How many times can you take the GRE?

The rule: 21 days, five per rolling year

You can take the GRE General Test once every 21 days, up to five times within any continuous rolling 12-month period, per ETS registration guidance (accessed 2026-08-07). The window is rolling, not a fixed calendar year, so ETS counts back 12 months from each new test date. That means the sixth attempt is blocked until the oldest of your five falls outside the trailing year.

Why the cap matters for a retake

The 21-day gap and the five-per-year limit set hard boundaries on how you sequence attempts, as the same ETS registration rules spell out. If you want two or three tries before an application deadline, count backward from that deadline and leave at least 21 days between each sitting. Booking too close together wastes a slot you cannot use.

A retake is low-risk with ScoreSelect

Retaking carries little downside because ScoreSelect (accessed 2026-08-07) lets you choose which administrations to send, so an earlier attempt need not be reported. In practice you can sit again, and if the new score is lower, simply send only the stronger administration. Schools then see the scores you select rather than every attempt.

Retakes stay in one window

There is no rush to use every attempt at once. Since GRE scores stay reportable for five years (accessed 2026-08-07), a retake taken months later still sits in the same reporting window as your earlier attempts.

Sources

Every source below was accessed on the listed date. Pages — especially department admissions pages — change without notice; the links go to the live versions.

1. GRE Test Registration — ETS. Accessed 2026-08-07.
2. Sending Your GRE General Test Scores — ETS. Accessed 2026-08-07.
3. Getting Your GRE General Test Scores — ETS. Accessed 2026-08-07.