How to Get Your GED in Georgia: Cost, the HOPE Grant and 6 Steps

Getting your GED in Georgia means passing four tests: math, language arts, science and social studies. You can take them one at a time, at a test center or online.

The catch? Georgia has a few rules of its own. You don’t have to live here to test, but your last test must be taken and passed in Georgia, and 16- and 17-year-olds need adult education classes first.

If it’s been a long time since you sat in a classroom, feeling unsure is normal. You don’t need to plan every step today. You only need the next one.

Georgia GED at a glance

Want to compare? See GED cost by state and GED requirements by state.

Who can take the GED in Georgia

To take the GED in Georgia, you need to be 18 and have no high school diploma. The Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG), which runs the state’s program, adds that you can’t be enrolled in a regular high school.

You don’t have to live in Georgia. GED.com says there’s no residency requirement to test here. But TCSG says you must take and pass your last test in Georgia to earn the Georgia credential.

That matters if you’ve already passed a subject in another state. Your credential comes from the state where you pass your final subject, so finish in Georgia.

Bring a valid photo ID. TCSG lists a driver’s license, a state ID card, a military ID or a passport.

Under 18? At 16 or 17, Georgia calls you “Underage Youth.” To test, you must:

• Take a free, state-approved adult education class for at least 40 hours
• Meet the program’s pre- and post-test assessment rules
• Reach the readiness score on GED Ready or Aztec’s GED practice test
• Stay in the program until you finish testing
• Get approval to test from Georgia’s Office of Adult Education

At 18 or older, no class is required. Georgia requires classes only for Underage Youth, though GED.com recommends them for everyone.

How much the GED costs in Georgia

Georgia charges $46 a subject, at a test center or online. All four subjects come to $184 at full price.

You pay by card for each subject when you book it on GED.com, so you never have to pay for all four at once.

Retakes cost less at a test center. If you don’t pass a subject there, your first retake costs $20 when you take it within 12 months. GED Testing Service waives its $26 fee, so you pay only the test center’s $20, and a second retake costs the full $46.

Online retakes don’t get the discount: each one costs the full $46.

The good news? TCSG’s HOPE HSE Grant can pay up to $210 of your test fees. You can use it at a TCSG-approved test center or online, for first tries or retakes.

The total can’t go over $210, which TCSG says works out to four vouchers at most. Grants are paid until the program’s state funds run out.

To qualify, you must have lived in Georgia for at least 12 months in a row before your test date. You also must:

• Be a US citizen or an eligible non-citizen
• Have no high school diploma or equivalent, and no college degree
• Never have received a HOPE or Zell Miller Scholarship payment
• Not be in default on a student loan, or owe a refund on student aid
• Be registered with Selective Service, if you were male at birth
• Not be incarcerated, and have no conviction for certain drug felonies in the six months before your test

At 16 or 17, you can get the grant too, once you’re in a state-approved adult education program and approved to test. TCSG’s grant page has the full rules.

GED.com also says Georgia’s free adult education classes offer test fee scholarships for people facing financial hardship.

To add up your own total, with or without GED Ready, use our GED cost calculator.

Can you take the GED online in Georgia?

Yes, Georgia allows online testing from age 16, at the same $46 a subject. You take the test at home while a proctor (a live monitor) watches through your webcam.

To book online, you need a green GED Ready score from the last 60 days in each subject you book. You also need a private room with a door you can close, a computer with a webcam and reliable internet, and a government-issued photo ID.

You have to be in the United States while you test. TCSG says the online test is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which helps if you work days.

Under 18? A parent or guardian must be at your check-in to give consent. If they aren’t there, GED.com says the session will be revoked.

So which should you pick? The price is the same either way. A test center gives you $20 retakes and lets you take several subjects in one day, while online saves the trip and books one subject at a time.

How to get your GED in Georgia, step by step

Free GED classes in Georgia

Georgia’s adult education classes run through TCSG. Its program directory lists free classes by the county where you live or work, with each provider’s address, phone number and email.

Classes help with more than studying. GED.com says they include a free check of whether you’re ready to test, and even a graduation ceremony to share with friends and family.

At 16 or 17, a class is required: at least 40 hours before you can test. At 18 or older, it’s your choice.

Bottom line: a local program can check where you stand before you spend anything on tests.

Your Georgia GED Diploma and transcript

When you pass all four subjects, you earn the Georgia GED Diploma. TCSG also calls it a State of Georgia high school equivalency diploma.

Your documents come from DiplomaSender, Georgia’s only provider of GED transcripts and diplomas. Create an account at DiplomaSender.com, and it matches you to your Georgia records, usually within a few hours but sometimes up to seven days.

TCSG says your first diploma and transcript are free if you passed for the first time after July 15, 2025, but you have to request them. GED.com’s Georgia page says every graduate gets one free transcript and one free diploma, with no date given, so check your account before you pay for a first copy.

Extra copies cost $22 per document. If a college or employer orders one directly, it’s $25. DiplomaSender sends documents by email or US mail.

Started the GED years ago? Georgia’s 2014-series scores haven’t expired. Only unfinished tests from before 2014 have.