Congressional App Challenge
Build an app, compete only against students in your own congressional district, and win a display in the U.S. Capitol.
Run by U.S. House of Representatives
Key facts
- Eligible grades
-
Middle or high school student at the time of app submission
The rules define eligibility by school level, not by numbered grades. Public, private and home-schooled students are all eligible.Source, checked 2026-09-01
- Eligible ages
-
Not confirmed. This organiser may set eligibility by grade rather than age. We do not convert one into the other.The Congressional App Challenge sets no age limits, only school level.
- Individual or team
- Individual or team · Individuals or teams of up to four. No more than four students may form a team. If competing as a team, at least half the teammates must be eligible to compete in the district being entered.
- Where it runs
- Online · United States
- Entry cost
- FreeThere is no entry fee.
- Registration deadline
- Submissions for 2026 close Monday 26 October 2026 at 12:00 pm ET. 47 days leftSubmit well before the day. The official rules PDF gives 12:00 pm ET while the student registration page has been reported showing a later time on the same day, and individual Member offices publish their own local times. Do not rely on the latest of these.
- Competition dates
- Judging follows the October deadline, with district winners announced in December 2026. Results are embargoed until 15 January 2027.
- Difficulty
- Some preparation neededYou will want a few weeks of targeted practice. Most motivated students place respectably.
- Prizes
- The winning app is eligible to be featured on display in the US Capitol and on House.gov, with an invitation to the #HouseOfCode celebration and waived copyright registration application fees through the ARTS Act.The winning app is displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year, featured on House.gov and the Challenge website, and receives a copyright fee waiver through the ARTS Act. Winners are invited to the #HouseOfCode reception in Washington, D.C. Some districts add local sponsor prizes.
What Congressional App Challenge is
The Congressional App Challenge is the largest student computer science competition in the United States, run district by district by participating Members of Congress. That structure is what makes it unusual: you are not competing against thousands of students nationally, you are competing against however many entered in your district, which in some districts is a few dozen and in others is a handful. It is free, open to any middle or high school student, and accepts any programming language including block-based code.
How the competition works
Any programming language, including block code, and any platform: desktop, web, tablet, mobile, Raspberry Pi or robot. There are no limits on theme or topic. You submit a working app with a short application and a demonstration video. Apps built for other projects are allowed provided they were created after 30 October 2025. Only completed projects are accepted.
Eligibility notes
You compete in the district where you live or attend school, and only if your Member of Congress is hosting a challenge that year. Check the participating districts list first, because if your representative is not hosting you cannot enter.
Is Congressional App Challenge right for you?
- Experience needed
- Minimal. Judges assess the idea and the explanation at least as much as the code.
- Time commitment
- A few weekends.
- What you actually do
- Build an app in any language and submit a demo video. You compete only against students in your own congressional district, which makes the field very small.
A good fit if
- You are learning to code and want a real deadline
- You want unusually good odds
- You have an idea rooted in something local
Probably not for you if
- Students in a district whose Member is not participating, which you must check first
Common mistakes
- Not checking whether your district participates. This is the first thing to verify.
- Spending everything on code and rushing the video, which is what judges actually watch.
- Assuming you need a polished product; a working prototype explained well beats a slick app with no story.
How to register
- Check the participating districts list on the official site. If your Member of Congress is not hosting, you cannot enter, though you can contact their office and ask them to host next cycle.
- Register as a student on the official site. Team members register with a shared link.
- Build your app. Any programming language is accepted, including block-based tools such as Scratch and MIT App Inventor.
- Record a video of one to three minutes explaining the problem, the app and how you built it. Upload it, unlisted, to YouTube or Vimeo.
- Submit before the deadline. Late submissions are not accepted and the portal closes on time.
What skills you need
- Any programming language
- Problem framing
- User interface design
- Video presentation
- Project scoping
Recommended resources
-
Congressional App Challenge official site
Registration, the participating districts list, rules and the annual rulebook PDF.
-
Official rules page
Eligibility, team rules and submission requirements. Read this before you start building.
-
MIT App Inventor
Free block-based Android app builder. Explicitly acceptable for the Challenge and a realistic route for a first entry.
-
freeCodeCamp
Free full curriculum for web app development if you are starting from nothing.
Past problems and materials
Only materials the organiser or an authorised archive publishes openly are listed here.
- Previous winning apps
Published gallery of past district winners. The best available guide to the standard you are competing against.
Frequently asked questions
When is the 2026 deadline?
Submissions close on 26 October 2026 at 12:00 ET. Registration opened on 1 May 2026 and there is no entry fee.
Can I enter as a team?
Yes, in teams of up to four students. At least half the team must be eligible to compete in the district you are entering. Teams larger than four are not eligible.
What if my representative is not hosting?
Then you cannot enter that cycle, because participation is at each Member office's discretion. Check the participating districts list first. You can contact your representative's office and ask them to host in a future year.
Does my app have to be finished?
A complete app is not strictly required, but a final, fully detailed proposal is expected, and a working demonstration in your video is a substantial advantage.
Reviews, tips and resources from other students
Posts are public. Do not share your full name, school, address or contact details.
Something out of date?
If a deadline, fee or eligibility rule on this page no longer matches the official site, flag it and it goes into the review queue.
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