GRE Exam Dates 2026–2027: Schedule, Registration & Retake Rules

The test consists of two types, which have different schedules

• GRE General Test: offered on-demand (no national test dates)
• GRE Subject Tests: offered only on certain dates during the year

Most applicants only need the general test, since many programs only require the general test. Only take subject tests if the program you're applying to specifically requires or recommends them.

ETS has a policy of being open 24/7, 365 days a year, but in practice this means you have to contend with limited seating at popular testing centers during peak application seasons

How to Find Available GRE Exam Dates 2026

1. Sign in to your ETS GRE account.
2. Choose the General Test.
3. Select test center or at-home testing.
4. Search by city or location and view the open appointments.

For Indian students: There is no separate “India calendar.” You can look up the same ETS system for test center availability in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, or Kolkata. Third-party sites list city-wise dates. Take them as a rough guide only, as seat availability keeps changing and your ETS account reflects what is open at a given moment.

ETS also offers an at-home option, if they have the facilities and requirements available.

GRE Subject Tests are available in Mathematics, Physics, and Psychology. According to ETS, they are offered during designated testing windows in September, October, and April. Availability varies by test format and location, and at-home testing is available only on select dates within those windows.

We have not listed exact day-by-day dates here because ETS does not show them on its general registration page. Log into your ETS account for details regarding the dates and locations available to you.

For those preparing for admissions in 2027, there is no change in your plan – select a GRE test date convenient for you.

GRE General Test Dates 2027

There is no fixed GRE exam schedule for the General Test in 2027. As with 2026, you book an available appointment through your ETS account. Appointments open for booking according to ETS’s system. If you do not see your preferred month yet, check again later rather than relying on unofficial date lists.

If you are applying to programs with early deadlines, plan to have your official scores ready well before those dates. The score-reporting timeline below will help you work backwards. For students who are going to apply to universities that have earlier deadlines, it is recommended that they have their scores ready before those deadlines. The time required for score reporting is provided below.

ETS’s general registration page describes the September, October, and April pattern, but it does not list specific 2027 dates. 2027 Subject Test dates that are confirmed: none were found in the sources we have checked. Consider all 2027 dates seen on websites other than the ETS website to be not confirmed.

1. Dates to register for the GRE are flexible because you may apply whenever slots are available. It is the same for 2026 and 2027:
2. Create an ETS account on the official ETS GRE website. Creating the account is free.
3. Select what kind of test you want to take: General test or a Subject test.
4. Choose where you want to take the test: at a test center (more than 1,000 around the world, according to ETS) or at home, if available,
5. Choose the date, time, and place of your test
6. Pay for the test online
7. Make sure that the name on your registration matches the one on your official identification.
8. You can change your appointment by logging into your ETS account. However, you should be aware of the cancellation and rescheduling policies and any associated fees.

At the time of writing, the ETS registration page lists the GRE General Test fee at $249 USD globally (with an exception for China) and the Subject Test fee at $199 USD. The General Test fee covers score reporting to up to four institutions. Fees and policies can vary, so make sure to confirm the cost at checkout in your ETS account. There are also fee reduction services that are available for qualifying test takers.

Concerning the qualifications of candidates, ETS will require that your name at registration is identical to your ID name, and what IDs will be needed is dependent on your country of origin and place of testing.

Choosing a date is a planning exercise. Work backwards from your deadlines:

• Preparation time: Many students prepare for around three months. Book a date that gives you a realistic study runway.
• Application Deadlines: Review the date for each university and the date at which it needs scores. Make sure you have enough time for a buffer period.
• Scoring Report: Scores generally arrive within 8–10 days, so allow enough time for that process.
• Retake Policy: The minimum gap between test attempts on the General Test is 21 days, up to five times in a rolling 12-month period.
• Peak season: Dates tend to fill quickly in the autumn application period, so book early.

According to ETS, the GRE General Test takes approximately 1 hour and 58 minutes. At the end of the test, you see your unofficial Verbal Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning scores. Your official scores, including Analytical Writing, are typically available in your ETS account 8–10 days after your test date.

But the most reliable source for getting information on GRE dates would be ETS itself and not some third-party calendar. And here is what you need to know – testing dates for the General Test are flexible, the testing dates for the Subject Test are fixed, and the ideal test date for you will be the one that works for your preparation and academic schedule.