How many times can you retake ParaPathways?

ETS lets you retake ParaPathways once as soon as you like. If you need more attempts, wait 21 days after your most recent attempt, then you can retake two more times, and the pattern repeats. The same rule applies at home and at a test center.

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The retake rule, step by step

ETS publishes the pattern. You can retake ParaPathways once as soon as you would like, with no gap to sit through. If more than one retake is necessary, you wait 21 days after your most recent attempt, and then you can retake the test two more times. Continued retakes follow the same pattern, so the rhythm repeats rather than ending.

Your first retake: as soon as you like.
Your next attempts: after you wait 21 days from your most recent attempt.
After that: two attempts, then the same wait, then two more.

At home or at a test center, the same

ETS says the retake policy applies to both at-home testing and testing at physical centers, so where you test does not change when you can test again.

If you took the composite test

There is one extra note for people who registered for both subtests together. If you took the composite test (5757), ETS says you cannot retake a subtest (5758 or 5759) more than once until after the 21-day period.

A subtest can also be registered on its own, at its own fee. Our passing score by state page is worth reading here, because which score you need is your state's decision and not ETS's.

What each retake costs

A retake is a new registration, so a new fee. Either subtest can be registered on its own: 5758 or 5759 is $37.50 at home or $29.50 at a test center. Both subtests together, the composite (5757), is $75 at home or $59 at a test center.

Some test centers may charge additional proctoring fees on top of that, and ETS says fees are subject to change without notice. If the cost is the reason you are choosing one setting over the other, check the total with the center rather than with the fee list.

What ETS does not say about an earlier pass

Here is the honest limit of the published rule. ETS does not say whether a subtest you passed on an earlier date still counts when you pass the other one later. The retake rule tells you how often you may sit the test; it does not tell you that a previous pass is carried forward, and it is not the document that decides it.

That decision belongs to your state. Before you register for another attempt, ask the certification office in your state whether a subtest score from a previous sitting is accepted on its own. If it is, the cheapest path is a single subtest rather than the composite. If your state is not sure either, find that out before you pay a second fee, not after.

ParaPathways Bridge

A near miss has its own route. ETS runs a program called ParaPathways Bridge for candidates who scored within one standard error of measurement of their state's passing score. It is not available everywhere: only states that use the Bridge offer it, and which ones those are changes as states adopt ParaPathways.

So treat the Bridge as something to check rather than something to plan on. The ETS ParaPathways Bridge page is the place to confirm whether your state is one of them.

Frequently asked questions

How many times can you retake ParaPathways?

Is the retake rule different at home and at a test center?

No. ETS says the retake policy applies to both at-home testing and testing at physical centers, so where you test does not change when you can test again.

I took the composite. Can I retake a single subtest?

There is a note for that case. If you took the composite test (5757), ETS says you cannot retake a subtest (5758 or 5759) more than once until after the 21-day period. Either subtest can also be registered on its own, at its own fee.

What does a retake cost?

A retake is a new registration. One subtest on its own (5758 or 5759) is $37.50 at home or $29.50 at a test center. Both subtests together (5757) are $75 at home or $59 at a test center. Some test centers may charge additional proctoring fees, and fees are subject to change without notice.

If I passed one subtest, do I have to take it again?

ETS does not publish that rule. Whether a subtest you passed on an earlier date still counts when you pass the other one later is your state's decision, so ask your state before you register for anything else.

What to do next

Find out where you actually stand before you pay for anything: take the free ParaPathways practice test, then ask your state the one question ETS does not answer for you.

Our study book covers every skill on both subtests, in English and Spanish.

Sources

Every exam fact on this page comes from the public documents below. Open one to read the source itself.

Last checked against these sources: September 24, 2026. See every fact with the exact quote it rests on.