What is IELTS?

What IELTS is and who runs it

IELTS stands for the International English Language Testing System. It tests four skills (Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking) and reports each one, plus an overall result, on a scale from 0 to 9 in whole and half bands. There is no pass or fail. Each university, employer or government decides which band it needs, often with a minimum for every skill.

The test is jointly owned by three organisations: the British Council, IDP IELTS and Cambridge University Press & Assessment. Cambridge produces the test material, and the British Council and IDP deliver the tests. Its predecessor, ELTS, launched in 1980, and the IELTS partnership dates from 1989.

People take IELTS for three main reasons: to study, to migrate, and to register with a professional body. The partners reported more than 4 million tests taken in 2023, with over 13,500 organisations recognising the result and tests delivered in more than 100 countries. Those are the partners’ own figures, published in January 2024.

Academic or General Training?

There are two main versions. Listening and Speaking are exactly the same in both. Reading and Writing are different, so you must prepare for the right one.

In the official statistics for 2024–2025, about 79% of test takers sat Academic and 21% sat General Training. Which one you need is not your choice: it is set by the organisation you are applying to. Canada’s Express Entry programme, for example, accepts only General Training.

UKVI, Life Skills, IELTS Online and One Skill Retake

You will see several other names when you book. Most of them are the same test taken under different conditions.

IELTS for UKVI exists because the UK Home Office requires some visa applicants to take their test at an approved centre. The questions and the scoring are no different, so you prepare in exactly the same way. IELTS withdrew from the UK government’s tender for a future single visa test in March 2026. IELTS for UKVI continues for now, so check the current rules before you book.

One Skill Retake lets you sit one section again if a single skill held you back. You receive a new Test Report Form and choose which one to use. Acceptance varies. The governments of Australia and New Zealand accept it for visas, and UKVI accepts it at selected locations. Canada’s Express Entry does not accept it, and some universities do not either. Check before you rely on it.

Computer delivery and the end of paper tests

On 5 March 2026 the IELTS partners announced that the paper-based test would be withdrawn from mid-2026, with the exact date varying by country. All IELTS tests are now delivered on computer. The partners state that the skills assessed, the design of the test and the meaning of the scores have not changed, and paper results remain valid for the usual period.

In selected markets there is a hybrid called Writing on Paper. You read the questions on screen and handwrite your Writing answers on an answer sheet. The rest of the test is on computer. It is not available for IELTS for UKVI.

What the computer format means in practice:

• Listening: you type or click your answers while you listen. You can change the volume, but you cannot pause or rewind. At the end you get 2 minutes to check your answers. The old 10 minutes for copying answers to an answer sheet existed only on paper.
• Reading: 60 minutes on screen. The text and the questions scroll independently, and you can highlight text and add notes.
• Writing: you type your answers into a plain text box with a live word count. There is no spell-checker.
• Speaking: still a conversation with a human examiner, face to face or by video call at the test centre.

Booking, fees and retakes

You book through the British Council or IDP, online or at a test centre, using your passport or national identity document. You must bring the same document on test day. There is no limit on the number of times you can take IELTS and no required waiting period between full tests.

Fees are set locally and differ a great deal between countries, so check your own test centre. As one verified example from 2026, IDP India lists INR 19,000 for the full test and INR 12,650 for a One Skill Retake, which is about two thirds of the full fee.

Results, validity and re-marks

Your result comes as a Test Report Form. It can be sent electronically to as many organisations as you like, and up to five paper copies are posted free of charge.

Validity. The IELTS partners recommend that a result is treated as valid for two years from the test date, because language ability changes over time. Organisations are free to set their own policy, so check theirs.

Re-marks. If you believe a result is wrong, you can apply through your test centre for an Enquiry on Results. It can cover the whole test or individual sections. A senior examiner marks the work again, and the fee is refunded in full if any band changes. IDP states that you must apply within six weeks of the test date, that the outcome takes between a few hours and 21 days, and that a score stays the same or goes up.

To understand what the numbers on the report mean, read how IELTS scoring works.

Access arrangements

IELTS provides adjustments for test takers with a disability or a specific learning difficulty. According to ielts.org they include extra time (25% is standard for learning difficulties), large-print and Braille papers, a lip-reading version of the Listening test, a scribe, screen-reader software and supervised breaks. In some circumstances a test taker can be exempted from one or two sections, and the report form notes this.