Get paid back for test fees

The GI Bill covers more than just tuition. You can use part of your entitlement to cover the cost of certain tests you need to take to become a licensed or certified professional—or to apply for college or a training course. We only cover tests approved for the GI Bill under this benefit, so find out what’s approved before you take any tests.

What types of tests can I get paid back for through the GI Bill?

For licensing and certification

If you’re a Veteran and you qualify for the GI Bill, you may be able to use part of your entitlement to cover test fees up to $2,000 for a job that requires a license or certification in order for you to work.

You can use our search tool to learn which tests are covered and their costs. In the field that says “L&C Name,” enter the name of the license or certification you’re interested in. For example, you can enter “barber” to learn which barber licenses and certifications are eligible for fee repayment.

Note: If you don’t see a test listed, it may be a valid test that’s just not yet approved. Please submit an application for reimbursement.

What you should know if you’re eligible for test benefits

• We’ll pay for tests for as many approved licenses or certifications as you’d like.
• We’ll pay for tests even if you don’t score high enough to get your license or certification. You can take the same test as many times as you need.
• We’ll pay for you to retake a test you passed if you need to take it again to get recertified or retain a license you already have.
• We won’t pay for fees or costs related to getting the actual license or certification document.
• We won’t pay more than $2,000 in fees for one test.

For tests taken after August 1, 2018, we’ll prorate the entitlement charges under the Post-9/11 GI Bill based on the actual amount of the fee charged for the test.

For national testing

If you’re a Veteran or service member and you qualify for the GI Bill, we’ll pay for as many national tests as you take.

We’ll pay you back for these costs:

• The cost to register
• The cost of specialized tests
• Administrative fees

We’ll pay you back for the approved tests listed here

Approved college admissions tests:

• SAT (formerly “Scholastic Assessment Test”)
• ACT (American College Testing)
• TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)

Approved tests that you can take to earn college credits:

• AP (Advanced Placement Examination)
• CLEP (College-Level Examination Program)
• DSST (DANTES Subject Standardized Tests)
• ECE (Excelsior College Examinations)
• PLA (Prior Learning Assessment) testing through learningcounts.org

Approved graduate school admissions tests:

• GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test)
• GRE (Graduate Record Examination)
• LSAT (Law School Admission Test)
• MAT (Miller Analogies Test)

Approved admissions tests for pre-health professional programs:

• DAT (Dental Admission Test)
• MCAT (Medical College Admission Test)
• OAT (Optometry Admission Test)
• PCAT (Pharmacy College Admission Test)

We won’t pay you back for these fees and costs

• Pretest costs (such as Kaplan tests)
• Fees to get scores quickly
• Optional items not required to take an approved test

How we charge your benefits

For tests taken before August 1, 2018, if we paid you back for testing under the Post-9/11 GI Bill, we charged you at least a month of entitlement pay.

For tests taken after August 1, 2018, we’ll prorate the entitlement charges under the Post-9/11 GI Bill based on the actual amount of the fee charged for the test.