Before booking another attempt, confirm your next eligible date, the score you need and what you will change in your preparation. The standard waits are one calendar month, another calendar month, then six months for later retests.
Test Ninjas Research · Updated October 14, 2026
The waiting periods
How long you must wait between attempts
After
You must wait
After your first ASVAB
1 calendar month
After your first retest
1 calendar month
After any later retest
6 calendar months
A calendar month is not simply 30 days. The official retest policy page gives this example: if a first retest was given on March 20, a second retest can be given on or after April 20. A second retest given before the month is up is invalidated. The policy is the same whether your initial test was a student test or an enlistment test. Have your recruiter verify the dates in your own record.
Confirmation tests and invalidated tests
Special cases in the official retest policy
Situation
What the policy says
AFQT gain of 20 or more points within 6 months
A confirmation test (C-Test) is required. It can be given right away, with no one-month wait.
After a C-Test
The next standard retest is allowed 6 months from the date of the C-Test.
No-show for a required C-Test
The next standard retest is allowed 6 months from the date of the retest that produced the gain.
Initial test invalidated for an administrative reason, such as a fire drill
It does not count as your first test. You can take another initial test as MEPS scheduling allows.
First or second retest invalidated for an administrative reason
It does not count. You can retest, on a different form, 1 month after the initial test or first retest.
Initial test, first retest or second retest invalidated for cheating
You must wait 6 months before retesting.
The confirmation test, or C-Test, is not optional. If your AFQT rises by 20 or more points within a 6-month period, you are required to take it, and you do not have to wait a month before it.
Your most recent score counts, not your highest. Retesting is not superscoring and it is not best-of. The Army’s ASVAB guidance states that your most recent score, not your highest, will be used, so a lower result can replace a higher one. Discuss this tradeoff before booking another attempt.
How long scores last
ASVAB scores are valid for enlistment for 2 years from the date of testing, provided they can be verified as belonging to you. That applies equally to a test taken at a Military Entrance Processing Station and to one taken through the Career Exploration Program at school in 11th grade or later. If you tested at school through School Staff Testing (SST), you must also take a Verification Test (Vtest) before those scores can be used to enlist. The official applicant FAQs explain the two-year validity window.
The practical implication for students: an ASVAB taken as a junior is still usable during senior year while it remains within the two-year window. One taken as a sophomore is not usable for enlistment at all, regardless of how recent it is.
Should you retest?
Questions to resolve before a retest
Situation
Next step
Preparation focus
AFQT below the current requirement
Confirm your options with a recruiter
Use your four AFQT subtests to identify specific preparation needs.
AFQT meets the requirement; one job composite is short
Identify the relevant subtests
Target weak skills in that composite while maintaining the others.
Current scores meet your stated goal
Clarify the benefit before booking
A higher result is not guaranteed; a lower valid result can replace the earlier one.
Scores older than 2 years
Arrange current testing
Ask the recruiter to confirm your record and next available appointment.
Turn your score report into a study plan
For an AFQT goal, review Arithmetic Reasoning, Mathematics Knowledge, Word Knowledge and Paragraph Comprehension. Choose your weakest skills from actual mistakes. Use a math lesson, vocabulary practice or reading set to work on one skill at a time.
If you are retesting to lift a specific line score, work backwards from the composite instead. The line score calculator shows which subtests feed which composite. Confirm the actual job requirement with your recruiter, then use the study plan to schedule practice and review.
The AFCT, for people already serving
Service members who want to raise their line scores, for example to qualify for a different job, take the Armed Forces Classification Test through their Service’s procedures. The Army’s AFCT information tells Soldiers to take the AFCT at their installation’s testing facility, not to retake the ASVAB or contact MEPS. Contact your education or testing office for your own eligibility and scheduling requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
One calendar month after your first ASVAB. Another calendar month after your first retest. After that, six calendar months before each further attempt.
2 years from the date of testing, for enlistment purposes, provided they can be verified as yours. Eligible school scores must come from testing in 11th grade or later.
The Army states that your most recent score, not your highest, is the one used. Retesting is not a case of taking your best score across attempts, which is why a retest taken without preparation carries real risk: a lower score can replace a higher one.
The standard policy allows retesting subject to waiting periods. After the second retest, each further standard retest requires six months. An AFQT gain of 20 or more points within 6 months requires a confirmation test, which can be given right away. Your recruiter should confirm eligibility and previous test dates before scheduling.
The Armed Forces Classification Test is used for in-service testing. If you are already serving, ask your education or testing office about eligibility, preparation and the process for your Service rather than arranging a civilian enlistment retest.
First identify the score requirement you are trying to meet and confirm it with a recruiter. A retest may help if an AFQT or job-related composite is too low, but it also requires preparation and a new valid score can replace your earlier result. If your current scores meet your goal, discuss whether retesting serves any concrete purpose.