CTI announced on September 9, 2026 that HSK 3.0 launches officially worldwide with the Sunday, December 13, 2026 sitting. Registration closes at 24:00 Beijing time on November 16 for the paper test and December 3 for the computer test, and your centre may close earlier. Ask your centre which format your sitting uses, since at least one centre's notice for December 13 still lists the old format.

There is now a global start date: CTI says HSK 3.0 launches officially worldwide with the December 13, 2026 sitting. CTI has not announced an end date for HSK 2.0, and centre notices can lag behind, so check with your own centre: news that a centre abroad has switched tells you nothing reliable about your own city.

Read your nearest official centre's registration page directly and ask plainly whether a given sitting is the new nine-band standard or the old six-level test. Check registration windows too, since they usually close weeks before the sitting.

Paper suits learners who think better on a physical sheet and type Chinese slowly, at the cost of fewer sittings and slower results. Internet-based usually means more frequent sittings and faster turnaround, but you type characters, which rewards solid pinyin input habits.