2026 Guokao Registration and Exam Dates

The 2026 guokao recruitment announcement, which also carried the new relaxed age eligibility rules, was published on October 14, 2025. Online registration opened the next day, October 15, and closed on October 24, giving candidates a roughly ten-day window. The public subject written test, covering both Xingce and Shenlun, was held on November 30, 2025, with interviews conducted afterward, staggered by hiring department, starting around the beginning of January 2026.

What was the actual sequence for the 2026 intake?

The full sequence ran: the recruitment announcement on October 14, 2025, online registration from October 15 to October 24, 2025, application review ending October 26, 2025, the written test on November 30, 2025, and interviews beginning around January 1, 2026, staggered department by department rather than on one fixed national date. For 2026, this cycle recruited 38,100 positions, and 2.83 million candidates sat the written test, a record ratio of roughly 74 applicants per post.

Why is the registration window so short?

A roughly ten-day registration window is the norm for the guokao, not an anomaly specific to 2026; the exam runs on a tight annual calendar from announcement to written test, generally condensed into about six to seven weeks. Candidates who are not actively tracking the announcement date risk missing the registration window entirely, which is one reason many candidates set a reminder well before the expected mid-October announcement rather than waiting to hear about it informally.

Does the registration window affect how candidates should prepare?

It puts a hard deadline on decisions candidates might otherwise defer, most notably the age eligibility change covered in guokao age limit 2026: what changed and who it affects and the degree requirements covered in guokao eligibility: the degree and qualification requirements, explained; a candidate needs to know whether they qualify before the window opens, not during it. It also sets a hard deadline for the photo a candidate needs ready for registration confirmation, covered in guokao application photo requirements: what actually gets accepted.

When will the next cycle’s dates be announced?

Each year’s own announcement, not this year’s dates, is the actual source for the next cycle’s timeline; the guokao has followed a mid-October announcement pattern in recent cycles, but a candidate should treat that as a general expectation rather than a fixed date to plan around. The guokao exam page tracks the official announcement once it is published, and an exam countdown can help once the next cycle’s specific dates are known.

Frequently asked questions

When was the 2026 guokao announcement published? October 14, 2025, alongside the new relaxed age eligibility rules for that intake.

When did 2026 guokao registration open and close? Registration opened October 15, 2025 and closed October 24, 2025.

When was the 2026 guokao written test held? November 30, 2025, covering both the Xingce and Shenlun public subject papers.

How long is the guokao registration window usually? Around ten days, which is the general pattern rather than something specific to the 2026 cycle.