How many times can you take the GMAT?

The retake rules

GMAC’s policy document from August 2024 still mentions the lifetime limit of eight. GMAC announced its removal later that year, in October 2024.

• Five attempts in any rolling 12-month period, with online and test center attempts counted together.
• At least 16 days after each attempt before you can test again.
• No lifetime limit. GMAC dropped the old limit of eight attempts in 2024.
• If you score a perfect 805, you must wait five years to test again.
• If GMAC cancels a score for a testing issue or a policy violation, that attempt still counts toward your five.

If you missed your appointment

You don’t have to wait the full 16 days. You can book a new exam after 24 hours, but you lose the fee for the one you missed and pay the full fee again.

What schools see when you retake

Each score report you send has the total and section scores from one exam only. Earlier attempts aren’t sent along with it, and you can review your official score before deciding to send it.

GMAC announced the GMAT Superscore in June 2026 for an August rollout. It combines your best Quant, Verbal and Data Insights scores across valid attempts of the current exam, online or at a test center, at no extra cost, and it appears on your Official Score Report as an extra data point.

Planning a second attempt

Count back from your deadline. The 16-day wait plus three to five days for the official score means about three weeks from one test to a new score in hand.

Before you pay again, check that you’ve actually improved. GMAC sells four more official practice exams on top of the two free ones, and they use the same scoring as the real test.