TOEFL registration: the four-full-day rule and the four free score reports

Two short rules decide whether a booking can still be changed and whether a score report is free: the notice period and the recipient list.

The four full days

The 2026 to 2027 Information Bulletin sets one deadline for rescheduling and cancelling: at least four full days before your test date. Cancel in time and ETS refunds half of the original test fee automatically. A later request gets no refund. Different rules apply in Korea.

Count whole days, not hours. For a test on a Wednesday, the last safe day is the Friday before it, because Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday are the four full days in between. Put that date in your calendar the moment you book.

What a change costs

ETS sets the registration fee by testing location, so there is no single price. The service fees were listed in US dollars, excluding taxes, in October 2026.

Confirm the current figures on the ETS fees page before you pay.

The four free reports

You can choose up to four free score recipients when you register, and you can change them until 10 pm, local test centre time, on the day before your test. After that, each additional report costs US$29 per institution, and it cannot be refunded or redirected.

Suppose you apply to six programmes. Four reports are free and the other two cost US$29 each, which is US$58. Decide which four are free from your list of institutions before test day. Naming recipients is a trade-off with a score review, which is open only while scores have not been sent, so check the Bulletin, or ask ETS, whether recipients named at registration receive your scores automatically.

Identity, exactly

Both your name and your date of birth must match your registration, with accents and apostrophes the only allowed differences. The document must be valid on test day, the original rather than a copy or an image on your phone, and show a recent photograph and your signature. Accepted documents depend on your country, so read the ETS identity page for the place you will test.

Copy your name from the document letter by letter when you create your ETS account. A mismatch can stop you testing, and the fee is not refunded.

Attempts and spacing

There is no limit on the number of attempts. You cannot test more than once in any three-day period, even if you cancelled a previous score. The limit is rarely the problem. A retake booked before the weak section has improved usually is.

Check before you register

• Is testing available where you live? TOEFL iBT needs no previous qualification and no minimum level of English, but ETS has paused testing in some locations, so check the registration page for your country.
• Do all your institutions accept Home Edition, if you plan to test there?
• Have you set aside a reserve for a second attempt?

At the centre or at home

At a centre, arrive at least 30 minutes before your start time. At home, check-in opens up to 15 minutes before and must finish within 30 minutes after your start time. The test has about 90 minutes of section time with no scheduled breaks, and scores appear in your ETS account about three days later.

Count four full days back from your test date and write the answer on your calendar now.