How to Get Your GED: 6 Steps From Sign-Up to Diploma

Here’s how to get a GED, in one line: pass four tests.

The catch? Almost everything around those tests depends on your state. Your age, where you live, the price and even whether you can test from home all follow state rules.

If it’s been years since school, starting this can feel like a lot, and that’s normal. You don’t need the whole plan in your head, only the next step.

First, check that you can take the GED where you live

Think of it like a driver’s license. Every state issues one, but each state sets its own age rules and paperwork. The GED test itself is the same everywhere.

Check these three things before you spend a dollar:

1. You’re not in high school, and you don’t have a diploma. That’s the basic rule. Texas, for example, says you must be “not a current high school student or a previous graduate”.
2. You meet your state’s age rule. It’s 18 in most states, and most let younger people test with extra paperwork. A few start at 16 or 17, and some set it at 19, like New York and Washington. If you’re 19 or older, age won’t stop you anywhere.
3. You meet your state’s residency rule. Some states want you to live there first. Illinois, Indiana and New York ask for at least 30 days, while Georgia and Colorado have no residency rule at all.

A few states add one more step. Arizona requires a civics test, Illinois a module on its state constitution, and Wisconsin a civics test plus a counseling session.

Bottom line: if you left school without a diploma and you’re 19 or older, residency is usually the only rule left to check. Our GED requirements by state page has every state’s age and residency rules in one table.

How to get your GED in 6 steps

Here’s the whole path at a glance. Each step has its own section below.

1. Create a free account on GED.com.
2. Study for the four subjects. You can do it for free.
3. Take GED Ready, the official practice test. It’s required for the online test and in a few states.
4. Book your tests at a test center or online.
5. Pass all four subjects with a score of 145 or higher on each.
6. Get your diploma and transcript from your state.

Step 1: Create your free GED.com account

Everything runs through GED.com. It’s where you book and pay for tests, see your scores, and later order copies of your records.

To start, click Sign Up at the top of the site and answer a few setup questions. There’s no charge for the account.

Use an email address you’ll still have a year from now. Score alerts go there, and some states send your diploma there too.

Step 2: Study, and you can do it for free

You don’t have to pay for a course. Your GED.com account has a Study section with free study guides and practice tests.

GED.com also has free test previews for all four subjects. Each is about a quarter the length of the real test, in English or Spanish.

For math, our free GED math practice test is full length and timed. Our practice by topic sets let you work on one skill at a time.

Not sure where to start? Look at math first.

GED Testing Service looked at 77,000 people who had passed three of the four subjects. For 82% of them, the one subject left was math.

For every free option in one place, see free GED prep online.

Step 3: Take GED Ready, the official practice test

GED Ready comes from GED Testing Service. It’s half the length of the real test and costs $7.99 a subject, or $25.99 for all four.

Your score lands in one of three bands: Likely to Pass (145 to 200), Too Close to Call (134 to 144) or Not Likely to Pass (100 to 133). Likely to Pass is the “green” score the online test asks for.

Do you have to take it? In most states, only to test online. Then you need a green score from the last 60 days in each subject.

A few states require it even at a test center, including Connecticut, Kentucky and West Virginia (checked October 2026). Even where it’s optional, it’s a $7.99 check before you pay for the real thing.

Taking math first? Our GED Ready math guide explains what each score means.

Step 4: Book your tests, at a test center or online

You book each subject on its own in your GED.com account. You don’t have to take all four at once, so you can space them out to fit your life.

At a test center, you can take one subject a day, or several in one visit. If you book more than one on the same day, you get a 10-minute break between them.

Online, you take the official test at home while a proctor (someone who watches you test) sees you through your webcam. Most states offer it, but you need that green GED Ready score first. Here’s how to get your GED online, including the six states that don’t allow it.

The price per subject depends on your state, and sometimes on where you test. Our GED cost by state table has the numbers.

Step 5: Pass all four subjects with 145 or higher

Each subject is scored from 100 to 200, and 145 passes. The four scores aren’t averaged, so every subject has to reach 145 on its own.

Want to know what each one covers? See what’s on the GED test.

Scores usually show up in your GED.com account within 24 hours, and sometimes take 2 to 3 business days.

Miss one? You retake only that subject. The ones you’ve passed stay passed.

At a test center, you can retake a subject twice with no wait. Online, you get one retake. After that, there’s a 60-day wait before each new try.

For what your scores mean, see GED scores explained.

Step 6: Get your diploma and transcript

Once you pass all four, your state issues your diploma. The name varies. In Texas, for example, it’s the Certificate of High School Equivalency.

Some states email you an e-diploma and e-transcript right after you pass, and many send that first set free. Other states mail paper copies instead.

If yours come by email, download and save them right away. GED.com says those emailed files are your official diploma and transcript.

Need more copies later? You order them through GED.com, which sends you to your state’s process.

How much it costs, and how long it takes

The honest answer to both is “it depends.” Cost depends on your state, and time depends on you. The table below gives the real ranges.

Some states pay part or all of the fee, at least while funding lasts, so check yours before you pay.

Study time is the one number nobody can give you, because it depends on where you’re starting. A timed practice test is a good way to find out where that is.

There’s also no national deadline to finish all four subjects, though some states have their own rules.

Watch out: a GED you can buy is fake

Some websites sell quick “GED certificates” without the real test. GED Testing Service is clear about this: “You should never be able to buy a GED certificate without taking the test.”

A real GED always means passing the four official tests, booked through GED.com. Here’s how to spot a fake online GED.

Find your state’s GED rules

The six steps are the same everywhere. The details change by state, so pick yours for its age rule, residency rule, prices and online options.

• GED in Arizona
• GED in California
• GED in Florida (test centers only)
• GED in Georgia
• GED in Illinois
• GED in Indiana (online testing limited)
• GED in Michigan
• GED in New Jersey (online testing limited)
• GED in New York (free, test centers only)
• GED in North Carolina
• GED in Ohio
• GED in Pennsylvania (online testing limited)
• GED in Texas
• GED in Virginia
• GED in Washington

The notes in parentheses were checked in October 2026. Not on the list? Our GED requirements by state page covers every state.