early, then submit later during the October 1 to December 1 window.
The submission window opens October 1 for both the UC application and Cal State Apply for fall transfer.
December 1 is the final day to submit the UC transfer application, extended from the former November 30 date and still current on the UC dates page. No late applications are accepted.
November 30 is the Cal State Apply priority deadline. Non-impacted campuses may accept later applications; impacted campuses will not.
These two items are TransferRoute timing guidance to keep you on track. They are not official external deadlines, so they carry no source link and no verified-on date.
Ask your counselor to request official general education certification (IGETC, or Cal-GETC if you started fall 2025 or later) before the end of spring semester.
Give recommenders six to eight weeks before your UC and CSU deadlines, so ask by September at the latest.
Every deadline on this page has a permanent link. Select the # next to any item to copy a direct link to that deadline, or use Cite this timeline at the top to copy a full citation with the verified-as-of date and today's access date. TransferRoute keeps this page in sync with its verified dataset, so a date you copy stays traceable to the official source it came from.
The UC transfer application is available August 1, the submission window opens October 1, and the deadline to submit is December 1 for fall transfer. These dates are verified against the UC dates and deadlines page as of July 4, 2026.
March 2 of the award year you transfer. By that date you must have filed the FAFSA or California Dream Act Application and have your verified GPA on file with the California Student Aid Commission. Verified against CSAC as of July 4, 2026.
The TAG filing period is September 1 to 30 for the following fall term, at one of the six UCs that offer it. That window closes two months before the December 1 UC application deadline. Verified against the UC dates and deadlines page as of July 4, 2026.
October 1 is the statutory open date under the FAFSA Deadline Act, but recent cycles have opened later, so treat it as expected and confirm the live date at studentaid.gov.
TransferRoute turns this timeline into a countdown for your exact transfer year, from the FAFSA open date through the Cal Grant deadline and your UC or CSU application, and reminds you what is next.
Build your profileTransferRoute is an independent planning tool and is not affiliated with any university, system, or government agency. Every official date above is re-verified against these sources; confirm the live date for your cycle before you rely on it:
Every official date on this timeline verified July 4, 2026 against its named source (UC, CSAC, CSU, and studentaid.gov). The two advisory items are TransferRoute timing guidance, not official deadlines. Confirm the live date for your cycle before you rely on it.