Editing FA Cup (section)

===Schedule===
All entrants from Level 9 begin the competition in the extra preliminary round, and any Level 10 team filling in for a vacancy.<ref name=":12" /> Teams from Level 8 are ranked on their PPG in the previous season, except newly promoted teams automatically ranked towards the bottom and newly relegated teams ranked to the top; teams are then split between entering at either the Extra-Preliminary or preliminary round so as to ensure the right balance of fixtures throughout the competition.<ref name=":12" /> From there, clubs from higher levels are added in later rounds, as per the table below.

The months in which rounds are played are traditional, with exact dates subject to each calendar. The number of new entries, winners from previous rounds, and division of Level 8 teams in the two preliminary rounds are based on an entry list of 732 modelled on the [[English football league system|English league system]] as of 2022–23. From 2023 to 2024, the entry list could rise to 746 in line with sixteen additional clubs at Level 9, meaning that the extra preliminary round would have 444 teams, with only 50 Level 8 clubs entering at the preliminary round.<ref name=":0" />
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Round<ref name=":12"/>
!Month
!Leagues entering this round<ref name=":12" />
!New entries this round
!Winners from
previous round
!Number of fixtures
|-
|colspan="4"|'''Qualifying Competition'''<ref name=":12"/>
|
|
|-
|Extra preliminary round
|rowspan=2|August
|Any vacancies filled by Level 10
Level 9 clubs

Level 8 clubs (96 lowest ranked)
|416
|
|208
|-
|Preliminary round
|Level 8 clubs (64 highest ranked)
|64
|208
|136
|-
|First round
|rowspan="2"|September
|Level 7 clubs
|88
|136
|112
|-
|Second round
|Level 6 clubs
|48
|112
|80
|-
|Third round
|rowspan="2"|October
|none
|0
|80
|40
|-
|Fourth round
|[[National League (division)|Level 5]] clubs
|24
|40
|32
|-
|colspan="4"|'''Competition Proper'''<ref name=":12"/>
|
|
|-
|First round
|November
|[[EFL League One|Level 3]] and [[EFL League Two|4]] clubs
|48
|32
|40
|-
|Second round
|December
|none
|0
|40
|20
|-
|Third round
|January
|[[Premier League|Level 1]] and [[EFL Championship|2]] clubs
|44
|20
|32
|-
|Fourth round
|February
| rowspan="5" |none
|0
|32
|16
|-
|Fifth round
| rowspan="2" |March
|0
|16
|8
|-
|Quarter-finals
|0
|8
|4
|-
|[[FA Cup semi-finals|Semi-finals]]
|April
|0
|4
|2
|-
|[[FA Cup Final|Final]]
|May
|0
|2
|1
|}
The qualifying rounds are regionalised to reduce the travel costs for smaller non-league sides. The first and second proper rounds were also previously split into Northern and Southern sections, but this practice was ended after the [[1997–98 FA Cup|1997–98 competition]]. {{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

The final is normally held the Saturday after the [[Premier League]] season finishes in May. The only seasons in recent times when this pattern was not followed were: [[1999–2000 in English football|1999–2000]], when most rounds were played a few weeks earlier than normal as an experiment; [[2010–11 in English football|2010–11]] and [[2012–13 in English football|2012–13]] when the FA Cup Final was played before the Premier League season had finished, to allow [[Wembley Stadium]] to be ready for the [[UEFA Champions League]] final,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2011/mar/06/fa-cup-final-manchester-derby |title=Tarnished FA Cup needs a Manchester derby's drama |work=The Guardian |date=6 March 2011 |location=London |first=Paul |last=Wilson |access-date=11 December 2016 |archive-date=5 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305042325/https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2011/mar/06/fa-cup-final-manchester-derby |url-status=live }}</ref> and in [[2011–12 in English football|2011–12]] to allow [[England national football team|England]] time to prepare for that summer's [[UEFA Euro 2012|European Championships]];<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2011/may/12/2012-fa-cup-final-premier-league |title=No escape for 2012 FA Cup final from date clash with Premier League |work=The Guardian |date=12 May 2011 |location=London |first=Owen |last=Gibson |access-date=11 December 2016 |archive-date=5 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305041039/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2011/may/12/2012-fa-cup-final-premier-league |url-status=live }}</ref> [[2019–20 in English football|2019–20]] when the final was delayed until August due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/may/29/fa-cup-final-to-be-held-on-1-august-with-quarter-finals-resuming-on-27-june-football |title=FA Cup final to be held on 1 August with quarter-finals resuming on 27 June |work=The Guardian |date=29 May 2020 |access-date=17 July 2020 |archive-date=17 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200717075139/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/may/29/fa-cup-final-to-be-held-on-1-august-with-quarter-finals-resuming-on-27-june-football |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/football/52726943 |title=Watch: 2006 FA Cup Final Rewind – Liverpool win FA Cup on penalties |website=BBC Sport |quote=Today should have been FA Cup final day |date=23 May 2020 |access-date=9 September 2020 |archive-date=13 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613143834/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/football/52726943 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [[2021–22 in English football|2021-22]] when the final was held a week before the end of the league. The [[2024-25 in English football|2025 Final]] is also scheduled to take place the week before the end of the league.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68844583 |title=FA Cup replays to be scrapped from the first round onwards in 2024-25 |website=BBC Sport |date=18 April 2024| access-date=27 September 2024 }}</ref>