GED® Test Information - Adult Education and Literacy Services

Applying to Take the GED® Test

To take the GED® test at an authorized GED® center in Maryland, you must:

Be a resident of Maryland
Be at least 18 years old. Candidates under 19 years old must have officially withdrawn from a high school program. The school official must complete, sign, stamp, or emboss the GED® School Withdrawal/Exception Form. Submit the completed GED® Official School Withdrawal/Exception Form to the Maryland Adult Education Office. The Maryland Adult Education Office will review the school withdrawal form. Approval is dependent on proper completion of the form. Testers need to check their GED® account for approval status periodically. The date of birth will be verified at the Testing Center.
Candidate must be at least 16 years old only if the candidate qualifies for an exception under the Compulsory Attendance Education Law. Submit the GED® Official School Withdrawal/Exception Form completed by the last school attended. The exception code must be provided.
Be at least 16 years old if enrolled in a home instruction program. For those receiving home instruction, submit the GED® Office Home Instruction Verification Form completed by the jurisdictional home school office.
Print the GED® Official School Withdrawal/Exception Form.
Have acceptable identification to present at the Testing Center. (Valid MD MVA ID or Valid Passport and a second document (utility bill, bank statement, etc.)

To take the GED® test remotely with Online Proctoring you must:

Be a resident of Maryland
Be at least 18 years old. Candidates under 19 years old must have officially withdrawn from a high school. The school official must complete, sign, stamp, or emboss the GED® School Withdrawal/Exception form. Submit the completed form to the Maryland Adult Education Office for review and approval. Approval is dependent on proper completion of the form. Testers need to check their GED® account for approval status periodically. The date of birth will be verified at the time of testing. Print the GED® Official School Withdrawal/Exception Form.
Have acceptable identification to present electronically (Valid MD MVA or Valid Passport and a second document (utility bill, bank statement, etc.)
Have achieved a Green (likely to pass) score on the GED Ready® Test within the past 60 days.
Have a computer, webcam, Internet access, and a private room to qualify.

See GED® website for more detailed information.

Registration and Scheduling

Create an account at GED® website to register to take the GED® test and click on Sign Up Or test takers can register 24 hours per day, seven days a week, through the Pearson VUE call center at 1-877-EXAM-GED (392-6433). Please do NOT create duplicate accounts. When scheduling your test modules, be aware that it is not advisable to take more than two modules per day.

Cost of testing at Authorized GED® test centers (Pearson VUE)

First time testing of each GED® module costs $14.25 per module, payable by credit card, debit card, or gift card at the time of scheduling. Visit the GED® website for registration and scheduling information. NOTE: You must apply the Maryland Discount Code: MDGED2175 to obtain the discount. *Maryland subsidizes only the initial test per module. Maryland does not subsidize any retakes.

Cost of Online Proctored (OP) GED® Testing:

The Online Proctored (OP) testing fee is $36.00 per module. As of July 1, 2023, the first attempt of each module is subsidized so that the cost is $14.25 per module. You must apply the Maryland Discount Code: MDGED2175 to obtain the discount on the first attempt of each module. There is no discount for retesting on OP testing.

OP Test per subject module – (first scheduled test only per subject module): $14.25
All OP retakes per subject module: $36.00

No-Show Candidates

If you are a No Show, Maryland will not subsidize the rescheduled test. Candidates who are a “No Show” mean they have not canceled or rescheduled their test at least 24 hours prior to their appointment and did not show up to the test. The fee paid will not be refunded in this situation. If the $21.75 subsidy was applied for that test module, the subsidy will not be applied to the rescheduled appointment.

Retesting/Retakes

Testers are limited to a total of three tests per module per calendar year. Testers should pace testing and consider getting instructional assistance to prepare for retests. If additional retests are needed, the tester must wait until January 1 of the following year to schedule when new test forms become available from GED® Testing Service.

GED® Testing in Spanish

Maryland offers the current GED® test in English or Spanish. Indicate the language format you desire during the scheduling process. Three of the four modules may be taken in Spanish; however, the Reasoning through Language Arts (RLA) module must be taken in English.

GED® Test Scores/Diploma Information

Candidates who have passed all four modules of the GED® test are awarded a Maryland High School Diploma issued jointly by the Maryland State Board of Education and the Maryland Department of Labor.

After passing the final subject test module, testers will receive information about how to secure an electronic PDF document delivered via email that contains Smart Transcript and Maryland High School Diploma. Save a copy of the electronic version of your transcript and diploma on your computer for future documentation requests. Do not delete these from your files. Electronic versions of the diploma include a link to order a professionally printed Maryland High School Diploma free of charge.

Future requests for official transcripts and/or diplomas will require a fee.