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What are the entry qualifications for the 2025 HKDSE?
School Candidates -
Only bona fide Secondary 6 students of registered schools in Hong Kong approved for participation or bona fide Secondary 6 (or Secondary 6 equivalent) students of qualified schools outside Hong Kong approved for participation may be entered as school candidates. The students must be studying at the registered address of the schools as per HKEAA’s records.
Private Candidates -
A person may enter for the 2025 HKDSE as a private candidate provided he/she has satisfied one of the following requirements:
- The person has sat the previous HKDSE or an equivalent examination, or
- The person has reached the age of 19 by 1 January 2025, or
- The person has completed or is currently pursuing a non-HKDSE curriculum equivalent to Secondary 6 as determined by the HKEAA in the year preceding the Examination.
The Authority may consider applications from persons possessing other qualifications or pleading special circumstances. Persons who have sat other public examinations are expected to demonstrate a suitable level of competence in the same subject(s) entered for the Examination and may be required to provide supporting documents from their schools, if applicable. Persons who are currently pursuing an HKDSE curriculum will not normally be considered for special entry to the Examination. Exceptional cases may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Applications under this regulation must be made in writing to the Secretary General before 8 October 2024.
For the application for special entry to the 2025 HKDSE as a private candidate, please click here to download the application form and application guides. For more details, please refer to the procedural guides and FAQs on special entry.
All candidates must comply with the examination regulations as stipulated in the ‘2025 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination Regulations and Assessment Frameworks’ and ‘Handbook for Candidates’, including the disclaimer in Sections 5.2 and 5.3 of the Examination Regulations regarding the Authority’s discretion in making changes to the HKDSE examination timetable, cancellation of the Examination and restricting participation in the Examination due to special circumstances. All candidates should ensure that they can comply with necessary statutory requirements for sitting the HKDSE in Hong Kong, such as applicable visa or stay conditions before the examinations. For details, please refer to the HKDSE Examination Regulations.
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What subjects does the registration of the 2025 HKDSE cover?
The registration of the 2025 HKDSE covers:
- Category A – 23 Senior Secondary subjects
- Category B – 58 Applied Learning subjects (for school candidates only)
- Category C – 5 Other Languages subjects
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When will the registration of the 2025 HKDSE be accepted?
Registration of school candidates and private candidates is accepted from 11 September 2024 to 8 October 2024.
All entries of school candidates must be approved by and made through the school via the Registration System at the HKDSE Examination Online Services.
Private candidates are required to submit their application via the HKDSE Examination Online Services during the registration period.
For more registration details, please check out the HKEAA website.
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Can a private candidate enter for a subject which requires laboratory /workshop facilities such as Biology or Chemistry in HKDSE?
A private candidate may enter for a subject which requires laboratory/workshop facilities (i.e. Biology / Chemistry / Physics / Technology and Living) only if the candidate can produce evidence of having sat the subject in a previous HKDSE or in an equivalent public examination, or having completed or is currently pursuing the study of the subject up to the HKDSE / an equivalent level to the HKDSE in the year preceding the Examination. [Notwithstanding this provision, the Authority will not accept entries from private candidates for Design and Applied Technology.]
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Some Category A subjects have an SBA component. Are private candidates required to complete the SBA part?
For Category A subjects with an SBA component, private candidates are not required to complete the SBA component of the subjects entered (except Visual Arts). Their subject marks will be based entirely on their public examination results. For Visual Arts in which the SBA component carries a weighting of 50%, they will be required to submit a portfolio in lieu of the SBA.
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Are school candidates who repeat S6 in schools required to complete the SBA part as required in some of the Category A subjects?
School repeaters have to submit their SBA marks for S6. As they are under their teacher's guidance and curriculum time is provided for completing their SBA tasks, they are expected to complete their assessment work during the repeating year in accordance with their school’s S6 requirements.
For more information on SBA, please check out the HKEAA website.
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Are school candidates who repeat S6 in schools required to complete the SBA part as required in some of the Category A elective subjects which the schools do not offer?
School candidates who repeat Secondary 6 in schools have to be re-assessed in S6 and meet the SBA requirements of the respective subjects entered. If the schools do not offer the elective subject(s) that the candidates wish to re-take in the examination, the candidates may apply for exemption from the SBA for the particular subject(s). The candidates’ subject result will be based entirely on their public examination result (see also Regulation 7.9). This special exemption does not apply to the core subjects, Chinese Language and English Language. Application for exemption must be submitted to the Authority on or before 11 September 2024. Schools should fill in the application form (available for download from the main page of HKDSE Examination Online Services) and submit it to the Authority for consideration together with the relevant supporting documents.
For more information on SBA, please check out the HKEAA website.
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Can school candidates who repeat S6 in schools retake the same Category B Applied Learning (ApL) subject(s) which they have taken in the 2024 HKDSE in the 2025 HKDSE?
An S6 repeater may re-take the same ApL subject(s) as a school candidate in the 2025 HKDSE with the support of the course provider(s) concerned, subject to the proviso that the Y2 ApL assessment results to be submitted to the HKEAA for moderation should form at least 50% of the subject total. Schools should register these candidates for the ApL subjects as well as other subjects via the Registration System within the registration period.
For more information on ApL, please check out the HKEAA website.
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Starting from the 2025 HKDSE, new arrangements will be implemented for Category C (Other Languages) subjects. What should candidates pay attention to when applying for Category C subjects?
Candidates have to take the stipulated language examinations administered in Hong Kong by the official organisations which are the official providers of the language examinations concerned. Candidates should enroll themselves directly with the examination administrators of the stipulated language examinations according to the schedule of the examinations.
Candidates’ results obtained in these examinations at the stipulated minimum proficiency level or above will be included in the HKDSE Category C results. The HKDSE accepts results obtained in the language examinations taken within two years preceding the HKDSE the candidate sits. For the 2025 HKDSE, the results of the relevant language examinations taken from January 2023 to December 2024 are accepted. If a candidate takes the language examinations more than once at the same or different levels, only the highest level and result attained will be reported under the HKDSE Category C subjects.
Starting from the 2025 HKDSE, the June registration has been cancelled. Candidates should register for Category C subjects in the same HKDSE registration period (i.e. from 11 September to 8 October 2024). Candidates must give consent to the respective examination providers to pass their results in the stipulated language examinations to the HKEAA for inclusion as the Category C subject results. Candidates who need to update their examination results documentation for Category C subjects have to submit the necessary documents via the Registration System (school candidates should submit via their schools) by 28 February 2025. This arrangement is only applicable to candidates who have entered for the relevant Category C subjects on or before 5 December 2024.
For other information of Category C Subjects, please click here.
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How can I settle the examination fee for the registration of 2025 HKDSE?
All candidates should pay all examination fees by 11:59 pm on 15 October 2024 for the registration of 2025 HKDSE.
School Candidates -
After the School Principal’s endorsement of your registration entry, your SEO will provide you with a Demand Note for settling the payment of the examination fee. You should make use of one of the following channels to pay your examination fee:
- through Internet Banking;
- through PPS; or
- cash payment at any 7-Eleven or Circle K convenience stores in Hong Kong.
Private Candidates -
Private candidates may choose to pay the examination fee online by credit card or by downloading a Demand Note and making the payment at any 7-Eleven or Circle K convenience stores in Hong Kong, via PPS or via internet banking.
Late Payment -
If candidates fail to settle the examination fees by the payment deadline, entries will be accepted upon payment of a supplementary fee of $297 per candidate in addition to the subject fees. Candidates will receive an email with the demand note attached on 18 October 2024. The payment of examination fees and supplementary fee must be made at any 7-Eleven or Circle-K Convenience Stores in Hong Kong by cash before 11:59 pm on 22 October 2024. A copy of the Demand Note must be produced at the time of payment.
Payment after 22 October 2024 will not be accepted and the registration entry of the candidate concerned for the Examination will be cancelled.
For more details about the payment methods, candidates may download the ‘Instructions for Payment of Examination Fees’ from the HKEAA website or from the HKDSE Examination Online Services.
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Can school candidates who are eligible for financial assistance from the Student Finance Office (SFO) of the Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency apply for examination fee remission when they register for the 2025 HKDSE?
Examination Fee Remission (EFR) will normally be granted to eligible school candidates sitting for the 2025 HKDSE if the following criteria are met:
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The candidate is:
- a Secondary 6 full-time day school student who sits for the HKDSE for the first time as a school candidate; or
- an adult learner who attends Secondary 6 evening courses in designated centres that are quality-assured and commissioned by the Education Bureau (EDB), and sits for the HKDSE for the first time as a school candidate; or
- a Secondary 4 or Secondary 5 student who is studying Year 2 of an Applied Learning (ApL) subject in the school year 2024/2025 and is approved to enter for ‘ApL subjects only’ in the 2025 HKDSE as a school candidate.
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First-time repeaters attending full-time day school/designated evening adult education courses are also eligible for EFR, provided that they entered the 2024 HKDSE for the first time as school candidates and will sit for the HKDSE for the second time as school candidates in the immediate following examination year (i.e. 2025 HKDSE).
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Candidates whose ‘Eligibility Level’ for student finance has been assessed as ‘Full’ (eligible for full EFR) or ‘Half’ (eligible for half EFR) by the SFO; or
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Candidates who are recommended for ‘Full’ or ‘Half’ grant of TA by the attending school (only applicable to government, aided, per caput grant secondary day schools and local schools under the Direct Subsidy Scheme).
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Candidates must apply for EFR through the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA).
For ‘late EFR applications’ received after 8 October 2024 (i.e. the closing date of the registration period for the 2025 HKDSE), candidates must pay the full examination fees.
Students entering for the HKDSE as private candidates or studying in evening schools [except the EDB designated centres mentioned in (1)(ii) above] are ineligible to apply for EFR.
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Candidates registering for the 2025 HKDSE have to settle their examination fee by themselves. How do candidates from families receiving the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme reimburse the examination fee paid from the Social Welfare Department?
Candidates from families receiving the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme may reimburse the examination fee paid from the Social Welfare Department directly. The Social Welfare Department advises such candidates to settle their examination fee at any 7-Eleven or Circle K convenience stores in Hong Kong and keep their demand note and payment receipt properly. While applying for reimbursement, candidates shall produce the demand note and the receipt to the Social Welfare Department for verification. For candidates using other payment channels to settle their examination fee or requiring an official receipt for the examination fee paid, they may apply for one from the HKEAA Southorn Centre office free of charge.