TOEFL Testing Accommodations: How to Apply

By Muntasir Jul 24, 2026 9 min read

TL;DR

Complete the TOEFL iBT Testing Accommodations Request Form, online in your ETS account or on pages 11 to 22 of the ETS bulletin supplement, and get approval from ETS Disability Services before you book a test date. Add the TOEFL iBT Test Authorization Request Form only if you submit by email, mail or courier. ETS grants accommodations to test takers with disabilities or health-related needs, including ADHD, autism spectrum conditions, physical, visual or hearing impairments, and chronic conditions like diabetes or Crohn's disease. Include disability documentation, or a copy of matching approved accommodations from ETS or another testing agency. ETS states review takes approximately 6 weeks, and another 6 weeks if extra documents are requested.

TOEFL Testing Accommodations: How to Apply

If you have a documented disability or a health-related need, you are allowed to request accommodations for the TOEFL iBT. ETS grants accommodations to test takers with conditions such as learning disabilities, ADHD, autism spectrum conditions, physical or sensory impairments, and chronic conditions like diabetes or Crohn's disease. Each approved accommodation stays appropriate to the test's purpose, so your score still measures the same skills.

Approval has to happen before you book your test date, so treat the paperwork as part of your registration timeline, not an afterthought. This guide covers who qualifies, the documentation ETS requires, how long approval takes, the accommodations available, and how scheduling differs between a test center appointment and TOEFL Home Edition. For the full booking process, see our TOEFL registration guide and TOEFL test dates guide.

Who Qualifies for Accommodations

ETS grants accommodations to TOEFL iBT test takers with disabilities or health-related needs when documentation links a specific condition to a specific accommodation. Name the barrier you face on test day and the accommodation removing it, since a vague request slows down review. ETS accepts requests tied to the conditions below.

Learning disabilities
ADHD
Autism spectrum conditions
Physical impairments
Visual or hearing impairments
Chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes or Crohn's disease

Documentation ETS Requires

Applying for accommodations means submitting named forms, not a free-form request, and ETS reviews the full package before approving any change to your test. Everyone completes Parts I and II of the TOEFL iBT Testing Accommodations Request Form, either online in your ETS account or on pages 11 to 22 of the bulletin supplement. Submitting by email, mail or courier adds one more form, the TOEFL iBT Test Authorization Request Form on pages 23 to 25 of the same supplement, while online applicants file nothing extra. What differs is the evidence behind the request, since an accommodation approval already held elsewhere stands in for new disability documentation. Send the whole package together, because review starts only once ETS holds complete paperwork.

Required Forms

Every applicant completes the Testing Accommodations Request Form, and only email, mail or courier submissions add the Test Authorization Request Form on top of it. What else you add depends on whether an accommodation approval already exists in your name and on who issued it. A prior approval has to stay current and appropriate, and the accommodation has to sit within TOEFL test construct and security limits. Use the table below to find your route.

Your situation	What you submit
New request, no prior accommodation approval	Parts I and II of the TOEFL iBT Testing Accommodations Request Form, disability documentation, and the TOEFL iBT Test Authorization Request Form if you submit by email, mail or courier
Same accommodations already approved for another ETS test: GRE, a Praxis test, GACE, or the School Leadership Series	Parts I and II of the Testing Accommodations Request Form, with no new disability documentation if the approval stays current and appropriate. ETS encourages Part III Certification of Eligibility, and email, mail or courier submissions add the Test Authorization Request Form
Same accommodations already approved by another testing agency: ACT, SAT, GMAT, LSAT, or MCAT	Parts I and II of the Testing Accommodations Request Form, a copy of the approving agency's approval letter, and the Test Authorization Request Form if you submit by email, mail or courier. No disability documentation is required.

Reciprocity stops at the test construct: an accommodation conflicting with what the TOEFL measures, or with test security, is refused no matter who approved it first, per the ETS bulletin supplement. The earlier approval also has to stay current and appropriate, so a lapsed letter, or a letter listing accommodations you no longer need, will not carry your request. For an approval issued by ACT, SAT, GMAT, LSAT or MCAT, the approval letter itself does the work in place of a fresh disability report, so attach a copy of it alongside the forms. ETS encourages every applicant to submit Part III Certification of Eligibility as well. When nothing current covers what you need, file as a new request with full disability documentation instead.

Documentation Format

Documentation for a health-related need has to be a formal letter of support from a medical doctor or another qualified professional. The letter states your condition and the rationale for each requested accommodation. ETS rejects handwritten notes and notes written on a prescription pad. Ask your provider for a typed, signed letter on official letterhead, and keep a copy for your own records.

How to Apply and Application Lead Time

You submit an accommodations request through your ETS account, or by email, mail, or courier to ETS Disability Services. Create an account at ets.org/mytoefl and select TOEFL Accommodation Status/New Request. ETS strongly encourages the online system over mail or email. The online route doubles as your status tracker, matching the name of the menu option you select.

Application Timeline

Approval takes weeks, not days, so start well ahead of your target test date. Count backward from the deadline your score has to meet, and add registration time on top of the review window. Leave slack for a documentation follow-up, because the extra window runs from the day ETS receives the new documents. Two official ETS sources give different figures, so both are below.

Review step	Live ETS accommodations page	ETS bulletin supplement PDF
Standard documentation review	Approximately 6 weeks once ETS receives your request and completed paperwork	About 4 to 6 weeks once ETS receives the complete request
Additional documentation requested	Another 6 weeks from the time the new documents are received	Another 2 to 4 weeks from when ETS receives the new documents

Plan against the live page figures, since they run longer and the page is the current ETS accommodations reference. On those figures a request needing a second round of documents reaches roughly 12 weeks from submission to decision. Treat the shorter PDF windows as a best case, not a schedule.

Alternate formats stretch the timeline further. If you request Braille, audio, or large print, apply earlier still, because producing those materials takes added time after approval. Production of a Braille, audio, or large-print order starts only once your approval is issued, so this wait sits on top of the standard review window.

ETS approves accommodations before you schedule a test, and accommodations are not applied to a test date already booked. A seat reserved ahead of approval stays a standard appointment. Finish the accommodations process first, then register for your test and pick a date from our TOEFL test dates guide.

Types of Accommodations Available

ETS groups TOEFL iBT accommodations into three categories: technical tools, specialized human assistance, and adaptive changes to test format or timing. The categories overlap in practice, since one test taker sometimes needs a tool, a person, and a timing change together. Name every accommodation you need in the request, because only approved items apply on test day. The lists below are not exhaustive: to request an accommodation outside them, describe it in Part II of the Testing Accommodations Request Form found in the Bulletin Supplement.

Technical Accommodations

Technical accommodations change the hardware and display settings at your workstation, leaving the test content untouched. The list covers display readability and input devices, so name the exact setting or device you need. Screen magnification and selectable colors carry the lightest scheduling requirements, as the scheduling section below explains. ETS offers these technical options:

Screen magnification
Selectable background and foreground colors
Kensington Trackball mouse
IntelliKeys keyboard
Ergonomic keyboard
Keyboard with touch pad

Specialized Assistance

Specialized assistance brings a trained person into your testing session. Each role is scoped tightly: a sign language interpreter covers spoken directions only, and an oral interpreter covers spoken directions or the Listening section. A writer or recorder handles your answers, and a test reader reads material aloud. These approvals need scheduling coordination with ETS, so apply as early as your calendar allows. ETS offers these assistance options:

Sign language interpreter, for spoken directions only
Oral interpreter, for spoken directions or the Listening section only
Writer or recorder of answers
Test reader

Adaptive Formats and Testing Changes

Adaptive accommodations change the format of the test materials, the timing of the session, or the sections you sit. Braille, audio, and large-print materials take extra production time after approval, so apply earlier than the standard review window suggests. Extra time, added rest breaks, and section omissions belong to this group as well. ETS offers these adaptive options:

Audio version
Reader's script version
Braille, contracted or uncontracted, with or without a reader's script
Large-print or regular-print materials
Listening section omitted
Speaking section omitted
Extended testing time
Additional rest breaks
Transcripts of audio elements in the Speaking and Writing sections

Reduced-Distraction Test Center Setting

The standard test center setup already limits distraction, with no accommodation request required. Each test taker sits in an individual carrel. Earplugs or headphones are available on request for further noise reduction. Ask staff at check-in on test day rather than filing paperwork for it.

Home Edition vs. Test Center Scheduling

Where you test changes how you schedule an approved accommodation. Some approvals leave you free to pick a slot yourself online, and the rest route through instructions printed in your approval letter. The split depends on the accommodation itself, not on the severity of your need. Read your approval letter before you open the scheduling screen.

Self-Scheduling Online

Approval for extended time, extra breaks, screen magnification, or selectable background and foreground colors keeps you on the online self-scheduling path for TOEFL Home Edition. You book through your ETS account, the same way as a standard appointment. Test center candidates approved only for screen magnification or selectable colors also self-schedule online. One additional approved accommodation moves you off this path.

Accommodations Requiring Separate Scheduling

Any other approved accommodation, such as an interpreter, a reader, or Braille materials, sits outside online self-scheduling for Home Edition. Your approval letter carries separate scheduling instructions for these. The same rule applies at test centers for accommodations beyond screen magnification and selectable colors. Follow the letter exactly, and hold off on booking until it reaches you.

Keep preparing while your accommodations request is under review. Our TOEFL prep page has free full-length practice tests and section drills, with no signup required. Sit a full section in one go to learn the question formats, the timing, and the on-screen tools. By the time your approval letter arrives, your extra time goes into the questions themselves instead of into the interface.