Registering for TOEFL iBT: protect your fee, your date and your seat

A candidate falls ill and asks to move her TOEFL iBT test three days before it. The rules require at least four full days' notice, so the request is refused and the whole fee is lost. Another registers as "Ali Hassan" while his passport reads "Ali Mahmoud Al-Hassan", and is refused entry with no refund.

Both losses come from rules that are public and short. This page covers registration, changes, costs and identity, then test day at a centre and at home. The facts were checked against ETS's official pages and the 2026–27 Information Bulletin in October 2026.

How do you register for TOEFL iBT?

TOEFL iBT needs no previous qualification and no minimum level of English. Anyone can register through an ETS account. ETS has paused testing in some locations for regulatory reasons, so check the registration page for your country before you plan around a date.

Registration takes five steps.

1. Create an ETS account, entering your name exactly as on your identity document.
2. Choose a test centre or Home Edition, and a date that fits the end of your study plan.
3. Pay the registration fee, which depends on your testing location.
4. Choose up to four free score recipients now, or by 10 pm, local test centre time, on the day before your test.
5. Save your confirmation and write the last day for changes in your calendar.

Choose Home Edition only if every institution on your list accepts its scores. Both forms give the same scores, but acceptance is each institution's decision. TOEFL or IELTS covers that choice before you reach this step.

The date you pick in step 2 is harder to change than most candidates expect.

What if you need to move or cancel your test?

The 2026–27 Bulletin sets one deadline for both: at least four full days before your test date. Cancel in time and ETS refunds half of the original test fee automatically. Later requests get no refund at all.

A test on Saturday shows how tight this is. Four full days before means Monday is your last safe day, not Tuesday. Count whole days, not hours.

Rescheduling also carries a fee, listed on the ETS fees page. Different rules apply in Korea, so read the Bulletin if you test there.

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.

Why is there no single TOEFL fee?

ETS sets the registration fee by testing location. The same test costs different amounts in different countries, so any single figure in a book or a forum would be wrong for most readers. The ETS fees page shows your price once you choose your country.

Check it in your ETS account on the day you decide, and note any taxes your country adds. The service fees, by contrast, are listed in US dollars, excluding taxes. These were the figures when checked in October 2026.

Confirm the current figures before you pay. Then budget for every category, starting with the registration fee:

• The registration fee for your testing location
• Preparation: TOEFL TestReady, a course or a tutor
• Feedback on Writing and Speaking
• Rescheduling, if you need to move your date
• Score reports beyond your four free recipients
• A score review or a second attempt, if needed
• Travel to a test centre, or equipment for Home Edition

The categories tell you what to plan for. The budget level decides how much.

Which budget level fits you?

The three budgets differ in feedback and support, not in the registration fee.

• Economy: the free eight-week planner, the official sample test and occasional feedback.
• Standard: adds official practice tests and regular feedback on Writing and Speaking.
• Intensive: adds a structured course.

Keep a reserve for a second attempt at every level. Suppose you score Reading 5.0, Listening 5.5, Writing 4.5 and Speaking 5.0 on the 1 to 6 scale. If you need 5.0 in Writing, that reserve pays for the second attempt.

To cut costs without cutting your chances, use the free planner and sample test before buying anything. Pay for Speaking and Writing feedback rather than more reading material. Book only when your plan supports the date, because each reschedule cost US$69 in October 2026.

With the money planned, the remaining risks are your documents and the day itself.

Which identity document will ETS accept?

Your name and date of birth must match your registration exactly, apart from accents and apostrophes. The document must be:

• valid on test day;
• the original, not a copy or an image on your phone;
• showing 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 before you register.

What happens on test day, at a centre and at home?

At a test centre, arrive at least 30 minutes before your start time. The Bulletin states that late arrivals cannot test and receive no refund. Bring your original identity document and nothing you would mind storing outside the room.

At home, the rules start before the day. You must be alone in a closed room and stay in view of the proctor throughout. Your session is recorded, and screen-sharing or remote-access software must be closed. If ETS asks you to verify your identity through its mobile app, do it at least 48 hours before your test.

Check-in can start up to 15 minutes before your scheduled time. It must be complete within 30 minutes after that time, or the test is cancelled without a refund. Clear the room the evening before and keep your identity document beside you.

Either way, eat and drink before you start: the test has about 90 minutes of section time and no scheduled breaks. Scores appear in your ETS account about three days later.

What to do before you pay

Check the fee for your country and the current service fees. Put the four-full-day deadline in your calendar the moment you book. If you plan to test at home, run the equipment check now, not on the evening before.

Chapter 9 of the book sets out every cost, and the budget template in Appendix C puts all three levels on one page. Chapter 10 and Appendix D give six message templates for ETS, from a name correction to a technical issue during Home Edition. If your date is not yet set, How long to prepare for TOEFL iBT turns your weekly hours into one you can keep.