How to register for IELTS, TOEFL, PTE & Duolingo

Book IELTS via British Council / IDP, TOEFL via the ETS portal, PTE via Pearson, and Duolingo on its own site - each is a 5-step flow (create account, pick the right version, choose date / centre, pay, add score recipients). The most common rejection is a name / ID mismatch, so fix that before payment.

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Registration is straightforward but unforgiving. Each provider runs its own portal with its own version choices, ID rules, payment options and cancellation windows - and small mistakes (a misspelt name, the wrong version of IELTS, a Home Edition booking that the visa office will not accept) are much more painful to correct after payment than before. This page walks through the booking flow for all four tests, what to keep ready, how the reschedule and refund windows work, and the booking errors that show up most often at centre check-in.

Where do you actually register for each test?

• IELTS: the British Council or IDP IELTS site for your country (book the right Academic / General Training / UKVI / Life Skills version). Cambridge Assessment English is the joint owner and co-publishes test material, but you do not book directly with Cambridge - the test-day delivery is run by British Council or IDP.
• TOEFL iBT: the ETS account portal at the official ETS / TOEFL website. The booking flow lets you choose a test centre or the Home Edition for the same fee.
• PTE Academic: the Pearson PTE account at the official PTE site, where you create a profile, pick a centre and book a slot. The same login surfaces your scores after the test.
• Duolingo English Test: the Duolingo English Test website - purchase the certified test, run the free practice version to learn the format, then sit the test from a quiet room at home with a webcam.

What does the universal booking flow look like?

1. Create an account with your name exactly as on the ID you will present (passport for most centre tests). Match spellings, spacing, hyphens and order (given name vs surname) to the document.
2. Choose the version - Academic vs General, standard vs UKVI / Core - matching what your destination requires. The wrong version on the score report is the most common reason for a perfectly good band to be rejected at admissions or visa stage.
3. Pick a date & centre (or sit at home for Duolingo / TOEFL Home Edition); leave buffer before your deadline so the result lands well before you need to send it.
4. Pay the fee and download the confirmation; note the reschedule / refund window in the same email and add a calendar reminder one day inside it.
5. Add score recipients (free slots vary by test) and check system requirements for at-home tests well before the test date.

Provider-specific booking notes

IELTS - British Council / IDP / Cambridge

• Choose the right version: Academic, General Training, Academic UKVI, General UKVI or Life Skills. UKVI versions are sat at SELT-approved centres only.
• Computer or paper: computer-delivered IELTS (CD-IELTS) returns results in 3-5 days; paper takes around 13. Some centres offer only one mode.
• Speaking slot: the Speaking interview can be on the same day as the written sections or up to a week before or after - confirm the time at booking.
• ID upload: upload your passport image during booking; the same passport must be presented on test day, so do not renew your passport between booking and test.

TOEFL iBT - ETS

• Same fee centre or home: Test Centre and Home Edition are identical in content and price; pick Home Edition only if your destination accepts it (most universities do, some visa offices do not).
• Score recipients are free: up to 4 institutions designated before the test get scores at no extra cost; additional sends are paid per recipient.
• MyBest option: ETS calculates a MyBest score from your highest section scores across attempts; some universities accept it, others do not - check.

PTE Academic - Pearson

• Near-daily slots: major cities often have multiple slots a day; pick the earliest you can confidently sit, not the latest the deadline allows.
• PTE Academic vs PTE Core / UKVI: different products for different purposes - confirm which one your visa or university accepts.
• Voucher codes: Pearson sometimes runs discount vouchers for first-time test takers - check before paying full price.

Duolingo English Test

• Equipment check: run the practice test in the same room and on the same device you plan to test on; background noise, second voices or weak lighting can invalidate the run.
• Photo and ID: have the government photo ID ready and a clean background; you cannot have anyone else in the room.
• Free unlimited sends: results can be sent to as many institutions as you want at no extra cost from the dashboard.

Ready to test where you stand? Take a free IELTS mock and see your indicative band in 2 hours.

How do rescheduling and refunds work?

All providers allow rescheduling or cancellation, but the refund shrinks (or disappears) as the date approaches - typically a partial refund beyond a cut-off and little / none close to the date. The four providers structure this slightly differently:

• IELTS: cancellation more than ~5 weeks before the test returns most of the fee minus an administrative charge; cancellations closer to the date forfeit a larger share, and cancellations within roughly 14 days typically return little. Rescheduling rules mirror cancellation rules.
• TOEFL iBT: rescheduling beyond 4 days before the test carries a fixed rescheduling fee; cancellations beyond the same window return roughly half the fee. Close-in changes are not permitted.
• PTE Academic: changes more than 14 days out are free; within 14 days a partial fee is forfeited; within 48 hours, the test is non-refundable.
• Duolingo: a purchase generally cannot be refunded once you sit the test or a session is invalidated for rule violations; technical-failure cases are reviewed support-side.

Book only once your target date is reasonably certain. If your prep is still uncertain, sit a free mock first - it costs nothing and protects the booking fee.

Test-day rules - what to carry and what to leave at home

• Carry: the same passport (or country-specified ID) you booked with; the booking confirmation / reference number; a clear water bottle in some centres (no labels).
• Leave behind / lock away: phones, smartwatches, headphones, wallets, notebooks, dictionaries, study material, hats, jackets in some centres. Lockers are provided. Possession of a phone in the test room can invalidate the score.
• Dress: comfortable, layered so you can adjust to the room temperature; no logos or text on caps that could be flagged as cheating aids.
• Arrival: aim for 60-90 minutes before the published start time; security checks, photo capture and biometric registration take longer than first-timers expect.
• At-home tests: use a wired keyboard and mouse if possible; close all background apps; switch off second monitors; tape over webcams except the one you are using; no second person in the room at any point.

What booking mistakes should you avoid?

• Wrong version (standard vs UKVI, Academic vs General) - accepted by the university but not the visa, or vice versa. Re-sitting a different version is a full fresh fee.
• Name / ID mismatch - fix before paying. Small differences (middle name dropped, hyphen replaced with space) can still trigger a centre rejection.
• Booking too early - a score valid two years can expire before you enrol if you sit the test 18-24 months ahead of intake.
• No retake buffer- leave room before the deadline in case you need a second attempt (factor in TOEFL's 3-day, PTE's 5-day waits where relevant).
• Home test for a visa office that rejects it - the most expensive mistake of all because it forces a second centre-based sitting at full fee.

Ready to test where you stand? Take a free IELTS mock and see your indicative band in 2 hours.