What is the TOEFL? A plain-English guide to the 2026 exam

TOEFL stands for Test of English as a Foreign Language. That’s the name in ETS’s own research reports going back to the 1970s. Today ETS just writes TOEFL.

TOEFL is really a family of tests. When a university, employer or visa office asks for “the TOEFL”, they almost always mean the TOEFL iBT, the one ETS describes as its test “for study, work and immigration”. The rest of this guide is about that one.

• To study. ETS says more than 13,500 universities and other institutions in over 160 countries accept TOEFL iBT scores, including every university in Australia, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Ireland. Each school sets its own minimum score.
• For a visa. ETS says TOEFL iBT scores can meet English requirements for visas in several countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK and the US. Rules change, so always check the government’s own page.
• At any age. There’s no age limit, but ETS writes the content at the level of a first-year university student.

The TOEFL iBT changed on January 21, 2026. It’s now shorter, with new task types. You take four sections in one fixed order, with no scheduled breaks:

• Reading: short everyday texts, academic passages, and Complete the Words, where you fill in the missing letters of words in a paragraph.
• Listening: quick replies, conversations, announcements and short academic talks.
• Writing: putting words in order to build sentences, an email, and a post for an online class discussion.
• Speaking: repeating sentences you hear, then answering interview questions.

Reading and Listening adapt to you: how you do in the first part decides how hard the second part is. With the directions on screen, ETS says to plan about two hours, plus 30 minutes to check in. Our 2026 format overview explains all twelve task types, and How long is the TOEFL? breaks down the timing.

Each section gets a score from 1.0 to 6.0, in half-point steps. Your overall score is the average of the four, rounded to the nearest half band. So an average of 5.125 becomes 5, and an average of 5.25 becomes 5.5. Each band lines up with a level on the CEFR, the European scale of language levels, from A1 to C2.

Older guides talk about scores out of 120. For two years after January 2026, your score report also shows a comparable score on that old 0–120 scale, so schools can compare. Our score calculator converts between the two.

1. 1

   When you finish

   You see unofficial Reading and Listening scores on screen.

2. 2

   3 days later

   Your official scores appear in your ETS account.

3. 3

   Within 11 business days

   The schools you chose get your score report, ETS says, and sometimes sooner.

4. 4

   For 2 years

   Your scores stay valid and can be sent to more schools.

You can take the TOEFL iBT at a test center or at home. ETS calls the home version TOEFL iBT Home Edition: the same test with the same scoring, watched online by a live human proctor. ETS still says to check that each school you’re applying to accepts the option you choose. Appointments run up to 6 days a week.

1. 1

   Check what your schools need

   Which test (TOEFL iBT), which score, and by what date. Note whether they accept Home Edition.

2. 2

   Create an ETS account

   Register on ets.org, the only address to give your details to. In mainland China, test center bookings go through NEEA instead. Our registration guide walks through every step and deadline.

3. 3

   Pick a test center or home

   For home, you need a desktop or laptop with one screen, a speaker and a microphone (no headphones), and a room to yourself. Read ETS’s at-home requirements before you book, and run its equipment check well before test day. Our Home Edition guide has the full checklist.

4. 4

   Pay and choose your schools

   The fee depends on your country, and ETS’s fees page shows yours (our fees guide explains how). Your scores go to up to 4 schools at no extra cost.

You can take the test as often as you like, but not more than once in any 3-day period. Our test day guide covers what to bring and the Home Edition room rules.

Before you book, find out where you stand. A full practice test tells you your likely band in each section, so you know whether you’re ready for your school’s score or how much work is left. That takes the guesswork out of choosing a test date.