Deciding when to take the GRE? This official guide has the most up-to-date GRE test dates for the 2016-2017 testing year to help you plan!
We’ll also discuss the importance of planning out when you’re going to take the general GRE and give you four important factors to consider when deciding on your GRE exam date.
feature image credit: Improved LEGO calendar months/used under CC BY 2.0/Cropped from original.
Computer GRE Test Dates: July 2016 – June 2017
The computerized version of the GRE can be taken throughout the year at official Prometric® testing centers (although there are also non-Prometric test centers that offer computer GRE testing in certain locations on additional dates). You can only take the general GRE once every 21 days and up to five times in one 365-day period, so you’ll need to plan accordingly (we’ll have more on this later).
For all computer GRE tests (unless you’re taking it in China) you can see what dates are offered at a particular test center through the GRE test centers website. Select your country, state/province, and city to see the availability of GRE test centers near you.
For most computer-based testing centers you’ll see “Year-round continuous testing, depending on seat availability,” followed by a link labeled “Check seat availability.”
Click on the “Check Seat Availability” link to go to another page where you’ll have to enter your address again and will then get a complete list of test centers near you (by distance); you’ll need to click each test center individually to see the GRE test schedule.
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For a more complete description (with more pictures!) of how to find out what GRE test dates are being offered at a GRE test center near you, go to our full guide to GRE test date choosing article.
4 Steps to Choose the Best GRE Test Date
#1: Computer or Paper GRE? If you have to take the paper GRE you’ll need to register further in advance. Because the paper-based general GRE is offered less often, test dates fill up more quickly. This doesn’t just mean registering by the registration deadline, but making sure you register for the test before the testing center fills up – ideally at least two months before the test date, even for the computer-based GRE.
#2: Paper registration or online registration? If you need Monday testing, a supplementary GRE center, or disability or health accommodations, you’ll have to register by paper. Be sure to leave enough time in advance of the test date for your registration materials to get processed by ETS (and for you to send in a second set in the event that your first set gets lost in the mail or is incomplete). Ideally, you should leave yourself eight to twelve weeks minimum before the test date for paper registration.
#3: How much studying do you need to do? Find out your current Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning levels (by taking an official practice test) and the scores your program requires, then calculate the amount of studying you’ll need to get to that goal. Make sure you leave enough time between now and your GRE test date to meet that goal.
#4: When are your application deadlines? Don’t register to take the GRE at the last possible moment before your applications are due – make sure you register at least a couple months in advance of the deadline to give yourself enough time to retake it if need be. This is especially true if you’re taking the paper-based GRE (which is only offered three times a year), but even the computer-based GRE limits students to taking it once every 21 days.
Also, keep in mind that September-November test dates tend to fill up because of their proximity to application deadlines. If you’re going to take the GRE during that time, register at least eight to ten weeks before the test date, regardless of whether you’re taking the computer or paper GRE.
How to Use These 2016-2017 GRE Test Dates
The vast majority of these test dates should be correct, but as with all future events, there is some margin of error. Maybe a test center might shut down due to weather and not be able to give the test on some dates, or maybe a new center will open up and offer one of the previously not-offered-in-that-country paper GRE test dates.
In general, however, you can use this GRE test date list to get an idea of when the GRE will be offered in 2016-2017. The next step is to choose the best GRE test date (or test dates) for you.
Paper GRE Test Dates and Deadlines
For the most part, you’ll be able to take the computer-based GRE test if you live in the United States (with the exception of some locations, such as Puerto Rico and American Samoa). If you live in a part of the world where there are no computer GRE test centers, however, you’ll have to register to take the paper-based general GRE test.
You can take the paper-based GRE as often as it’s offered (unlike the computer-based GRE test), but there are also stricter registration deadlines, as you can see in the tables below.
U.S. & Puerto Rico Paper-Based GRE Deadlines
| Test Date | Normal Deadline | Late Registration | Supplementary Test Center, Monday Test Deadline | Online Score Release | Scores Mailed |
| 8 Oct 2016 (10/8/16) | 9/2/16 | 9/9/16 | 8/19/16 | 11/7/16 | 11/18/16 |
| 5 Nov 2016 (11/5/16) | 9/30/16 | 10/7/16 | 9/16/16 | 12/5/16 | 12/16/16 |
| 4 Feb 2017 (2/4/17) | 12/30/16 | 1/6/17 | 12/16/16 | 3/6/17 | 3/17/17 |
All Other GRE Deadlines (Including U.S. Territories and Canada)
| Test Date | Normal Deadline | Late Registration | Supplementary Test Center, Monday Test Deadline | Online Score Release | Scores Mailed |
| 8 Oct 2016 (10/8/16) | 8/26/16 | 9/2/16 | 8/12/16 | 11/7/16 | 11/18/16 |
| 5 Nov 2016 (11/5/16) | 9/23/16 | 9/30/16 | 9/9/16 | 12/5/16 | 12/16/16 |
| 4 Feb 2017 (2/4/17) | 12/23/16 | 12/30/16 | 12/9/16 | 3/6/17 | 3/17/17 |
Source: ETS.org
Paper-Based GRE Test Dates 2016-2017 by Location
This year’s general GRE test dates are taken from the official ETS listing but are still subject to change, depending on conditions at the individual testing centers.
Below, you’ll see the test dates listed by date and location. Dates when a test center offers the GRE are marked with a “Y” – if there’s no Y, then the test center doesn’t offer the GRE on that test date.
U.S. Territories
| Location | 8 October 2016 | 5 November 2016 | 4 February 2017 |
| Pago Pago, American Samoa | Y | Y | Y |
| Mayaguez, Puerto Rico | Y | Y | Y |
Canada
| Location | 8 October 2016 | 5 November 2016 | 4 February 2017 |
| Grande Prairie, Alberta | Y | Y | Y |
| Prince George, British Columbia | Y | Y | Y |
| Fredericton, New Brunswick | Y | Y | Y |
| Corner Brook, Newfoundland | Y | Y | Y |
| Kingston, Ontario | Y | Y | |
| Thunder Bay, Ontario | Y | ||
| Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island | Y | ||
| Regina, Saskatchewan | Y | Y | Y |
Other International GRE Test Dates
| Location | 8 October 2016 | 5 November 2016 | 4 February 2017 |
| Tirana, Albania | Y | Y | Y |
| Algiers, Algeria | Y | Y | Y |
| Luanda, Angola | Y | Y | Y |
| St. Johns, Antigua and Barbuda | Y | Y | Y |
| Cordoba, Argentina | Y | Y | Y |
| Nassau, Bahamas | Y | Y | Y |
| Sanad, Bahrain | Y | Y | |
| St. Michael, Barbados | Y | Y | Y |
| Belize City, Belize | Y | Y | Y |
| Paget, Bermuda | Y | Y | Y |
| Thimphu, Bhutan | Y | Y | Y |
| Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina | Y | Y | Y |
| Belem, Brazil | Y | Y | Y |
| Salvador, Brazil | Y | ||
| Darussalam, Brunei Darussalam | Y | Y | Y |
| Varna, Bulgaria | Y | Y | Y |
| Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso | Y | Y | Y |
| Phnom Penh, Cambodia | Y | Y | |
| Yaounde, Cameroon | Y | Y | Y |
| Ndjamena, Chad | Y | Y | Y |
| Barranquilla, Colombia | Y | ||
| Moroni, Comoros | Y | Y | Y |
| Kinshasa, Congo-DRC (Zaire) | Y | Y | Y |
| Lubumbashi, Congo-DRC (Zaire) | Y | Y | Y |
| Brazzaville, Congo Republic | Y | Y | |
| Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) | Y | Y | Y |
| Nicosia, Cyprus (2 locations) | Y | Y | Y |
| American Embassy Haramouss, Djibouti | Y | Y | |
| Guayaquil, Ecuador | Y | Y | Y |
| Sohag, Egypt | Y | Y | Y |
| San Salvador, El Salvador | Y | Y | Y |
| Asmara, Eritrea | Y | Y | Y |
| Tallinn, Estonia | Y | Y | Y |
| Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Y | Y | Y |
| Suva, Fiji | Y | Y | Y |
| Bruz, France | Y | ||
| Lyon, France | Y | Y | Y |
| Strasbourg, France | Y | Y | Y |
| Banjul, Gambia | Y | Y | Y |
| St George’s, Grenada | Y | Y | |
| Conakry, Guinea | Y | Y | Y |
| Georgetown, Guyana | Y | Y | Y |
| Port-Au-Prince, Haiti | Y | Y | Y |
| Erbil, Iraq | Y | Y | Y |
| Pordenone, Italy | Y | Y | |
| Okinawa, Japan | Y | Y | |
| Astana, Kazakhstan | Y | Y | Y |
| Prishtina, Kosovo | Y | Y | Y |
| Vientiane, Laos | Y | Y | Y |
| Monrovia, Liberia | Y | Y | Y |
| Tripoli, Libya | Y | Y | Y |
| Skopje, Macedonia | Y | Y | Y |
| Antananarivo, Madagascar | Y | Y | Y |
| Male, Maldives | Y | Y | Y |
| Bamako, Mali | Y | Y | Y |
| Msida, Malta | Y | Y | |
| Majuro, Marshall Islands | Y | Y | Y |
| Nouakchott, Mauritania | Y | Y | Y |
| Moka, Mauritius | Y | Y | Y |
| Merida, Mexico | Y | Y | Y |
| Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia | Y | Y | |
| Yap, Federated States of Micronesia | Y | Y | |
| Chisinau, Moldova | Y | Y | Y |
| Maputo, Mozambique | Y | Y | Y |
| Yangon, Myanmar | Y | Y | Y |
| Tucsin, Namibia | Y | Y | Y |
| Christchurch, New Zealand | Y | Y | Y |
| Managua, Nicaragua | Y | Y | Y |
| Niamey, Niger | Y | Y | |
| Aba Abia State, Nigeria | Y | Y | Y |
| Benin City, Nigeria | Y | Y | Y |
| Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands | Y | Y | Y |
| Oslo, Norway | Y | Y | |
| Koror, Palau | Y | Y | Y |
| Panama City, Panama | Y | Y | Y |
| Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | Y | Y | Y |
| Cagayan de Oro, Philippines | Y | Y | Y |
| Arad, Romania | Y | Y | Y |
| Iasi, Romania | Y | Y | Y |
| Astrakhan, Russian Federation | Y | ||
| Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation | Y | Y | Y |
| Novosibirsk, Russian Federation | Y | Y | Y |
| Vladivostok, Russian Federation | Y | Y | Y |
| Volgograd, Russian Federation | Y | Y | Y |
| Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation | Y | Y | Y |
| Kigali, Rwanda | Y | Y | Y |
| Freetown, Sierra Leone | Y | Y | Y |
| Pinetown, South Africa | Y | ||
| Port Elizabeth, South Africa | Y | Y | Y |
| Juba, South Sudan | Y | Y | Y |
| Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis | Y | Y | Y |
| Castries, St. Lucia | Y | Y | Y |
| Khartoum, Sudan | Y | Y | Y |
| Paramaribo, Suriname | Y | Y | Y |
| Damascus, Syria | Y | Y | Y |
| Dushanbe, Tajikistan | Y | Y | Y |
| Chiang Mai, Thailand | Y | Y | Y |
| Lome, Togo | Y | Y | |
| Nuku Alofa, Tonga | Y | Y | Y |
| Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago | Y | Y | Y |
| Iskenderun, Turkey | Y | Y | |
| Ashgabat, Turkmenistan | Y | Y | Y |
| Kharkov, Ukraine | Y | Y | Y |
| Montevideo, Uruguay | Y | Y | |
| Gaza City/Gaza Strip, West Bank | Y | Y | Y |
| Apia, Western Samoa | Y | ||
| Aden, Yemen | Y | Y | Y |
| Sana’a, Yemen | Y | Y | Y |
| Harare, Zimbabwe | Y | Y | Y |
Source: ETS.org
What’s Next?
Now that you know when the GRE is, it’s time to register! Follow along with our step-by-step guidance to general GRE registration.
What GRE score should you be aiming for? Learn about the highest and lowest possible GRE scores and how the GRE percentiles break down.
Took the old GRE and wondering what the new one’s like? Read up on what’s on the GRE and how to convert your old GRE score to the new GRE scores.
Ready to improve your GRE score by 7 points?
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