Your Exam Day

Before the IELTS test

• Before your IELTS test day, check the date, time, and address of your IELTS exam. Be careful, your IELTS test location may be different from the test centre location where you booked your test.
• Don´t forget to read the IELTS test terms and conditions (officially by the British Council). You can find them in the Test Taker Information part of your application form. This material contains important information about your test day.
• Get there early! If you arrive late to your IELTS test, you might not be allowed to take it.
• …and don´t forget to check our exam prep materials here!
• We recommend you familiarise yourself for your computer-based test with free sample tests on our website. Have a look at this tutorial series from the British Council explaining everything you need to know about IELTS on computer.

Things to bring to the IELTS test

• You cannot bring food or drink into the exam room. The exception is water in a transparent bottle.
• Mobile phone and other electronic devices will be kept outside of the test room along with other personal belongings.
• You will not be able to take any other items into the test room. Any other personal belongings will be placed in a secure personal belonging area outside the test room.
• You must bring your valid ID. It must be the same ID you booked your test with! Read more about the Identification (ID) Policy by the British Council on this page.

During the IELTS test

• Your photograph will be taken on the test day as an additional security measure and will appear on your Test Report Form.
• The Listening, Reading and Writing tests take 2 hours 40 minutes. Please note that there will be no breaks during the tests.
• During the IELTS test you are allowed to have only the following items on your desk: a pencil, pen, your ID, and an eraser.
• If you need to use the toilet during the test, put your hand up and don’t disturb other test takers.
• If you have any questions during the exam raise your hand to attract the invigilator’s attention.
• When it’s time to take the Listening test, check that you can hear the recording clearly.
• After the Listening section, you will have 10 minutes to fill in the answer sheet. However, you will not have 10 minutes after the Reading section, so be sure to write your answers on your answer sheet when completing each section.

At the end of your IELTS test

• At the end your exam, please remain in your seat until you have the invigilator‘s permission to leave the test room.
• If you believe that your performance may have been affected by any issues, inform the invigilator straight away.

After the IELTS test

You will be able to view your IELTS results in the British Council Test taker portal 3 to 5 calendar days after the test date.

Read more about IELTS results here.