Can You Take the GRE at Home? Setup & Rules (2026)

Short answer: yes, you can take the GRE at home. ETS launched the at-home version in 2020 and has kept it as a permanent option since. The score is accepted by every program that accepts the in-person GRE, with no asterisk and no separate label.

The more useful question, and the one most articles skip, is whether you should. The at-home test is genuinely equivalent in content and scoring, but it has its own set of rules, equipment requirements, and failure modes. A poorly set up at-home test can cost you a cancelled session, lost test fees, and weeks of rescheduling. This post walks through the full picture so you can decide with both pieces of information.

Tip

TL;DR: take the GRE at home if you have a quiet, lockable room, a stable internet connection, and an aversion to test-center anxiety. Take it at a test center if your home setup is uncertain, you live with people who can't reliably stay out of the room for 2 hours, or your country's at-home version is limited (a few regions have restrictions).

Quick Reference: What's the Same and What's Different

Aspect	Test Center	At Home
Test content	Identical	Identical
Test format	Section-adaptive, same sections	Section-adaptive, same sections
Test length	About 1 hour 58 minutes	About 1 hour 58 minutes
Score scale	260-340 total, 0-6 AWA	260-340 total, 0-6 AWA
Score validity	5 years	5 years
Acceptance by programs	Universal	Universal (same score report, same code)
Retake rules (21 days, 5 in 12 mo)	Apply	Apply (count is shared across both formats)
Test fee	Around $220 in most regions	Same fee structure
Calculator	On-screen ETS calculator	On-screen ETS calculator (identical)
Scratch paper	Physical noteboard provided	Erasable whiteboard or transparent sheet protector with marker (you supply)
Proctor	On site at test centre	Remote via webcam (ProctorU)
Breaks	Optional 10-minute break	Optional 10-minute break
Reschedule window	Up to 4 days before test date (fee applies)	Up to 4 days before test date (fee applies)

Sources: ETS GRE General Test policies (as of 2026). Always verify specific fees and any regional restrictions on the official ETS page for your country before registering.

Equipment Requirements (Where Most Tests Get Cancelled)

ETS publishes a detailed equipment checklist for at-home test takers. The most common reasons sessions get cancelled or refused at check-in:

Operating system: Windows 10 or higher, or macOS (Monterey or higher recommended). ChromeOS, Linux, and tablets are not supported.
Browser: ProctorU's secure browser. Run the equipment check on the ETS page before booking. If your machine fails the check, fix it before you register, not after.
Webcam: built-in or external. Most modern laptop cameras work. The proctor needs to see your face clearly.
Microphone: built-in or headset. No headphones or earbuds during the test (the proctor needs to hear room audio).
Internet: stable wired or strong Wi-Fi. ETS recommends a minimum of 1 Mbps upload, but the practical reality is you want a connection that does not drop. Test it during the time of day you would actually sit the test.
Phone: a smartphone is required for the room scan and ID check. After scanning, it must be placed out of arm's reach for the duration of the test.
Mirror or reflective surface: handheld mirror used to show the proctor the screen edges, reflective surfaces near the workspace, and behind the monitor. A small handheld mirror works fine.
ID: government-issued photo ID matching the name on your registration exactly.

Warning

Run ETS's free equipment check on the same machine, in the same room, at roughly the same time of day you plan to sit the actual test. Wi-Fi behaves differently at 9 AM versus 10 PM, and a check that passed two weeks ago does not guarantee a check that passes today.

The Test Room: ETS Rules That Trip People Up

ETS publishes a long list of room requirements. The ones first-time at-home test takers most often violate:

Walls clear of posters, calendars, whiteboards, and notes within the camera's view. Strip the wall behind you and beside you.
Desk clear of everything except your computer, your scratch surface, your ID, your phone (placed out of reach after the scan), and a clear glass of water (no opaque bottles).
No second monitor connected. Disconnect it physically; toggling display settings off is not sufficient.
No notes, books, or papers within reach. The proctor will fail you on this if they see paper edges peeking out from under the keyboard.
Headphones or earbuds prohibited. Headsets without earbuds are usually allowed if the proctor can see they are not in your ears.
Door must be closed. Other people in the room (including pets that may wander in) will cause the session to be flagged and possibly cancelled.
No reading the questions out loud. Whispering, muttering, or reading along is grounds for cancellation.
Bathroom breaks: not permitted during sections; the optional 10-minute break is your only chance. Use it.

Note

Sounds outside your control (a sudden delivery, a barking dog two doors down) are usually noted by the proctor but rarely cancel the session unless they become repeated or extreme. Do everything you can on what you can control, accept what you cannot, and stay calm if something happens.

Scratch Paper: The One Equipment Difference Worth Practicing

At a test center, you receive a physical noteboard and marker. At home, you supply your own scratch surface, and ETS accepts only two options:

A small dry-erase whiteboard with an erasable marker and an eraser.
A transparent sheet protector (with one or two sheets of plain white paper inside) and an erasable marker.

Both work, but the experience is different from physical paper, especially for Quant. Marker thickness, page size, and the act of erasing all change how comfortable you are with scratch work. The fix is simple: practice full-length mocks with the same scratch setup you intend to use on test day, not regular paper. The first time you discover your dry-erase marker is too thick for clean fraction work should not be 20 minutes into a real Quant section.

Tip

Buy a single 8.5x11 dry-erase whiteboard and two extra markers (one of each works for one section before drying out is a real risk). Use it for your last 3 to 4 mock tests before test day. Aim for the same handwriting habits you would use on a real noteboard at a test center.

Pros and Cons: Honest Trade-offs

At-home pros	At-home cons
No travel time, no test-center commute, no parking	Equipment failure or internet drop can cancel the session
You control the temperature, the chair, the lighting	You are responsible for room setup; the proctor can pause or cancel for violations
Often easier to schedule (more frequent slots than busy test centres)	Distractions from neighbours, family, deliveries, and pets are your problem
Lower commute-related anxiety for many test takers	Some test takers focus better in a neutral testing room than at home
Same score, same acceptance, same percentile	Some regions have at-home restrictions; check before booking

Match the list to your situation honestly. The wrong reason to pick at-home: you assume it will be easier. The right reason: your home environment is genuinely well-suited to focused work for 2 hours.

When to Pick At-Home vs Test Center

Use these decision rules rather than defaulting to either:

If your nearest test center is more than 60 to 90 minutes away, the at-home advantage is real. Travel fatigue costs scaled points.
If you live in a stable, quiet space you control (your own apartment, a private bedroom in a quiet household), at-home is a clean choice. If your space is shared, loud, or has uncontrollable foot traffic, take the test at a centre.
If you have ever had a webcam, audio, or internet issue on a video call in the past 6 months, schedule a centre slot. The 5 percent chance of a similar failure on test day is not worth the cost.
If your home is fine but you find sitting still at your own desk for hours difficult (it is your work-and-procrastination desk), a centre will feel more focused.
If you have already taken the at-home version once and the experience was clean, repeating at home is usually the right call.

How to Prepare Specifically for the At-Home Version

Run the ETS equipment check at least 3 times before booking, ideally on different days and times.
Photograph your test workspace in advance and review it against ETS's published photos of acceptable setups. Remove anything questionable.
Practice with your real scratch setup (whiteboard or sheet protector) on at least 3 full-length free section-adaptive mocks.
Tell your household you will be unavailable, with the room door closed and locked if possible, for 3 hours on test day. Build in 30 minutes before for check-in and 30 minutes after for buffer.
Have a backup plan: if your at-home session gets cancelled for any reason, ETS allows rebooking. Know your nearest test centre slot availability in case you need to fall back.
On the day, sit a 30-minute GRE Readiness Check the morning before as a warm-up. Light, not heavy. The goal is to be loose, not tired.

For a deeper walk-through of test day execution (whether at home or at a centre), see our complete GRE test day plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. ETS offers the GRE General Test at home in most countries, with the same content, format, scoring, and program acceptance as the in-person test. You take it on your own computer with a remote ProctorU proctor. Register on the official ETS GRE site and select the at-home option for your country and date.

Yes, in every way that matters. Same sections, same timing, same score scale (260-340), same percentiles, same 5-year validity, same acceptance by programs. Score reports do not flag whether you took the test at home or at a centre.

The test itself is the same difficulty. What can be harder at home is staying focused, managing the equipment, and tolerating distractions in your own environment. For test takers with a controlled home setup, at-home is often easier because of the lower stress. For test takers with shared spaces, the test centre is usually less stressful.

Same as the in-person test: around $220 USD in most regions for the standard registration. The ETS fee-reduction program covers the at-home option as well.

A laptop or desktop running Windows 10 or higher (or macOS Monterey or higher), a working webcam and microphone, a stable internet connection, a smartphone for the room scan, a handheld mirror, an erasable whiteboard or sheet-protector scratch surface with an erasable marker, government-issued photo ID, and a quiet room with clear walls and a clean desk.

The system pauses. If the disconnection is brief, you can resume from where you left off. If the disconnection is extended, the proctor may end the session and you would need to reschedule. ETS handles this case-by-case; do not panic in the moment, just follow the proctor's instructions.

Yes. The score report is identical and does not indicate where the test was taken. Every program that accepts the GRE accepts the at-home version, with no separate evaluation. Many universities now explicitly mention at-home GRE in their admissions FAQs.

Most countries support the at-home GRE, but a few have restrictions or do not offer it. Check the official ETS country list when you register. India, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and most of Europe all support at-home testing.

Tip

Before you commit to either format, take a free, full-length, section-adaptive Warm-Up Mock on your home laptop with the scratch surface you would use on test day. The score is your real GRE baseline; the experience tells you whether your home setup is ready for the real thing.