TOEFL Retake Policy: Rules and Waiting Period

By Muntasir Jul 19, 2026 6 min read

TL;DR

You are allowed to retake the TOEFL iBT as many times as you want. The only rule is spacing: ETS does not let you test more than once in a 3-day period, even if you canceled your previous scores.

No annual limit on attempts.
A new appointment cannot be booked within 3 days of one you already hold.
MyBest Scores combines your top section scores from all valid tests in the last 2 years.
Rescheduling costs 69 dollars, at least 4 full days before your test date.
Canceling by the same deadline gets a 50 percent refund. Canceling later gets nothing back.

Compare your score to your target school's requirement before paying for another attempt.

TOEFL Retake Policy: Rules and Waiting Period

A weak TOEFL iBT score is fixable. ETS allows another attempt 3 days after your last test date, and many schools accept MyBest Scores, which combines your best section scores across attempts. Before you register for a second attempt, it helps to know the exact rules on timing, cost and how your scores get reported.

This guide covers the minimum wait between attempts, whether there is a yearly cap, how MyBest Scores combines multiple test dates, and what a retake costs if you reschedule or need extra score reports.

Minimum wait time between attempts

ETS sets a fixed spacing rule for the TOEFL iBT. You cannot take the test more than once in a 3-day period, and this applies even if you canceled the scores from your previous attempt.

You are allowed to test again 3 days after your last test date. ETS does not allow an appointment inside this 3-day window.

A separate booking rule covers appointments you already hold. You cannot book a new appointment within 3 days of an existing appointment, so moving a booked date forward runs into the same 3-day spacing.

Planning the gap between attempts

The 3-day minimum is a floor, not a recommendation. Give yourself enough time to read your score report, find the section holding your total back and work on it before you book again. Booking the earliest available date leaves you no room to change the result.

Annual retake limit

There is no limit to the number of times you take the TOEFL iBT in a year. The 3-day minimum spacing is the only restriction ETS enforces. If you have the budget and the schedule for it, you are allowed to test every few days until you reach your target score.

Each retake costs a full registration fee, so plan study time between attempts and treat the lack of a cap as flexibility rather than a reason to book back-to-back dates. Check our TOEFL cost and fees guide before you commit to another sitting.

How retake scores combine through MyBest Scores

ETS reports your scores through a feature called MyBest Scores. It takes your best score in each section, Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing, from every valid TOEFL iBT attempt in the last 2 years, and displays the combined total alongside your scores from the specific test date you select. Schools accepting MyBest Scores see your strongest possible section-by-section total, not only one test day's result.

Score validity matters here. Scores stay valid for 2 years after the test date, and anything older falls out of the MyBest calculation and cannot be reported or verified. Only retakes taken within the 2-year window count toward your best combined score.

MyBest Scores and the January 2026 scale change

As of January 21, 2026, TOEFL iBT moved to a new 1 to 6 score scale reported in half-point increments. During a 2-year transition, ETS also shows a comparable score on the older 0 to 120 scale. This affects how MyBest Scores combines older and newer attempts.

Your score report scale	What MyBest Scores pulls from
Report uses the new 1 to 6 scale	Converts your older 0 to 120 attempts into the 1 to 6 scale and includes them
Report still uses the 0 to 120 scale	Only pulls from your prior attempts also scored on 0 to 120

If you tested before and after the January 2026 change, check which scale your score report uses so you understand exactly which attempts feed into your MyBest total. See the ETS scores page for the current scale details.

Deciding whether to retake based on the score gap

Before you register again, compare your current score to the minimum your target program requires. Read the requirement carefully and check whether the program sets a per-section minimum alongside its overall minimum. A per-section minimum blocks you on one weak section even when your total clears the bar.

Use these steps to decide:

List the exact overall and per-section minimums for every school on your list.
Compare each of your section scores against those minimums, not only your total.
Identify which section has the widest gap. This section decides whether a retake is worth it.
Estimate how much focused practice this section realistically needs before your next attempt.

If only one section is holding your total back, MyBest Scores means you do not need a perfect retake, you only need this one section to improve. Our guide to what counts as a good TOEFL score breaks down typical target ranges by program type, and our TOEFL study plan helps you structure the weeks before a retake around your weakest section.

Rebooking and fee implications

If you already hold an appointment and want to move it instead of booking a new one, ETS requires you to reschedule or cancel at least 4 full days before your test date. Missing this deadline means you lose the fee entirely, with no partial refund.

The table below summarizes the fees and deadlines relevant to a retake.

Action	Deadline or amount
Rescheduling fee	US$69
Rescheduling or canceling deadline	At least 4 full days before the test date
Refund for canceling by the deadline	50 percent of the original test fee
Refund for canceling after the deadline	None
Regular registration closes	7 full days before the test date
Express registration fee	US$49, closes 2 days before the test date
Extra score reports after the free window	US$29 each

Registering fresh for a retake follows the same fee schedule as your first test. Regular online registration closes 7 full days before your test date, after which an express fee of 49 dollars applies, with express registration itself closing 2 days before the test date.

Sending your retake score to schools

You get up to 4 free score recipients if you name them before 10pm local test-center time the day before your test. Add score recipients after this window and each report costs 29 dollars. For tests taken on or after January 21, 2026, scores post to your ETS account in about 3 days. Tests before this date, and TOEFL iBT Australia, take about 4 to 8 days to post.

Once your retake score lands, compare it against your prior attempts using MyBest Scores and confirm your best combined result meets every school's requirement. When you are ready to prepare for another attempt, work through our TOEFL practice tests and section drills, free and with no signup required.