Your guide to the 2026 TOEFL

Since January 21, 2026, the TOEFL iBT is shorter, partly adaptive and scored on a new scale, and plenty of sites will tell you that makes it easier. Here’s what ETS actually says, what changed, and how the new test may feel for you.

Most test days that go wrong go wrong before the first question: the wrong ID, a late arrival, or a room that breaks the Home Edition rules. Here’s ETS’s checklist for both a test center and testing at home, in the order you’ll need it.

Most TOEFL tips online were written for the old test. Here’s one tip for each of the twelve tasks on the new one, in the order you’ll meet them. The exam facts are ETS’s; the tips are our own advice.

A day-by-day plan built around the new task types, with a full practice test at the start, middle and end, so you can see your progress as you go.

The new TOEFL iBT is much shorter than the test most guides still describe. Here’s how long each section takes, why your total can change by a few minutes, and how to plan the whole day.

Every section and every task type on one page: what each one asks of you, and how long it takes.

A short paragraph where you type the missing letters of ten words.

Short everyday texts like notices, emails and text messages, each with two or three questions.

A 200-word passage with five questions on facts, vocabulary, inference and purpose.

One short spoken question or statement, then the best of four written replies to choose.

A short everyday conversation between two people, then two questions about it.

A short announcement in a class or at a school event, then questions about it.

A short lecture or podcast-style talk on an academic subject, then four questions.

A two-line exchange where you put word and phrase tiles in order to finish the reply.

An email that does three things you’re given, written in 7 minutes.

Your own post in an online class discussion, after a professor’s question and two classmates’ replies.

Seven sentences to repeat exactly as you hear them, getting longer as you go.

Four interview questions, with 45 seconds to answer each.