United States History Bee
Middle & Elementary School Divisions

Competition Format

For students competing in the Middle & Elementary School Divisions, the US History Bee is a two-stage competition, consisting of the National Qualifying Exams and the National Championships. Students can also qualify for the International History Olympiad by competing in the US History Bee.

The second stage of the US History Bee for the Middle & Elementary School Divisions is the National Championships, which for the 2025-26 academic year will take place in-person at the Hyatt Regency Orlando in Orlando, FL on Monday, May 25, 2026. The preliminary rounds will take place in the morning and the playoff rounds will take place in the afternoon. A full schedule of all events at the National Championships is available here. All students will play four preliminary round matches using standard International Academic Competitions buzzer-based online rules with 30 questions each. There will then be either one or two playoff rounds. One playoff round will be played if there are 30 students or fewer in an age division; two playoff rounds will be played if there are 31 or more students in an age division. The exact number of students who make the playoffs will be a function of the total number of registrants.

Different age divisions will be held at the National Championships for students in 8th Grade, 7th Grade, 6th Grade, 5th Grade, 4th Grade, and 3rd Grade & Younger.

The cost to compete at the 2026 US History Bee National Championships is $135. Registration for the National Championships of the US History Bee will open in November and run through early May on this page.

For all questions on the 2026 Middle & Elementary School National Championships, please email ems-info@iacompetitions.com.

Students who compete in the Middle and Elementary School Divisions of the US History Bee can qualify for the biennial International History Olympiad! In addition to the more common methods of qualifying for the Olympiad (by finishing in the top 1/3 of students at any 2025-26 or 2026-27 National History Bee Regional tournament or on a team in the top 1/4 of teams at National History Bowl Regional Tournament, or in the top 2/3 of students at the 2026 or 2027 National Championships of the National History Bee or on a team in the top 2/3 of teams at the 2026 or 2027 National Championships of the National History Bowl), students can now also qualify for the 2027 International History Olympiad by making the playoffs in their age division at the US History Bee National Championships. The complete methods for qualifying for the Olympiad are explained here.

The International History Olympiad is a week-long event with numerous competitions, field trips, family activities and more. In each event, medals are awarded to the top 3 competing students in each age division. US students compete for their state; students from other countries (or students in the USA who were born abroad or who have foreign citizenship) represent those countries. Two of the most prestigious events at the Olympiad are the International History Bee World Championships and the International History Bowl World Championships; an overall Olympiad Championship title is also awarded in each age division; please view the website at www.historyolympiad.com for further details on all events and to register.

For all questions on the International History Olympiad, please email olympiad@iacompetitions.com.