Registering for Qudurat (GAT): Steps, Fees, Dates, Paper vs Computer

Last verified: 1 November 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change, so confirm everything on the General Aptitude Test page on the Education and Training Evaluation Commission (ETEC) website before you pay. This guide is independent: it is not affiliated with ETEC, Qiyas (the National Center for Assessment) or any government body, and it cannot register you.

Key facts

Who can register?

According to ETEC's page, you must be in Grade 11 or Grade 12 or a high school graduate. The test is for anyone who wants to continue to university or college, or to join a body that requires it, and it is one of the admission criteria at many universities alongside your school grades.

There are two versions of the test, depending on your track, so know which one is yours before you register:

• Scientific GAT: for students in the General track, the Health and Life Sciences track and the Computer Science and Engineering track.
• Theoretical GAT: for students in the Sharia track and the Business Administration track.

Both versions use the same question types (verbal and quantitative) in different proportions. The scientific test has algebra at 4% and arithmetic at 23%; the theoretical test has no algebra and arithmetic at 13%. The theoretical test is heavier on verbal: reading comprehension 25% against 21%, and verbal analogy 21% against 17%. The full weights are in the syllabus guide.

You have five attempts (see "Results, validity and number of attempts" below), so registering before you are ready uses one up. If you are in Grade 11 you can sit the test early and retake it later, but make that a deliberate choice, not a rush.

How to register

1. Work out your version: scientific or theoretical, depending on your school track (see above).
2. Go to ETEC's e-services portal and open your beneficiary profile (ملف المستفيد), or create an account if you do not have one.
3. Choose the format: the paper test on its announced dates, or the computer-based test available all year. Then pick a date and centre.
4. Pay the fee: SAR 100 for early paper registration, SAR 150 for late paper registration or for the computer-based test, and SAR 200 outside Saudi Arabia.
5. Check your booking early: after payment ETEC lets you delete or change it up to 72 hours before the paper test and 48 hours before the computer-based test.
6. Check your profile the day before the test to confirm your test date and centre, then arrive with your original proof of identity (see "Test day" below).

We have not used the portal ourselves because it needs a login, so button names may differ slightly from what is described here.

Paper or computer-based?

The questions are the same in type and content; what differs is how you register and how the test is run. This comparison should help you choose:

To choose: if university application deadlines are close, the computer-based test suits you better, because results arrive within days and you choose the date, which leaves room for a retake. If you prefer shading on paper and have plenty of time before your last application date, the paper test costs less if you register early. Either way, practise working in timed sections: being ready not to return to an earlier section is a skill you train.

Fee

• Paper test, early registration: SAR 100.
• Paper test, late registration: SAR 150.
• Computer-based test: SAR 150.
• Test outside Saudi Arabia: SAR 200.

Attempts are limited to five, so preparing well before your first attempt saves you the fee and one of your attempts.

Dates

ETEC's page says the 2026 paper test runs 10 to 14 December 2026. Registration opened on 14 September for men and 16 September for women, and late registration opens on 1 November 2026. The computer-based test is available all year in 2026 for men and women, so you pick a date and centre from what the portal offers when you register.

When you choose a date, work out when your result will arrive: computer-based results come 3 to 5 working days after the test, paper results about a month after. Leave enough time between your test and your university's last application date for a retake if you need one.

Changing or deleting your booking

Once you have paid, you can delete or change your booking up to 72 hours before the paper test and 48 hours before the computer-based test. If you need to change it, do so before that cut-off.

Documents and proof of identity

ETEC requires your ID to be:

• The original, not a copy.
• A plastic card.
• Valid (not expired).
• With a clear personal photo.

You can enter with any of these documents:

• National ID card.
• Resident ID card (iqama) for non-Saudis.
• Your own paper passport.
• Saudi driving licence.

Cards that are not accepted include work ID cards and university student cards. For the paper test you also need to know your seat number, which is sent to you by message the day before the test.

Exemption for people with disabilities from the General Aptitude Test and the Achievement Test is handled by the Ministry of Education's General Administration for Special Education, not through normal registration.

Test day

Before you leave home

• Check your profile on Qiyas to confirm your test date and centre.
• Confirm the start time and work out how long the journey takes.
• Arrive half an hour before the test, as ETEC advises; you will not be allowed into the centre once the test has started.
• Bring your original accepted ID.

At a paper centre

• It is best not to bring a phone. If you do, switch it off and put it with your belongings in a plastic bag. No phone or other device may enter the room, and checkpoints verify this.
• It is best not to bring a handbag. If you do, it will be searched and left at the front of the room, and ETEC is not responsible if it goes missing.
• ETEC gives you a pencil; ink pens are not allowed.
• No food or drink, except a closed bottle of water.
• You sit in the seat assigned by your seat number and may not leave it without the invigilator's permission.
• No books or papers; if you bring any they are left outside the room.
• Your fingerprint is matched with the National Information Center and your photo is taken.
• There are no breaks during the test, so prepare for that.

At a computer-based centre

• Sit in the seat the invigilator assigns you and keep quiet.
• Read the instructions screen carefully before you start.
• Each section has its own time limit in which you answer and review that section's questions only. Once you move to a later section you cannot go back.
• Use the electronic scratchpad to try out solutions.
• Raise your hand to call the invigilator or when you finish; the invigilator will not answer any query about the questions.
• Make sure you end the test properly and have answered all questions in every section.

ETEC lists the following among violations that stop the test and cancel your score: impersonation, cheating by any means, using a phone or any device during the test, taking photos, looking at a neighbour's paper, moving between sections without permission, and carrying on working after time is up.

Results, validity and number of attempts

• When results come out: computer-based test 3 to 5 working days after the test; paper test about a month.
• Result validity: five years from the test date.
• Attempts: five.
• Pass mark: there is no pass or fail. The test is norm-referenced, so your score reflects how close you are to or how far you are from the average of the people who take the test, and each university decides how much Qudurat counts in its weighted score.

This is how to read your score:

In short

Register for the date that leaves you time to prepare and to retake, check your Qiyas profile at least a day before the test, and do not forget your original ID. To see where you stand today before you pay the test fee, start the free questions: 10 questions, no sign-up, then your score now and your weakest parts, with every option explained. Your result here is for practice only and is not an official result.