Registration, fees, dates and test centres are run by CTI, the body behind the HSK — not by any school or app, including this one. This article is about the process: how booking works, how the paper and internet-based tests differ, how to find a centre, and what the day itself looks like.
Finding a test centre
There are HSK centres in most countries with a university Chinese department, and many are hosted by Confucius Institutes, universities or private language schools. The authoritative list is inside the official registration system: you create an account, and the centres available to you appear when you choose a test and a date.
We deliberately do not reproduce that list. It changes, it is held behind the registration login, and a stale address here would cost somebody a sitting. Create the account first — it is free and it is the only view of centre availability that is current.
Paper test or internet-based test?
Both test the same syllabus to the same standard and produce the same certificate. You choose at the point of booking, and the choice is about how you work rather than how much you know.
| Paper test | Internet-based test (IBT) | |
|---|---|---|
| Writing | Handwritten | Typed, with pinyin input |
| Suits you if | You practise with a pen and know your stroke order | You type Chinese daily and select characters quickly |
| The risk | A character you can recognise but not form | Hunting through a candidate list and losing minutes |
| Availability | Wider, including smaller centres | Needs a centre with the facilities |
| Results | Typically slower to publish | Typically faster to publish |
How booking works
- Register an account on the official site — Free, and the prerequisite for everything else. Use the name exactly as it appears on the ID you will bring — a mismatch is the most common reason a candidate is turned away.
- Pick the test, the level and the format — HSK 1-6 and HSK 7-9 are separate tests. HSKK, the spoken test, is also separate and is booked independently if you need it.
- Pick a date and a centre — Sittings are scheduled through the year, but not every level runs on every date and not every centre offers every format. Popular centres fill, so book early rather than close to the deadline.
- Pay, and keep the confirmation — Fees vary by level and by country, because centres set them locally. The confirmation and the admission ticket are the documents you need later.
- Download your admission ticket — It is released shortly before the sitting and carries your seat and room. Print it if the centre asks for it printed.
On the day
- Bring the ID you registered with — The original, not a copy or a photograph, and the one whose details match your registration exactly.
- Arrive well before the stated time — Seating, identity checks and the audio check all happen before the clock starts, and a candidate who arrives during them may not be admitted.
- Expect to fill in details first — Every level from 1 to 6 includes a period for personal details before the first section — 8 to 10 minutes that are part of the published length but not part of the testing time.
- The listening audio plays once — For the whole room, with no pause and no replay, and you cannot return to a question after its recording has passed. This is the single biggest difference from how most people practise.
- Pens, pencils and erasers per the centre — Paper tests usually specify a 2B pencil for the answer sheet. The regulations say what is permitted; read them rather than guessing.
Results, and what they are worth
Results are published through the same account you registered with, typically within about a month for the paper test and sooner for the internet-based one. You can usually order additional printed score reports if an institution needs one sent directly.
The certificate itself does not print an expiry date, but bodies that ask for one generally treat a score report as current for two years. Plan the sitting against the deadline that matters — an application window, an intake, a visa — rather than sitting early and discovering the report has aged out.
Before you spend the fee
Which HSK should you sit?
Pick the level you are considering. You will get what the paper asks of you, what the syllabus behind it contains, and what the certificate is typically used for — before you pay a registration fee.
Not sure where you stand? The grammar placement check puts you on a band in a few minutes, and every level above has one free mock paper you can sit without an account.
Registration, fees, dates and the list of test centres are handled by CTI, not by us. Source: www.chinesetest.cn.
Common questions
It varies by level and by country, because test centres set their own fees in local currency — higher levels cost more than lower ones. The figure that applies to you appears during registration, once you have chosen a centre.