United States
Hong KongHow many times can you take the FTCE?
There is no cap. Rule 6A-4.0021 sets no limit on how many times you may retake a failed examination. It requires at least thirty days between administrations of the same examination, and it does not let you retake one you have already passed. Each attempt is a fresh registration at USD 32.50.
Two limits exist and neither of them is a number of attempts. One is a waiting period. The other is a rule against resitting something you have already cleared.
What the rule says
- Attempt limit
- None stated in the rule
- Wait between attempts
- At least 30 days since the previous administration of that examination
- Passed subtests
- May not be retaken
- Cost per attempt
- USD 32.50, a fresh single-subtest registration
- Fee waivers
- Military waivers exist; retake fees may not be waived
Rule 6A-4.0021(3)(d) allows an examinee to retake a failed examination provided at least thirty days have elapsed since the previous administration of that examination. Rule 6A-4.0021(3)(e) states that an examinee may not retake an examination they have passed. That is the whole of it, and we are not going to add to it.
The counting is per subtest
Each subtest is a separate examination for this purpose. Fail Mathematics and pass the other three, and your thirty days runs on Mathematics alone, your attempt count is one, and your three passes are untouched and do not expire.
This is the part most candidates get wrong when they picture retaking the FTCE. You are not resitting the test. You are resitting one of its four pieces, for a quarter of the price of a full battery.
No cap is not the same as unlimited in practice
The thirty-day wait caps the calendar even when nothing caps the count. Two failures at the same subtest means at least two months between the first attempt and the third, before you add booking time. And a district or a preparation program may impose deadlines of its own that the rule knows nothing about, so check what your route requires rather than assuming the rule is the only clock.
Retaking is normal here
37.2% of candidates in FLDOE's 2025 report retook at least one subtest. That is not a fringe outcome, it is roughly two in five, and it follows directly from a test that asks you to clear four separate bars in one go. Our own reading of the published rates is set out in why roughly a quarter pass all four first time, and that compound figure is ours rather than the Department's.
Failing one subtest is a USD 32.50 problem and a thirty-day problem. It is not a certification problem.
Common questions
How many times can you take the FTCE General Knowledge Test?
The rule sets no limit. Rule 6A-4.0021 allows an examinee to retake a failed examination provided at least thirty days have elapsed since the previous administration of it, and it states no maximum number of attempts.
Can I retake a subtest I passed?
No. Rule 6A-4.0021 states that an examinee may not retake an examination they have passed. A passing subtest score does not expire either, so there is nothing to refresh and no way to improve it.
How long do I wait between attempts?
At least thirty days since the previous administration of that examination. The wait attaches to the specific subtest, so a failure in Mathematics does not delay a first attempt at Reading.
Does each retake cost the full fee?
No. A retake is a fresh single-subtest registration at USD 32.50, and you resit only the subtest you failed. That is a quarter of the USD 130 full-battery fee.
How many people retake at least one subtest?
37.2%, according to FLDOE's 2025 Annual Administration and Technical Report. Roughly two in five candidates go back for something, which makes a retake an ordinary part of this test rather than a sign of anything.