Takers of next year’s Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education examination, particularly self-study candidates and nonlocal students, will face bigger bills as the city’s examination authority has increased exam fees and introduced a new fees structure to address the rising test-organization costs.

According to the new fee standards announced on Friday, school-based candidates, and self-study participants holding permanent Hong Kong identification cards, will need to pay HK$777 ($99) per Chinese- or English-language subjects, HK$30 more than this year’s standard; and HK$519 for the other subjects, an increase of HK$20.

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For a student taking the two language subjects and four others, the total expense is expected to increase by 4 percent, from HK$3,490 to HK$3,630.

In a marked policy shift, the examination authority will introduce a new fee system for self‐study candidates who do not have permanent Hong Kong IDs — HK$1,377 per language subjects, and HK$1,119 per other subjects. This means they will have to pay HK$3,600 more than self‐study candidates having HKIDs for those taking two language subjects and four others.

The registration fees for nonschool exam-takers and for those opting to take the HKDSE exam in the mainland’s venues will be increased HK$23 to HK$595, and by HK$441 to HK$2,500 respectively.

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Starting next year, nonschool participants who have never taken the HKDSE exam and are under 19 as of Jan 1, 2026, need to pay a newly introduced HK$2,000 nonrefundable application fee for special consideration.

In a statement issued on Friday, the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA), the HKDSE exam’s organizer, said that in recent years, the decline of overall HKDSE exam candidate numbers and the increasing proportion of private participants — who needs additional processing resources — has placed a huge strain on its financial sustainability. Additional costs are also incurred in arranging more exam venues and staff, especially the costs for venues, test-paper transportation, and manpower required by the mainland examination venues.

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These adjustments, which remains “at a more moderate level”, are necessary to maintain long-term operation and ensure good use of resources, the HKEAA said.

After the adjustment, the examination fees of the HKDSE exam remain at a relatively low level compared to those of other international examinations, and it will not affect the international competitiveness of the HKDSE exam, the HKEAA said.

The 2026 HKDSE examination will accept registrations in September.

Huang Yawen contributed to the story.

Contact the writer at williamxu@chinadailyhk.com