New Jersey

You can be 16 or 17 years old and take the GED^® test if you

• complete a Certificate of Consent to Participate form verifying that you’re not enrolled in school, have permission to take the GED^® test and have a parent or legal guardian accompany you to the test center with your completed Certificate of Consent to Participate form. You must bring your Certificate of Consent form to a test center whether you plan to test at a test center or the online exam.
  
• If you have a legal guardian, you must bring a copy of the court document awarding guardianship.
  
• If the parent cannot go to the test center, the Consent to Participate form must be signed by the parent before a New Jersey Notary. The student can take the notarized form to the chief examiner at the test center who will then verify the form to release the age restriction. The student can then complete the registration for the online assessment.

For those testing on the Online Exam:

• A parent or guardian must be present at the pre-test check-in to give consent and authorize the underage tester to be recorded during testing. If the parent or guardian is not present, the exam session will be revoked.

Yes, you must provide photo identification to demonstrate eligibility to take the GED^® test.  

• Driver’s Licenses, Permits, Passports, Voter registrations, School/College ID, Employee ID, or other photo identification, valid or expired, that has been issued by a public entity or private third party;
  

In addition to photo identification you must provide one or more of the following:

• Property tax bills; deeds; contracts of sale; leases; mortgages; signed letters from landlords; and other evidence of property ownership,  tenancy, or residency;
  
• Financial account information; utility bills; delivery receipts; and other evidence of personal attachment to a particular location;
  
• Court orders; State agency agreements; and other evidence of court or agency placements or directives;
  
• Receipts; bills; cancelled checks; insurance claims or payments; and other evidence of expenditures demonstrating personal attachment to a particular location or to support the test taker
  
• Medical reports; counselor or social worker assessments; employment documents; unemployment claims; benefit statements; and other evidence of circumstances demonstrating family or economic hardship, or temporary residency;
  
• Affidavits, certifications, and sworn attestations pertaining to statutory criteria from the parent, guardian, person keeping an “affidavit student," adult student, person(s) with whom a family is living, or others, as appropriate;
  
• Documents pertaining to military status and assignment; and
  
• Any other business record or document issued by a governmental entity.

Some states allow people who don’t live there to take the GED^® test and others don’t. You’ll need to check the residency requirement for the state that you’re interested to test in.

No, New Jersey doesn’t require you to prepare for the GED^® test in an adult education classroom.

For those testing in-person at a Testing Center: 

• No, you’re not required to take the GED Ready® practice test before taking the official GED® test. 

For those testing on the Online Exam: 

• Yes, you're required to take the GED Ready® practice test before taking the official GED® test online.