How to Get Your GED in New Jersey (2026): Cost, Age, Residency

Getting your GED in New Jersey comes down to four tests. You can take them one at a time, usually at a test center.

The catch? New Jersey is picky about paperwork. Your proof of residency has to be dated this month or last month, and online testing is limited.

If it’s been years since school, that’s normal. You don’t need the whole plan today, only the next step.

New Jersey GED at a glance

New Jersey GED facts, from New Jersey’s page on GED.com and its online testing table, checked October 13, 2026.
Price at a test center	$36 a subject
Online testing	Limited, $36 a subject, from age 16Not everyone can test online; restrictions apply
Retake at a test center	One discounted retake per subject: $10
Age to test	18Younger: 16–17: Certificate of Consent, with a parent or guardian
Must you live here?	Required, with proof dated this month or last
What you earn	New Jersey State Issued High School Diploma

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

Who can take the GED in New Jersey

To take the GED in New Jersey, you need to live in New Jersey and not be enrolled in high school or already have a diploma (NJDOE’s FAQ). GED.com’s New Jersey page sets the age at 18, and 16- and 17-year-olds can test with a consent form.

Prove you live here, with recent paperwork. A valid New Jersey driver’s license or permit counts as both your photo ID and your proof of residency. Otherwise, bring a photo ID plus a document such as a lease, a utility bill, a property tax bill or a bank record, and it must be dated this month or last month.

Under 18? At 16 or 17, you need a Certificate of Consent to Participate, confirming you’re not enrolled in school. A parent or legal guardian comes to the test center with you and the form, or signs it in front of a New Jersey notary. Legal guardians also bring the court document.

You bring the certificate to a test center even if you plan to test online.

No class or practice test is required before you test in person.

How much the GED costs in New Jersey

New Jersey charges $36 a subject, at a test center or online. That’s $144 for all four (checked October 2026).

NJDOE’s FAQ lists the GED at $144, non-refundable, and tells you to ask your test center about any added fees.

Retakes. At a test center, GED Testing Service waives its $26 fee when you retake a subject you failed, and you pay the $10 test center fee. There’s no wait after your first failed try, and a 60-day wait after three attempts.

Online retakes cost the full $36. You get one, then a 60-day wait.

GED.com’s New Jersey page doesn’t list a program that pays test fees (checked October 2026).

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

Can you take the GED online in New Jersey?

Sometimes. GED.com’s online testing table marks New Jersey as limited, from age 16, and its New Jersey page says “not everyone can take the exam online. Online Testing restrictions apply.”

If you can, you need a green GED Ready score, then you schedule within 60 days. You also need a private room with a door you can close, and a computer with a webcam and reliable internet.

Online testers must be New Jersey residents. If you aren’t, you won’t get a diploma even if you pass every subject.

Under 18? A parent or guardian must be at your online check-in.

How to get your GED in New Jersey, step by step

Step 1: Create your free GED.com account

You book and pay for each test at GED.com, and you see your scores there. Use an email address you’ll keep.

Step 2: Gather your ID and recent proof of residency

A New Jersey driver’s license or permit covers both. If you don’t have one, find a document with your New Jersey address dated this month or last month, and check the date again just before test day.

Step 3: Under 18? Get your Certificate of Consent signed

Bring the form to the test center with a parent or legal guardian, or have them sign it before a New Jersey notary.

Step 4: Study for the four subjects

GED.com has free test previews for all four subjects, each about a quarter the length of the real test. GED Ready, the official practice test, costs $7.99 a subject.

Math is the subject most people have left at the end. Our free GED math practice test is full length and timed, and practice by topic lets you work on one skill at a time.

Step 5: Book and pass your four tests

Book each subject in your GED.com account. Each one is scored from 100 to 200, and you need 145 or higher in all four.

Scores usually post within 24 hours. If you don’t pass a subject, you retake only that one.

Step 6: Get your New Jersey diploma

When you pass all four, the state mails your diploma and transcript. The section below explains the timing and how to get copies.

GED classes in New Jersey

New Jersey’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development keeps a directory of adult basic education providers, listed by county.

Ask a provider about class times and any cost before you sign up. NJDOE’s adult education office oversees high school equivalency testing.

A class isn’t required. You can study on your own and book each test when you’re ready.

Your New Jersey diploma and transcript

Pass all four subjects and you earn a New Jersey State Issued High School Diploma.

It’s mailed to you. NJDOE says new results take 5 to 7 business days to reach the state from the test company, then 3 to 5 business days to process and mail your diploma and transcript.

If your diploma doesn’t arrive, contact the state within six months of passing.

Need an official transcript or a diploma verification later? NJDOE doesn’t mail those. You request an access code by mailed form or signed letter, then view them online on its Diploma Verification page. With the access code, NJDOE’s page says you can also download a duplicate diploma (GED.com’s New Jersey page says duplicates aren’t issued, so check with NJDOE).

New Jersey has other routes to the same diploma too: an adult high school, or 30 college credits.

Written by

Coach Crissy

Math instructor

Coach Crissy teaches the video lessons behind the BooknBoost GED math course, working through GED-style problems on camera: ratios and proportions, percent and interest, mean, median and mode, slope, and the geometry students meet on test day.

GED guides for other states

Not listed? GED requirements by state covers every state.

How to Get Your GED in New Jersey: $36 a Test, Every Step Explained