IELTS cancellation and refund policy

If you have booked an IELTS on computer test and you need to change the date of your test, you can transfer your test date up to 2 weeks before your booked test date free of charge. If you want to change your test date less than two weeks before your booked test, you will be charged 25% of the test fee.

To do this, visit the Test Taker portal and follow the instructions under 'Manage my booking'.

If you have booked an IELTS for UKVI test or an IELTS on paper test and want to change your test date, please contact your test centre.

More than 5 weeks until your test date:

• an administration fee of 25% of the test date fee paid applies
• full refund only if you have a new exam booking with another British Council centre abroad (confirmation needed) or if you no longer need an exam because your scores were changed as a result of EOR request
• submit your request via the Test Taker Portal 

Less than 5 weeks until your test date:

• an administration fee of 25% of the test date fee paid applies 
• full refund only if you have a new exam booking with another British Council centre abroad or if you no longer need an exam because your scores were changed as a result of EOR request
• submit your request via the Test Taker Portal and upload any document supporting your request (medical certificate, official confirmation, test result etc.).

We accept only refund requests caused by:

1. serious illness or medical incident 
2. bereavement 
3. recent hardship, trauma or serious crisis (being a victim of a crime, involved in a traffic accident etc.)
4. military service, urgent official obligation (government mandated etc.)

Test day absence:

If you cannot attend the exam and find out in advance or on the test day, please contact us.

• an administration fee of 25% of the test date fee paid applies
• full refund only if you have a new exam booking with another British Council centre abroad or if you no longer need an exam because your scores were changed as a result of EOR request
• you need to supply an official document supporting the reason of your absence 

We accept only refund requests caused by:

1. serious illness or medical incident 
2. bereavement 
3. recent hardship, trauma or serious crisis (being a victim of a crime, involved in a traffic accident etc.)
4. military service, urgent official obligation (government mandated etc.)

If we have not received your submitted cancellation request along with the supporting documentation/evidence by end of the fifth working day after the test, you will be marked as absent and forfeit all claims. 

Special Consideration owing to exceptional circumstances

On rare occasions, there may be instances where you are unable to attend your test or are disadvantaged on the test day owing to illness, injury, or another exceptional event outside your control. In these cases, you may make an application to your test centre for special consideration due to exceptional circumstances. This will allow you to carry over your test fee to a later assessment opportunity or, in some cases, apply for a refund.  

Special consideration includes instances such as: 

• a traumatic experience
• domestic crisis
• unavoidable legal or military obligation
• serious medical conditions which prevent you from attending or performing normally on the test day
• bereavement or other forms of significant hardship
• civil unrest or extreme weather.

You can apply for special consideration before the test, and up to two calendar days after the test date. However, applications for special consideration will not be accepted after your results have been released. 

You need to contact your test centre directly and provide full information as to why you qualify for special consideration with supporting evidence. Your test centre will assess your application and will respond to you within seven working days of receiving your full application in writing, during which time your results will be put on hold until a decision is finalised.

If your test centre approves your application, you will receive a refund or transfer. In some cases, this will be subject to an administrative fee. Please be aware that refunds can take four to six weeks to process. Note that there will be no adjustment to band scores.

If you would like to appeal against a decision made following an application for special consideration, please follow our complaints procedure here.

Under certain circumstances outside of test centre control, we may have to cancel your test and transfer it to a future date. These circumstances include, but may not be limited to, extreme weather conditions, natural disaster, civil unrest, industrial action, global pandemic or for reasons of force majeure. 

In these circumstances, your test centre will provide you with as much notice as possible and give you the choice of either a full refund, or a transfer to a future test date – whichever you prefer. 

If your test is cancelled or postponed due to other circumstances such as technical failure, venue or environmental factors, your test centre will provide you with as much notice as possible and give you the choice of a refund or a transfer to a future test.