How long is a PTE score valid?

Why you see two answers

The two numbers come from two different organisations. Pearson runs the test, and it says your score is valid for two years from your test date. Its website says that after two years the score can't be used for study or visa applications.

The Department of Home Affairs decides Australian visas, and it sets its own time limits. For many visas, it accepts a test taken in the three years before you apply. For some visas, the limit is shorter.

So the two sources disagree. When you apply for an Australian visa, the Home Affairs rule decides, because Home Affairs is the one checking your application. When you apply to a university or a professional body, that organisation's rule decides. Pearson says most universities ask for a test from the last two years.

How long PTE is valid for Australian visas

Home Affairs' pages for Competent and Proficient English say you need the scores "in the 3 years before your visa application, depending on the visa subclass". The last part matters. Each visa's own page gives its rule, and some of them are much shorter than three years.

The table shows what the Home Affairs pages for some common visas say today. If your visa isn't in the table, open its page on the Home Affairs website and look for the English language requirement.

If you took PTE before 7 August 2025

Your result still counts, but it's checked against the old scores. For those tests, you needed 50 in each skill for Competent English, 65 for Proficient and 79 for Superior.

Home Affairs says you can use these results until 6 August 2028 at the latest, depending on the visa. That date is three years after the last day of the old rules, so it matches the three-year limit.

The shorter limits still apply. A test from before 7 August 2025 is now more than 12 months old, so it's too old for the Temporary Graduate visa.

Which date counts

Your test date counts, not the day your result arrives. If you sat the test on 10 March 2025, Pearson's two years end on 10 March 2027, even if your result arrived a few days later.

Home Affairs counts back from the day you apply. The Temporary Graduate visa page, for example, asks for a test in the 12 months immediately before the day you apply. So check the limit against the day you'll submit your application, which may be weeks after you start preparing it.

The skilled visas add one more date. The pages for the Skilled Independent and Skilled Nominated visas say you need at least Competent English at the time you're invited. If your test is close to the limit, read your visa's page and plan both dates with care.

Is IELTS any different?

Not for Australian visas. Home Affairs uses the same time limits for every test it accepts, so a PTE score and an IELTS result of the same age are treated the same way.

What changes between the tests is the score you need. The IELTS bands for each level didn't change in August 2025, but the PTE scores did.

If your score is about to run out

If your score will be too old on the day you apply, you'll need to sit the test again. Your new test is checked against the new scores, and they aren't the same in every skill.

For Proficient English, a new test needs listening 58, reading 59, writing 69 and speaking 76. On the old rules, 65 in each skill was enough. So a student with 65 in writing and speaking would fall short today, even with the same English.

Before you book, check each skill against the new scores. A full mock test shows you which skill is furthest from the score you need, so you know what to practise first.