Where do you take the ASVAB? MEPS, MET sites, and the PiCAT

The ASVAB is taken at a MEPS or a MET site, or — on the unproctored PiCAT — from anywhere with an internet connection. Where each happens, and what to expect on the day.

Most ASVAB testing happens at a MEPS, with two other doors depending on where you live and what your recruiter arranges. Here is the map.

The MEPS

ASVAB testing for applicants is conducted at Military Entrance Processing Stations, known as MEPS. They are a Department of Defense joint-service organization staffed with military and civilian professionals, and there are 65 MEPS located across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. A MEPS is where you would also do the rest of the entrance processing, so the ASVAB and the physical often sit in the same trip.

The MET site

If you do not live near a MEPS, you can take the ASVAB at a satellite location called a Military Entrance Test (MET) site. MET sites are often located in federal government office buildings, National Guard armories, or Reserve centers. They are the same test, administered closer to home.

On the day: the rules that matter

Bring valid identification. You need it to be admitted into the testing room.
Do not be late. If you are late you will be turned away and required to reschedule — this is stated plainly, and it is one of the few ways to lose a testing slot for no reason.
Your recruiter may give you a ride, but is not permitted in the testing room.
Most testing is on a computer. The ASVAB is administered by computer at MEPS and at most MET sites; the paper-and-pencil version is given at only a handful of MET sites. The procedures vary with the mode, and the format page covers what changes.
No calculator. You cannot use one when taking the ASVAB — here is why.

The third door: from home, on the PiCAT

There is an option to take an online, unproctored version of the ASVAB from home or anywhere with a computer and internet connection. It is called the PiCAT (Pending Internet Computerized Adaptive Test), and your recruiter registers you with an access code. It differs from the proctored version in that it does not need to be taken at a MEPS or MET site, has no time limits on individual subtests, and administers no tryout items.

If certain conditions are met — including a short proctored Verification Test at a MEPS or MET site — your PiCAT score becomes your official ASVAB score of record. What the PiCAT is covers its limits in full.

If you tested at school

The ASVAB is also given in schools as part of the Career Exploration Program (the Student Testing Program), rather than the Enlistment Testing Program. Two differences are worth knowing: the Assembling Objects test is given in the Enlistment Testing Program but not the Student Testing Program, and the two programs report different composite scores. Those school scores can be used to enlist for up to two years, provided they can be verified as yours.

Wherever you sit it, the room's rules and the test's shape are the same kind of thing to rehearse. What to expect on test day is the next page, and the retest policy is the one to read before scheduling anything twice.

Elk Ridge Academy is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Department of Defense, USMEPCOM, or MEPS.