“When Will I Get My TOEFL Scores?”

his is a question that I get A LOT!  And frankly, it is amazing to me, how many people actually take the exam, but have no idea when or how they will actually receive their scores, or how that process is actually done.

n addition to this — I think that a lot of people are very surprised when I explain to them that — first of all — There Is No Such Thing As A TOEFL Certificate!  And Secondly — Your TOEFL Scores Are Not Sent To You!

hat’s right!  Your scores are NOT actually sent to you!  And you do not receive any sort of “Certificate” like you would with other English exams (like the FCE or CAE).  You will receive ACCESS to your scores on-line by going to the account that you created when you registered for the exam.  Your scores will be available there between 4-8 days after your exam.  But THOSE ARE NOT THE OFFICIAL SCORES.

ure — those are your ACTUAL scores.  They are the scores that you achieved on the exam.  And you can even print them out and show them to whoever you want.  But for universities and other organizations that require you to present your TOEFL scores — that print-out is not recognized as your “Official Scores”.  Your “Official” Scores are sent directly from ETS to whatever organization that needs them…  NOT to you!

hen you are registering for the exam — you can specify up to 4 score reports to be sent to different organizations.  These 4 score reports are included in the fee, but must be specified BEFORE you actually take the exam.

ny additional score reports that you need to have sent will be at a cost of $20 (as of 2023).  If you did not specify anyone to have your scores sent to when you registered for your exam — then you have lost that opportunity, and will need to pay to have those scores sent.

f your scores are being sent to a university or organization in The United States — then it usually takes about 1 or 2 weeks for delivery.  If your scores are being sent ANYWHERE outside of the US, then it could take between 4-8 weeks for delivery.

ut there are also the customs agencies that can cause your mail to be delayed for an un-determined amount of time.  (The people at the customs office have absolutely no incentive to do their job more quickly, just because you have an important document that needs to be delivered.)  😖

lthough it is perfectly logical to assume that your scores or some kind of certificate would be sent to you after your exam — that is not the case.  This is one of the mistakes that people often make because they assume that The TOEFL Exam is just like other exams that they have taken in the past.  But it is not.

t is also perfectly logical to assume that ETS would INFORM you about these VERY important details during the registration process.  But they do not.  They DO have this information available on their website, but it is almost impossible to find — and the actual downloadable document that HAS this information is titled in a way that it seems like nothing you would want or need.  But which it absolutey IS!!!  That Document Is Here.

inally — your scores are valid for 2 years from the time that you take the exam.  So if you need to have any additional score reports sent anywhere within that time, you have the option to do so.  After 2 years from the day you took your TOEFL Exam — if you need to present TOEFL Scores to anyone else — you will be forced to take the exam again…  It sucks…  But that’s just the way it is.

(Don’t Worry.  It Is HIGHLY Un-Likely That You Will Ever Need To Take The TOEFL Exam Again.  It Is A Very Rare Occurrence.)

ecause of the time it takes for scores to be delivered — the organization that created The TOEFL Exam states that you should take your exam at least two months before your deadline.  But this is STILL waiting until the last minute, and does not factor in ANY possible problems that could arise.  So — in my expert opinion…  That Is VERY Bad Advice!  🤨

nd since all of these factors are too much to worry about, when you should be focusing on PREPARING for the exam…  And because your TOEFL Scores are valid for 2 years after you take The TOEFL Exam…

hen there is absolutely NO REASON TO WAIT TO TAKE YOUR EXAM!!!  In fact — there is MORE reason to take The TOEFL Exam EARLY!!!  So I Say:  You Should TAKE Your Exam 3-6 MONTHS — Or Even A YEAR — Before Your Deadline!

hat way — no matter what problems that arise — you will have plenty of time to work around them.  And if you have NO problems that arise — then you will have taken care of this whole situation a LOT earlier than everyone else, and you won’t need to stress about it.

here is A LOT more to “taking The TOEFL” than simply taking the actual exam.  It is an entire process!  And unfortunately — almost nobody is actually telling anyone about this process.  You can’t learn about it in a text-book.  And most of the time — the teachers of Traditional TOEFL Courses do not even know about it.

f you want to make sure that you are FULLY Prepared for The TOEFL Exam — including ALL of the other aspects of the entire TOEFL Process — then the only place (that I know of) where you will get ALL of that information In ONE Place!  Is with The TOEFL Excellence Training System.  (I know because I created it!  And I created it BECAUSE no one else was providing the necessary information!)  😎

n fact — this article that you are reading is PART of The TOEFL Excellence Training System!  So if you are here because of an email that you got from me after signing-up for The Introductory TOEFL Mini-Course — then you are already doing a good job getting yourself ready!  😉

ut if you got to this article on your own, and you want to BE Fully Prepared For The TOEFL Exam — so that you do not end up in a situation like so many other people who contact me — not know what is going on with some aspect of their TOEFL Process — Then Go To TOEFL Excellence  ⇒  Watch The Video On the Front Page  ⇒  And then Click The Button Below The Video that best describes your situation…  And then I’ll get in contact with you — so that I can help YOU…