Complete your GED application forms and submit them early enough to ensure you have a test reserved on test day. You must have not graduated from any high school or completed any high school equivalency program, says the Literacy Assistance Center. Your state residency must be provable as of one month prior to your test date. Establish residency with a state driver's license or state identification. The basic requirements for taking the GED are mandatory for all students who are age 19 or older.
In addition to the basic requirements to sign up for the GED, students who are age 17 or 18 must meet one of the following additional requirements. You must be either currently enrolled in a high school equivalency preparation course or not have attended a full-time high school program for more than one year, says the Literacy Assistance Center. You must be part of a graduation class that has already graduated. Alternately, if you have been accepted into the U.S. military, college, Job Corps or have been a state resident of a hospital, treatment facility or detention center, you are eligible to take the GED. If you are 17 or 18 and fail to meet any of these requirements, you can wait until you are 19 years old and take the test then when you are no longer bound by these additional requirements.
You not eligible to retake the GED until two months have passed from your last attempt, should you do poorly on the first exam. The GED test will be slightly different, comprised of different questions but still focusing on the same type of material. Use this time to study areas of the test for which you found yourself unprepared. You can only take the test a total of three times during each calendar year, says the GED Testing website.
Each facility that offers the GED test has its own schedule for the exam. These facilities may include local college campuses, junior college campuses or some high school testing centers. Check with these facilities to find a time and date for your exam. You are required to schedule your own test time and prepare yourself for the exam.