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North Carolina HiSET® Requirements

Earn the credential your future needs with the HiSET® High School Equivalency Test.

If you want to find a better job or take the first step on a pathway to a career, then you need to earn a high school equivalency credential. It is required for college and more important than ever to employers. Taking the HiSET exam can help change your life and expand your opportunities like it’s done for other test takers.

See the North Carolina Community Colleges Adult Secondary Education page for more information.

North Carolina Eligibility Requirements

To take the HiSET exam in North Carolina, you must meet the following eligibility requirements:

Age: Anyone 18 years or older may choose to take the HiSET exam. If you are 16 or 17 years of age, you can take the exam, but you must obtain special approval. Contact your local North Carolina Basic Skills Education program for the appropriate form(s).

Residency: You do not have to be a resident of North Carolina to take the HiSET exam.

Test Preparation or Instruction: Test preparation or instruction is encouraged but not mandatory.

Practice Test: You are not required to take a practice test before taking the official exam.

Identification: You must present a valid photo ID on your test day when you arrive at the test center. Outdated or expired identification is not accepted. 

Acceptable forms of identification include:

  • Driver’s license (Note: If your license has expired, North Carolina does not accept it as a valid form of ID. However, a Temporary Driving Certificate that has been issued by the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles will be accepted as long as it is unexpired.)
  • Passport
  • Military ID
  • Other form of government-issued (national or foreign) ID that shows:
    • Name
    • Address
    • Date of birth
    • Signature
    • Photograph

Access your myHiSET account on PSIExams.com

North Carolina myHiSET Login

HiSET North Carolina Testing Options and Fees

Total fees per paper subtest

$15

Total expected fees to complete the HiSET assuming no retake attempts and completion in a single calendar year:

$75

Subtest fee breakdown:

Test Fee: $15

Test Center Fee: $0

State Admin Fee: $0

Test Location: Test Center

Total fees per computer subtest

$15

Total expected fees to complete the HiSET assuming no retake attempts and completion in a single calendar year:

$75

Subtest fee breakdown:

Test Fee: $15

Test Center Fee: $0

State Admin Fee: $0

Test Location: Test Center

Total fees per Test @ Home subtest

$32.50

Total expected fees to complete the HiSET assuming no retake attempts and completion in a single calendar year:

$162.50

Subtest fee breakdown:

Test Fee: $15

Remote Proctor Fee: $17.50

State Admin Fee: $0

Test Location: Offsite, remote proctored. System requirements and test environment guidelines must be met.

Retesting

What to know: HiSET test takers may take each subtest a maximum of three (3) times in a calendar year.

How it works: If you take your first official HiSET subtest in the month of January and then take two retakes at a test center in the months of February and March, you would not be permitted to take that subtest again until the next calendar year starting in January, and you would then need to pay the full test price.

What it costs: You may retake each subtest two times over the 12 months following your first attempt by paying only the test center fee (noted above for each in-person subtest) or the at-home online proctor fee ($17.50 for each at-home subtest).

Access your myHiSET account on PSIExams.com

North Carolina myHiSET Login