How to Get Your GED in Texas: Cost, Rules and the 6 Steps (2026)

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

The catch? Texas adds its own rules. You have to live in Texas, you need to be 18 (or 16 or 17 in certain cases), and the state, not GED.com, issues your certificate.

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

Texas GED at a glance

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

Who can take the GED in Texas

To take the GED in Texas, you need to be 18, live in Texas, and have no high school diploma. GED.com’s Texas page says you must be “not a current high school student or a previous graduate”.

You must live in Texas. On test day, bring proof such as a Texas driver license or a bill with your Texas address. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) also accepts a bank statement, a pay stub, a tax return or government mail with a Texas address.

You don’t need to be a US citizen or have a Social Security number. TEA says neither is required, as long as you can prove you live in Texas.

Bring a valid photo ID. It has to be government-issued. A Texas driver license or learner permit, a DPS ID card, a military ID, a passport or a matrícula consular card all work. A student ID, a library card, a photocopy or a digital wallet ID won’t be accepted.

Under 18? You can test at 17 if you meet all of these:

• You have a government photo ID and live in Texas
• You’re not enrolled in school (unless you’re in an approved high school equivalency program)
• You don’t have a high school diploma
• A parent or guardian gives permission

At 16, you need all of that, and you must also be in the care of a state agency, under a court order, in Job Corps or in the Texas Challenge Academy, TEA’s rules say.

No class is required first. You can study on your own and book your tests when you’re ready.

How much the GED costs in Texas

Texas charges $36.25 a subject at a test center and $42.25 a subject online. All four subjects come to $145 at a test center, or $169 online.

You pay for each subject when you book it. So you can spread the cost out and pay only for the test you’re ready for.

Retakes cost less at a test center. If you don’t pass a subject there, you get two discounted retakes at $16.25 each, used within a year of the full-price test. GED Testing Service waives its own fee, so you pay only the test center’s part. An online retake costs the full $42.25.

At 21 or older, Texas may pay for your tests. The state’s HSE Subsidy Program pays GED test fees for eligible residents 21 and older, while funding lasts. You apply through your local Texas Workforce Commission adult education program, called AEL.

The program terms allow up to four vouchers, one per subject, for first tries or retakes. If you miss a test you booked with a voucher, you lose that subject’s voucher.

The Texas Workforce Commission’s plan for the program runs through August 31, 2027, funding permitting. It gives priority to current adult education students and to those who left a program within the last year.

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

Can you take the GED online in Texas?

Yes. Texas allows online testing from age 16, at $42.25 a subject. You take the same test at home while a proctor (a live monitor) watches through your webcam.

To test 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, and a computer with a webcam and reliable internet.

Under 18? A parent or guardian must be there for your online check-in to give consent, and you both need ID, TEA says.

Which should you pick? Testing online saves you the trip. A test center costs $6 less a subject, gives you cheaper retakes, and doesn’t require GED Ready first.

How to get your GED in Texas, step by step

Free GED classes in Texas

Adult education in Texas runs through the Texas Workforce Commission’s Adult Education and Literacy program. It serves adults 16 and older who aren’t in school, through local providers, Workforce Solutions offices and nonprofits.

To find a class near you, call TCALL’s Texas Adult Education & Literacy Hotline at 800-441-READ (7323), or search the TCALL directory by city or county. TCALL’s directory is for centers that offer free services.

Your local program can also tell you whether you qualify for free or reduced-cost testing.

Rather study on your own? That works too. Texas doesn’t require a class before you test.

Your Texas certificate and transcript

When you pass all four subjects, you earn the State of Texas Certificate of High School Equivalency. The Texas Education Agency issues it.

TEA emails your first certificate as a PDF about three business days after your last computer-based test. It goes to the email address you registered with, so save it as soon as it arrives.

Need proof later? TEA’s Certificate/Transcript Search gives you a free verification letter. An official PDF costs $5 and includes a certificate you can frame and a transcript with your test dates and scores.

TEA doesn’t mail certificates, and it won’t mail, fax or email them to anyone else, like an employer. You download your documents and share them yourself.

One more thing: Texas counts 2014-series GED scores toward the certificate. Old, unfinished TASC or HiSET scores no longer count.