IELTS frequently asked questions

You can book your IELTS test online, on the British Council Sierra Leone website: https://www.britishcouncil.sl/exam/ielts/book-test 

Find out why millions of people take IELTS from the British Council to achieve their goals abroad or remotely.

https://youtu.be/VB1_t1_xRA8

You will need a valid ID card to register for IELTS. If you are a citizen of Sierra Leone, you can use your National ID or passport. If you are not a citizen of Sierra Leone, please use your passport to register for IELTS.

Payment can be made online with a bank card when you register on our website.

When you take IELTS with the British Council, you can access IELTS Ready Premium, our most comprehensive IELTS preparation course, for free. Worth $60, IELTS Ready Premium includes practice tests, video tutorials and interactive exercises to help you succeed. 

You can also reach out to our IELTS Coach for one-on-one and group classes online.

Find practice tests, video tutorials and more to help you prepare for IELTS on our website: https://www.britishcouncil.sl/exam/ielts/prepare

You will receive a band score for each section of the IELTS test. Click here to find out how band scores are calculated.

Wondering what to expect on your IELTS test day? Watch the video to find out what happens when you take IELTS with the British Council.

https://youtu.be/SNIQ9QrZwmw

Please visit our Test Taker Portal to preview your IELTS band score. 

When you take IELTS on Computer, your results will become available in 1-5 calendar days.

When you take IELTS on Paper, your results will become available 13 calendar days after you have taken the test.

If you have taken IELTS on Computer, you can download the electronic version of your Test Report Form (TRF) from the Taker Portal 1-5 days after your test. IELTS on Computer Test Report Forms are only available online.

If you have taken IELTS on Paper, a physical copy will be issued after your results are published on the Test Taker Portal. The Test Report Form will be delivered to your location for free via courier after 10 working days. We will send you an email after your test with a link so you can provide your location details for delivery.

We will send your Test Report Form (TRF) directly to the institutions you are applying to, whether you have taken a computer-delivered or a paper-based test.

Institutions require original IELTS Test Report Forms as part of their application requirements. 

We can send up to ten additional copies of your TRF directly to institutions you are applying to (e.g. universities, immigration officers, etc.). If you would like us to do this, kindly follow the link below to submit your request. 

https://www.eventsforce.net/britishcouncil/3801/home 

Please remember to provide the full postal address of the institutions you want us to send your Test Report Form. Without the complete address, we are not able to check whether the institution has access to the IELTS Test Report Form Verification Service that allows it to view your results after we have submitted them electronically. In case they do not access this service, we will send your TRF by post.

IELTS results will not be disclosed over the phone or via email. Please visit our Test Taker Portal to preview your results.

Learn more: https://youtu.be/H1jskuIdnp0

You will be awarded an IELTS band score from 0-9 for each test section, which reflects your proficiency in English.

Your TRF shows a score for each of the four skills (Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking), as well as an overall band score. You can score whole band scores (for example 5.0, 6.0, 7.0) or half band scores (e.g. 5.5, 6.5, 7.5) in each section of the test.

Whether you have taken IELTS on Computer or IELTS on Paper, organisations will usually not accept your results if they are more than two years old.

If you did not receive the score you expected, you can apply for your test to be re-marked. This is called an Enquiry on Results (EOR). You can choose which test sections you want to be re-marked and will need to request this at the test centre where you took the test.

You need to apply for a re-marking no later than six weeks after the test date, regardless of whether you have taken computer-delivered or paper-based IELTS.

Request an EOR here: www.eventsforce.net/britishcouncil/3801/home 

Your Enquiry on Results result will normally be available in 2 to 21 days, depending on several factors including the number of sections requested for remark. If you have not received a response after 21 days, please contact your test centre.

There are no restrictions on re-taking IELTS Academic, IELTS UKVI or IELTS General Training. You can book a new test as soon as you feel you are ready to do so. However, if you achieved your required band score for IELTS UKVI Life Skills, you will not be able to retake the test until your results expire.

If you take IELTS on Computer, you can apply for One Skill Retake and only rewrite the sections that require improvement. Find out more about One Skill Retake here: https://takeielts.britishcouncil.org/take-ielts/one-skill-retake/faqs