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What are the deadlines for the ACA’s open enrollment period?

Learn when enrollment for 2027 ACA-compliant coverage starts and how deadlines will change

ACA open enrollment deadlines for 2027 coverage

Author: Louise Norris

Updated April 28, 2026

When is the Affordable Care Act’s annual open enrollment period?
How is the open enrollment schedule changing?
What was the deadline to enroll in 2026 ACA-compliant health insurance coverage in the individual market?
States that continued 2026 enrollment past the OEP deadline
Outside of ACA’s open enrollment window, enrollment is only available with a special enrollment period
Open enrollment schedule has varied over time

When is the Affordable Care Act’s annual open enrollment period?

The annual ACA open enrollment window for 2026 coverage ended in early 2026. The open enrollment period followed the same schedule that had been used for the last few years, with most states running open enrollment from November 1 through January 15.

Here’s everything we know right now about ACA open enrollment deadlines going forward:

How is the open enrollment schedule changing?

Starting in the fall of 2026, open enrollment will be shorter and will end on December 15 in many states. And all plans selected during open enrollment will take effect on January 1, as there will no longer be an option for a February 1 start date without a special enrollment period.

State-run exchanges have the option to extend their enrollment period later than December 15, but not later than December 31, and will have to ensure that all plans selected during open enrollment take effect on January 1.¹

In all states except Idaho and Georgia, open enrollment for 2027 coverage will begin on November 1, 2026. (In Idaho, it will begin on October 15,² and in Georgia it will begin on October 19).³

And although December 15, 2026 will be the enrollment deadline for 2027 coverage in most states (including the 29 states that will use HealthCare.gov for 2027 coverage), the following state-run exchanges have announced later enrollment deadlines:

Massachusetts: December 23⁴
California: December 31⁵
Colorado: December 31⁶
Kentucky: December 31⁷
Nevada: December 31⁸
New Mexico: December 31⁹
Rhode Island: December 31¹⁰
Washington: December 31¹¹

Pennsylvania’s exchange has proposed using a December 15 enrollment deadline,¹² and Georgia's exchange has confirmed a December 15 enrollment deadline.³

We’ll continue to update this page as we get closer to open enrollment and more state-run exchanges announce the deadlines that they’ll be using for 2027 coverage.

What was the deadline to enroll in 2026 ACA-compliant health insurance coverage in the individual market?

In most states, open enrollment for individual/family health coverage for 2026 ended on January 15, 2026, although it ended in December 2025 in Idaho, and there are several states where it continued until January 31, 2026. Washington, D.C. had the latest enrollment deadline of February 4, which was a last-minute extension.¹³

States that continued 2026 enrollment past the OEP deadline

Although open enrollment for 2026 coverage has ended in Connecticut, people who are eligible for Connecticut’s new state-funded subsidies have a special enrollment period that began February 1, 2026.¹⁴ This special enrollment window was still ongoing as of mid-April 2026.¹⁵

And in Illinois, people whose 2025 coverage automatically renewed – and who had not claimed their Get Covered Illinois account by February 1, 2026 – had a special enrollment period that continued through March 31, during which they could select a different plan to cover them for the rest of 2026.¹⁶

(Illinois transitioned from HealthCare.gov to the Get Covered Illinois platform for the 2026 plan year. Illinois residents with HealthCare.gov were assigned Get Covered Illinois accounts as part of the transition, but some enrollees didn’t visit the new site and let their coverage auto-renew instead. These people were eligible for the special enrollment period.)

Outside of ACA’s open enrollment window, enrollment is only available with a special enrollment period

After open enrollment ends, people can normally only purchase coverage if they have a special enrollment period (SEP) triggered by a qualifying life event. You can learn more about special enrollment periods in our Special Enrollment Guide.

Read: Who doesn’t need a qualifying life event to enroll in health insurance outside of open enrollment?

Open enrollment schedule has varied over time

In the federally run Marketplaces, the following enrollment windows have been used (with some last-minute extensions, and with somewhat different schedules used by the state-run Marketplaces):

2014 coverage: October 1, 2013 through March 31, 2014
2015 coverage: November 15, 2014 through February 15, 2015
2016 coverage: November 1, 2015 through January 31, 2016
2017 coverage: November 1, 2016 through January 31, 2017
2018 coverage: November 1, 2017 through December 15, 2017
2019 coverage: November 1, 2018 through December 15, 2018
2020 coverage: November 1, 2019 through December 15, 2019
2021 coverage: November 1, 2020 through December 15, 2020
2022 coverage: November 1, 2021 through January 15, 2022
2023 coverage: November 1, 2022 through January 15, 2023
2024 coverage: November 1, 2023 through January 16, 2024 (one-day extension due to a federal holiday)
2025 coverage: November 1, 2024 through January 15, 2025
2026 coverage: November 1, 2025 through January 15, 2026
2027 coverage: November 1, 2026 through December 15, 2026¹⁷