How to Get Your GED in North Carolina: $26 a Test, a Free Retake

Getting your GED in North Carolina comes down to four tests. You can take them one at a time, at a test center or online from home.

The catch? Two North Carolina rules trip people up. Your last test has to be taken in North Carolina, and your diploma isn’t sent automatically: you have to claim it.

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

North Carolina GED at a glance

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

Who can take the GED in North Carolina

To take the GED in North Carolina, you need to be 18 and have no high school diploma. You don’t have to live here, but you must take and pass the last test of your four in North Carolina to get a North Carolina diploma.

On test day, bring a non-expired, government-issued photo ID.

Under 18? At 16 or 17, you can test with an approved exception. The North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS) says to contact the HSE Chief Examiner at your local community college for the drop-release paperwork before you test.

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

How much the GED costs in North Carolina

North Carolina charges $26 a subject at a test center, or $36 a subject online. All four come to $104 at a test center, or $144 online (checked October 2026).

One retake at a test center is free. If you don’t pass a subject, GED Testing Service waives its $26 fee on your discounted retake, and in GED.com’s words, “North Carolina does not charge for retakes.” NCCCS lists one complimentary retake for each subject.

There’s no wait for your first two retakes. After a third try, you wait 60 days between attempts.

Online, there’s no retake discount. An online retake costs the full $36, and you get one before a 60-day wait.

GED.com’s North Carolina page doesn’t list a program that pays test fees (checked October 2026). The free help North Carolina offers is adult education at its community colleges, below.

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

Can you take the GED online in North Carolina?

Yes, from age 16. Online tests cost $36 a subject, $10 more than at a test center (GED.com’s online testing table, checked October 2026).

You need a green GED Ready score from the last 60 days in each subject you book, a private room with a door you can close, and a computer with a webcam and reliable internet. You schedule online subjects one at a time.

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

Which should you pick? A test center costs $10 less a subject and gives you a free retake, so it’s the better deal if you can get to one.

How to get your GED in North Carolina, step by step

Free GED classes in North Carolina

North Carolina’s community colleges offer free programs to help adults earn a high school equivalency diploma.

That NCCCS page links to the adult education page of each of the state’s 58 community colleges, so you can start with the one closest to you.

Not every community college offers both the GED and the HiSET, so ask yours which test it gives.

Your North Carolina diploma and transcript

Pass all four subjects and you earn the North Carolina State Board of Community Colleges High School Equivalency Diploma.

It isn’t sent automatically. GED.com’s page says “You must take action to receive your NC credentials.” Register at DiplomaSender.com and request your free official transcript and diploma.

Later copies go through DiplomaSender too, at DiplomaSender.com or 855-313-5799. NCCCS doesn’t handle these requests, and requests mailed to NCCCS are returned.

North Carolina gives the same diploma for the GED or the HiSET, and you can combine scores from both tests to earn it. There’s also a performance-based route, the Multiple Pathways to High School Equivalency program.