The AKC schedule of points is the table that turns an entry into championship points. It tells you how many dogs or bitches of your breed have to compete for a win to be worth 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 points.
Every exhibitor ends up reading it, usually the week a premium list comes out. Here is how it works, the full 2026 table for every breed, and a calculator that does the lookup for you.
How the schedule works
A win earns 0 to 5 points. To find out how many, count the dogs of your breed (or variety) and sex that competed in the regular classes, winner included. The schedule gives a minimum count for each point level, and the win is worth the highest level the entry reaches. Below the 1-point number, the win earns nothing. Five points is the most any show gives.
The count is the dogs that actually competed. Dogs that were absent, disqualified, dismissed or excused, and dogs with all awards withheld, are left out.
Divisions: it depends where the show is
AKC splits the country into 15 divisions, and each one has its own numbers. The division comes from the state where the show is held. Alaska, Hawaii, and Mexico with Puerto Rico each have a division of their own. The states in each division did not change from 2025 to 2026.
- Division 1Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
- Division 2Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania
- Division 3District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia
- Division 4Florida, Georgia, South Carolina
- Division 5Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio
- Division 6Colorado, Nevada, Utah
- Division 7Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas
- Division 8Oregon, Washington
- Division 9Arizona, California
- Division 10Alaska
- Division 11Hawaii
- Division 12Mexico, Puerto Rico
- Division 13Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming
- Division 14Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee
- Division 15Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Wisconsin
Dogs and bitches are counted apart
Every breed has two rows, one for dogs and one for bitches, and each sex is counted against its own row. Popular breeds need more entries per point, and the bitch numbers are often higher than the dog numbers. Compare a Labrador Retriever in Division 1 with a Schipperke in Division 4:
| Breed, division | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labrador Retriever dogs, Div. 1 | 2 | 9 | 15 | 21 | 31 |
| Labrador Retriever bitches, Div. 1 | 3 | 14 | 24 | 40 | 71 |
| Schipperke dogs or bitches, Div. 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Four Schipperkes of one sex make a major in Division 4. A Labrador bitch in Division 1 needs 24.
A major is 3 points or more
In AKC's words, “a major is a final credited rating of 3–5 points at one show.” A Champion needs two of them under two different judges, so the 3-point column is the one most exhibitors check first. The table below shades the major columns. How majors work goes into the detail.
A new schedule every May 12
AKC publishes a new schedule every year. The 2026 schedule took effect on May 12, 2026, and it applies to shows from that date until the next one takes over. A show held before May 12, 2026 uses the 2025 schedule, so check the show date, not today's date, when you look up an older win.
