Key Facts
| Score validity | 2 years after your test date |
|---|---|
| Score report delivery by server feed | 8–10 business days |
| Score report delivery by postal mail | 10–12 business days plus mailing time |
Figures correct at the time of writing. Confirm current fees and deadlines with the school or university directly.
TOEFL iBT is an English language test run by ETS, taken in four sections (Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking) and scored from 1 to 6 in half-point steps. Many UK universities accept it for admission, yet it does not appear on the Home Office list of approved Secure English Language Tests, so it cannot serve as the test for a UK visa application. Which of those two facts matters to you depends on whether your requirement comes from a university or from UKVI.
The test can be taken at an authorised test centre or at home, and ETS sends official score reports directly to the institutions you choose in your ETS account. Checking the English language requirement for your own route before you book avoids sitting a test that the university or the Home Office will not count, and the sections below set out the format, the scores, the acceptance position and the practice that fits the way the test is scored.
What is TOEFL iBT and who runs it?
TOEFL iBT is an English language test run by ETS, taken by candidates who need to show their Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking ability to an institution. The test adapts to each candidate's ability level, and ETS reports a score for each of the four skills together with an overall score. The candidate chooses which institutions or agencies receive the results. UK applicants usually need to confirm two things before booking: the score an admissions office asks for, and whether the Home Office accepts the test for the visa route in question.
How is TOEFL iBT structured?
TOEFL iBT has four sections, taken in the order Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking, with about 90 minutes of testing time, so allow about two hours once directions are included. The test adapts to the candidate, so the figures below are approximate. Each section is built from named task types, and those task types are the units worth practising one at a time, because every task type has its own demands on time, vocabulary and accuracy before it contributes to the section score.
- Reading: 50 items in about 30 minutes, using Complete the Words, Read in Daily Life and Read an Academic Passage
- Listening: 47 items in about 29 minutes, using Listen and Choose a Response, Listen to a Conversation, Listen to an Announcement and Listen to an Academic Talk
- Writing: 12 items in about 23 minutes, using Build a Sentence, Write an Email and Write for an Academic Discussion
- Speaking: 11 items in about 8 minutes, using Listen and Repeat and Take an Interview
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Enquire about this tutorHow are TOEFL iBT scores reported?
TOEFL iBT reports four section scores, for Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking, plus an overall score, all on a 1 to 6 scale in half-point steps. The overall score is the average of the four section scores, rounded to the nearest half band, so an average of 5.125 gives an overall 5 and an average of 5.25 gives 5.5. Every section carries equal weight in that average, which means a low Speaking score lowers the overall result as much as a low Reading score does.
Each score maps to the same CEFR level in every section and in the overall result, as the table shows. Reports also include a comparable 0 to 120 overall score, which is the midpoint of the equivalent range, so an overall 4.5 corresponds to 90. Institutions that still quote requirements on the older 0 to 120 scale can read that figure, and those that quote 1 to 6 or CEFR levels can read the main score.
| CEFR level | TOEFL iBT score |
|---|---|
| C2 | 6 |
| C1 | 5 to 5.5 |
| B2 | 4 to 4.5 |
| B1 | 3 to 3.5 |
| A2 | 2 to 2.5 |
| A1 | 1 to 1.5 |
Can you take TOEFL iBT at home or at a test centre?
TOEFL iBT can be taken at an authorised test centre or at home as the TOEFL iBT Home Edition, which ETS describes as the same test taken from home and monitored online by a human proctor. Test centres operate worldwide at thousands of authorised sites, and the Home Edition is available worldwide. Home Edition candidates should check the environment and equipment requirements before registering, and appointments must be booked ahead of the test date.
Acceptance can differ between the two versions, because the Home Office review of English language assessment methods recorded fewer higher education providers accepting the home version than the test centre version. A candidate with a particular university in mind therefore benefits from confirming in writing that the Home Edition meets its English language requirement before registering.
Is TOEFL accepted in the UK?
TOEFL is not on the GOV.UK list of approved Secure English Language Tests, so it cannot prove English ability for a UK visa application. GOV.UK names Trinity College London, IELTS SELT Consortium, LANGUAGECERT and Pearson as the providers in the UK, and PSI Services (UK) Ltd, IELTS SELT Consortium, LANGUAGECERT and Pearson as the providers outside the UK, and states that only the tests and test levels it specifies are approved. Approved tests include IELTS for UKVI, PTE Academic UKVI and LANGUAGECERT Academic SELT.
The routes needing a SELT in reading, writing, speaking and listening include Skilled Worker, Student, Health and Care Worker, Scale-up Worker and Start-up, whilst the partner, parent and settlement routes need speaking and listening only. The required CEFR level depends on the route, so the guidance for your own route sets the target, and anyone applying under one of these routes books an approved test instead of TOEFL.
For university admission the position differs, since UK higher education providers set their own policies. The Home Office review of English language assessment methods classes TOEFL as a Non-SELT provider, meaning UKVI has not verified its testing services, and it found TOEFL among the most widely accepted Non-SELT tests across higher education providers. The admissions page of your chosen university remains the deciding source.
How are TOEFL scores sent to UK universities?
ETS sends official TOEFL iBT score reports to the institutions or agencies chosen in the candidate's ETS account, and recipients can be added or removed until the evening before the test. Delivery uses ETS Data Manager, server feeds or postal mail, each with its own approximate timing, and the electronic routes are listed as faster than post. Recipients chosen before the test use the reports included in the test fee, and further reports can be ordered through the same account later.
Selecting any institution or agency as a recipient has one consequence worth knowing in advance: it removes the option of requesting a score review of the Writing or Speaking sections. Candidates who expect to want a review should weigh that before adding university recipients.
How should you prepare for TOEFL compared with IELTS?
Preparation for TOEFL iBT follows its named task types and its 1 to 6 scale, so practice is best organised by task and checked against the CEFR level your target score implies. Start with the task types in the weakest section, since the overall score averages all four sections with equal weight, and then rotate through every task type so that Complete the Words, Build a Sentence, Listen and Repeat and Take an Interview each feel familiar under short time limits.
Practise full sittings in the test order of Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking, allowing about two hours, so that the final sections are not attempted for the first time on tired concentration. Record Speaking answers and keep Writing responses, then compare them with the CEFR descriptors for the level you need, for example whether a B2 target is met by well organised, coherent text with a range of linking expressions.
The comparison with IELTS depends on the purpose. For a UK visa, preparation should target an approved test such as IELTS for UKVI, because a TOEFL score cannot be used there. For a university offer, the admissions page names the accepted tests, and preparation can then follow whichever one the university lists and the format that suits you.
Related guides
- What is IELTS? Format, versions and scoring
- IELTS or the Duolingo English Test?
- OET or IELTS for healthcare staff
- PTE Academic explained
- The Duolingo English Test
- OET explained
- OET Writing sample referral letter
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Frequently asked questions
- What is a TOEFL iBT overall score of 4.5 on the 0 to 120 scale?
- An overall 4.5 corresponds to 90 on the comparable 0 to 120 scale. ETS reports the comparable figure as the midpoint of the equivalent range, so it is an estimate attached to the 1 to 6 result. A 4.5 also sits in the B2 band of CEFR, which covers scores of 4 to 4.5 in every section and in the overall result.
- Can candidates ask ETS to review a Speaking or Writing score if results have been sent to a university?
- No. Selecting any institution or agency as a score recipient removes the option of requesting a score review of the Writing or Speaking sections. Candidates who think a review may be wanted should weigh that before adding recipients, and can order further reports through their ETS account once they are satisfied with the result.
- Does the adaptive format mean every candidate sees the same questions?
- No. ETS states that the test adjusts to each candidate's ability level, and that as the test adapts, test time and the number of items may vary. The task types stay the same for everyone, so practising each named task type remains the sensible way to prepare, whatever path the test takes.
- How can students find out whether their UK university accepts TOEFL?
- Read the English language requirements on the university's admissions page for your course, and ask the admissions office to confirm in writing whether TOEFL iBT is listed and whether the Home Edition counts. The Home Office review of English language assessment methods shows acceptance varies between providers and between the home and test centre versions.
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