TOEFL iBT Exam: Questions and Answers

TOEFL iBT can be useful when you need evidence of academic English for an undergraduate or postgraduate course, an exchange programme, a scholarship or another opportunity that accepts it.

Teacher’s advice: it may suit you if you are comfortable typing and recording Speaking answers into a microphone. Use the current 2026 task types when deciding whether the format suits you.

Official guidance: TOEFL study destinations and accepting institutions · Current TOEFL iBT content and test-day FAQs.

• United States: university and graduate-school applications where TOEFL is an accepted English test.
• Canada: college or university admission, separately from permanent-immigration language evidence.
• United Kingdom and Australia: accepting universities, with separate checks for any visa application.
• English-taught courses in Europe and elsewhere: programmes that list TOEFL iBT among their accepted tests.

This is a list of possible study destinations, not a single worldwide admissions policy.

Official guidance: TOEFL study destinations and accepting institutions.

Some routes accept it, but check the exact test. Australia requires applicants taking TOEFL from 21 January 2026 to select “Taking TOEFL for Australia” during registration for visa use; Home Edition is not accepted for that purpose. New Zealand lists TOEFL iBT for specified work-visa English evidence, with in-person testing conditions.

Canada’s Express Entry does not list TOEFL as an approved English test. TOEFL is also not an approved UK SELT; a UK university sponsor may have its own permitted English-assessment arrangements for degree-level study. Ask both the university and the relevant authority.

Official guidance: Australia: Student visa English evidence · New Zealand: English evidence for an Accredited Employer Work Visa · Canada: approved Express Entry language tests · UK: approved secure English language tests · UK degree-level sponsor assessment of English.

Invented examples using the current 1–6 scale, not requirements for named courses:

• Course A: 4.0 overall, with no section below 3.5.
• Course B: 4.5 overall, with no section below 4.0.
• Course C: 5.0 overall, with no section below 4.5.

A course may still publish a requirement on the earlier 0–120 scale. Ask admissions how it handles current reports, which include a comparable overall 0–120 result during the transition. Do not create your own visa score conversion or assume that an overall score covers every section minimum.

Official guidance: Understanding the TOEFL 1–6 score scale.

Ask the organisation that will receive your result, not only the test centre. Contact the university admissions team, employer, professional regulator or immigration authority for your exact course, role or visa route.

You can ask: “Which exact test and version do you accept? Can I take it digitally or at home? What overall and individual-skill scores do I need? How recent must the result be, when must it arrive, and do you accept retakes or combined scores?”

Get the answer before paying. A country appearing in a list does not mean that every institution or visa route there accepts the same test.

Ask the receiving organisation which test and delivery mode it accepts. This page covers TOEFL iBT. Do not assume that TOEFL ITP, TOEFL Essentials or another TOEFL product is interchangeable with iBT, or that every organisation accepts Home Edition.

Official guidance: Official TOEFL iBT registration · Current TOEFL iBT content and test-day FAQs.

Create or sign in to your ETS account, choose a test-centre appointment or an available Home Edition appointment, and pay. Check the country-specific ID rules first and register with matching personal details. Keep the confirmation and appointment time.

Official guidance: Official TOEFL iBT registration · TOEFL identification requirements.

ETS recommends planning a test two to three months before your earliest application deadline and registering around four months before your desired test date. This leaves room for preparation and another attempt. Earlier booking also gives you more choice of available appointments.

Official guidance: Official TOEFL iBT registration.

The registration fee varies by testing location. Use the official fees page and select your country. Check the checkout total, including any applicable tax, and whether you need extra score reports or other paid services.

Official guidance: Current TOEFL test and service fees.

The official list currently shows US$49 for express registration within seven days, US$69 for rescheduling and US$29 per additional score report, before applicable taxes. These are extra services, not the main exam fee. Recheck the live list before paying.

Official guidance: Current TOEFL test and service fees.

Use your ETS account and read the current cancellation and rescheduling policy before the deadline. The bulletin requires at least four full days’ notice for standard changes; fees and refund conditions apply. Country-specific terms can differ.

Official guidance: TOEFL iBT Information Bulletin.

The updated iBT uses new task types and adaptive Reading and Listening, with content reflecting academic and everyday campus communication. Use current official preparation materials. An old guide describing four Speaking tasks is not a guide to the present Speaking section.

Official guidance: Current TOEFL iBT content and test-day FAQs · Current TOEFL iBT Speaking tasks.

You complete Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking on a computer, with typed and selected answers and recorded speech. Plan for approximately two hours, plus check-in. Adaptive sections can affect timing, so follow the current test instructions rather than an old fixed timetable.

Official guidance: Current TOEFL iBT content and test-day FAQs.

Your scored answers are entered on computer or recorded. At a test centre, scratch paper and pencils are supplied for notes; do not bring your own writing materials into the room. Notes are not a handwritten substitute for the Writing answers.

Official guidance: What happens at a TOEFL test centre · TOEFL iBT Information Bulletin.

Not on ordinary paper. Home Edition permits a small whiteboard or a sheet inside a transparent protector, used with an erasable marker. You must show that all notes have been erased at the end. Pens and pencils are not the permitted home note-taking tools.

Official guidance: Home Edition equipment and room requirements.

No. Home Edition requires speakers and a microphone that is not part of a headset. At a test centre you use the centre’s supplied audio equipment. Do not assume the centre and home equipment rules are identical.

Official guidance: Home Edition equipment and room requirements · What happens at a TOEFL test centre.

Use an approved desktop or laptop with a camera, microphone, speakers and reliable internet in a private room. Install the TOEFL Test App and run its equipment check. Read the live operating-system, camera and room requirements before booking, including any second-camera instructions.

Official guidance: Home Edition equipment and room requirements.

Read the ID requirements for your citizenship and testing country. The accepted original document and registration details must match the rules. Do not assume a photo or photocopy is sufficient. Resolve any name mismatch with ETS before test day.

Official guidance: TOEFL identification requirements.

Follow the navigation available in the current section; do not assume you can replay audio or return to a completed adaptive module. The standard iBT has no scheduled break. Tell staff or the proctor immediately if you have a problem.

Official guidance: Current TOEFL iBT content and test-day FAQs · TOEFL iBT Information Bulletin.

No. You record responses through a microphone. Take an Interview is a simulated interview with recorded prompts, not a live conversation. A proctor supervises the test but does not conduct or coach your Speaking answers.

Official guidance: Current TOEFL iBT Speaking tasks · ETS updated TOEFL iBT task overview.

The screen gives task instructions and a response timer, but the Speaking tasks rely on spoken input. Listen and Repeat requires you to reproduce what you hear; Take an Interview requires answers to the interviewer’s spoken questions. Do not rely on having a written transcript to read from.

Official guidance: Current TOEFL iBT Speaking tasks · ETS updated TOEFL iBT task overview.

Listen to each sentence, then repeat it as accurately and clearly as possible. This is not a paraphrasing task: preserve the actual wording. Practice tip: work on remembering meaningful chunks, sentence stress and clear delivery.

Official guidance: Current TOEFL iBT Speaking tasks.

Answer questions about experiences and opinions in an academic or campus-related situation. Give a relevant response with enough explanation to make your meaning clear. Practice tip: answer the question first, then support it with a reason or a brief example.

Official guidance: Current TOEFL iBT Speaking tasks.

You cannot ask the recorded interviewer a follow-up question as you could in a live conversation. Follow the task’s recording cues and time limits. Teacher’s advice: practise responding on the first attempt and continuing calmly after a small mistake.

Official guidance: ETS updated TOEFL iBT task overview.

Teacher’s advice: aim for clear, natural speech that answers the prompt. Practise flexible responses rather than a fixed speech. In Listen and Repeat, concentrate on reproducing the sentence; in the interview, develop your own relevant answer.

Official guidance: Current TOEFL iBT Speaking tasks.

Since 21 January 2026, section and overall scores use a 1–6 scale in half-point steps. During a two-year transition, reports also include a comparable overall 0–120 score. Ask your institution how it states its current requirement.

Official guidance: Understanding the TOEFL 1–6 score scale.

There is no universal TOEFL pass mark. Institutions set their own overall and section requirements. Also ask whether they accept Home Edition and MyBest scores, rather than assuming every way of reporting a score meets the same admissions rule.

Official guidance: Understanding the TOEFL 1–6 score scale.

Current ETS guidance gives official scores in approximately 72 hours. Check the expected date shown for your test in your account. Sending scores to an institution and its processing time are separate, so leave a buffer before your deadline.

Official guidance: TOEFL score delivery FAQs · Getting TOEFL scores.

TOEFL scores are valid for two years. You can take the test again, but not more than once in a three-day period. Each new test needs a booking and payment. Use the receiving institution’s rules for choosing which valid results to submit.

Official guidance: TOEFL iBT Information Bulletin · Understanding the TOEFL 1–6 score scale.