How long is an IELTS score valid?

Where the two years come from

The two-year advice comes from IELTS itself. On the page it writes for universities and employers, it recommends that a result shows your English for a maximum of two years.

The reason is language loss. When you stop using a second language, your level can slowly drop. After a few years, an old band may not match the English you have today.

This is advice to the people who read your result. IELTS goes on to say that a result older than two years should only be accepted with proof that you've kept using or improving your English.

Every time limit on this page counts from the day you sat the test. The day your result came out doesn't matter.

Who decides if your IELTS result still counts

IELTS doesn't decide. The university, employer or government that reads your result sets its own limit.

Most of them follow the two-year advice. A 2023 IELTS study of how organisations use results found that two years is by far the most common limit, with only a few exceptions. Home Affairs, with three years for many visas, is one of the exceptions.

So read the English page of each place you apply to. Look for a line like "test taken within" and the number after it.

There's no way to extend an IELTS result. The limit belongs to whoever reads it, so the only way to get a newer test date is to sit the test again.

How long IELTS is valid for Australian visas

Home Affairs sets its own time limits, and they depend on the visa. Its pages for Competent, Proficient and Superior English ask for a test taken in the three years before you apply, "depending on the visa subclass".

Some visas ask for a newer result. The Temporary Graduate visa wants a test from the 12 months before you apply, and the Student visa wants one from the two years before. The table shows the limits on the Home Affairs pages today.

The IELTS scores for each level didn't change on 7 August 2025. Competent English is 6 in each skill, Proficient is 7 and Superior is 8. A test you took on or before 6 August 2025 can still be used until 6 August 2028 at the latest, as long as it's inside your visa's time limit.

Rules change, so read the Home Affairs page for your own visa before you apply.

Using one IELTS result for study and then a visa

If you plan to study in Australia and then stay on to work, check the dates before you book your test.

The Student visa accepts a test from the two years before you apply. The Temporary Graduate visa asks for one from the 12 months before you apply. So if your course takes two years, the result that got you in will be too old for the Temporary Graduate visa when you finish.

For skilled visas such as subclass 189, your English is checked on the day you're invited to apply, and you don't choose that day. The English pages allow three years for many visas, so a result that is nearly three years old can run out while you wait.

A higher band doesn't make a result last longer. A band 8 from four years ago is too old for every visa in the table above.

Is PTE valid for longer than IELTS?

No. Pearson says a PTE score is valid for two years from your test date, the same as IELTS's advice. Home Affairs uses the same time limits for both tests.

The difference is in the scores. The PTE scores for each visa level changed on 7 August 2025, and the IELTS bands didn't. So an older PTE result is checked against the old PTE scores, while an older IELTS result is checked against the same bands as a new one.

If your IELTS result has run out

You'll need to sit the test again. Before you book, check where your English is now. It may have changed since your last test.

Our IELTS Listening and Reading practice tests are free, and you see your band the moment you finish. They follow the computer-delivered test, with 40 questions in each.

Check which version you need, too. Home Affairs accepts IELTS Academic and General Training, but universities ask for Academic. Home Affairs doesn't accept a test taken at home, so book a test centre.