English practice
French practiceWhat IELTS is, and what a band actually means
Most people meet IELTS as a number they have to reach. This page is the other half: what the exam contains, who runs it, and what the band on a Test Report Form is describing.
Checked August 8, 2026
IELTS, in one paragraph
IELTS, the International English Language Testing System, is an English exam jointly owned by the British Council, IDP IELTS and Cambridge University Press & Assessment. It reports a band score from 0 to 9 across listening, reading, writing and speaking, and comes in an Academic version and a General Training version.
The short version
- Owned by
- The British Council, IDP IELTS and Cambridge University Press & Assessment, jointly.
- Versions
- Academic and General Training. Speaking and listening are the same in both; reading and writing differ.
- How long it takes
- Two hours and 45 minutes, at a test centre or remotely online.
- Scale
- Bands 0 to 9, in whole and half bands, per section and overall.
- Validity
- The IELTS partners recommend a maximum of two years, based on second-language attrition.
| Band | Skill level |
|---|---|
| 9 | Expert |
| 8 | Very good |
| 7 | Good |
| 6 | Competent |
| 5 | Modest |
| 4 | Limited |
| 3 | Extremely limited |
| 2 | Intermittent |
| 1 | Non-user |
| 0 | Did not attempt the test |
Reproduced from the IELTS band-score descriptions. The skill labels are IELTS's own wording and are left in English on both language versions of this page for that reason.
What the exam contains
Four sections. Listening takes about 30 minutes and contains 40 questions. Reading takes 60 minutes including transfer time and also contains 40 questions. Writing takes 60 minutes. Speaking takes 11 to 14 minutes. IELTS states the format is the same whether you sit it at a test centre or remotely online.
Academic or General Training
Academic is the version for studying at undergraduate or postgraduate level and for professional registration. General Training is for migration to an English-speaking country and for training or study below degree level. The speaking and listening papers are identical in both; only reading and writing differ, and IELTS notes that a General Training reading paper usually needs more correct answers for the same band.
How a band is calculated
Each of the four sections gets a band, and the overall band is the average of those four rounded to the nearest half band. An average ending in .25 rounds up to the next half band and one ending in .75 rounds up to the next whole band. In listening and reading, each of the 40 questions is worth one mark and the raw score out of 40 is converted to the nine-band scale, with the exact conversion varying slightly from one test version to another.
How long a result lasts
The IELTS partners recommend that a result demonstrates a test taker's ability for a maximum of two years, because of the documented phenomenon of second-language attrition, and that a Test Report Form older than two years be accepted only with proof the test taker has kept their English up. Organizations can choose to accept results for longer, so ask the one you are applying to. Results older than three years cannot be investigated further by IELTS.
Where it counts
For Canadian permanent residence through Express Entry, IRCC accepts IELTS in the General Training version only, and does not accept the One Skill Retake. Universities set their own requirements and normally state a minimum overall band plus minimums per section, so read the exact page for your program rather than a general figure.
Sources
Everything above is what the organization behind the term publishes about it, read on the date shown. None of it is our interpretation.
- IELTS Academic test format and sectionsIELTS, checked August 8, 2026
- IELTS scoring in detail: band scores explainedIELTS, checked August 8, 2026
- Verifying IELTS resultsIELTS, checked August 8, 2026
- Getting and sharing your resultsIELTS, checked August 8, 2026
- Express Entry: Language test resultsImmigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, checked August 8, 2026
Questions people actually ask
Academic or General Training, which do I need?
Academic for university study and professional registration, General Training for migration and for training below degree level. If the organization you are applying to names one, that is the one, and sitting the other is a wasted fee.
How is my overall band worked out?
It is the average of your four section bands, rounded to the nearest half band. An average ending in .25 goes up to the next half band, and one ending in .75 goes up to the next whole band.
What is One Skill Retake?
An option to resit a single section rather than the whole exam. Note that IRCC does not accept it for Express Entry, so it is not a shortcut if your file is a Canadian immigration one.
How quickly do results arrive?
It depends how you sat it: 1 to 5 days on computer, up to 13 days on paper, and 6 to 8 days for IELTS Online.
Where does the free Fennec360 exam fit in?
It gives you a CEFR level in English in about 50 minutes, free, which is useful before you pay for a centre session. It is not an IELTS band and nobody who asks for IELTS accepts it instead.
Not sure which level you are at yet?
Take a free CEFR exam and find out. About 50 minutes, four languages, no appointment and no card.
Our exam gives you a CEFR level and a certificate anyone can verify. It does not replace any official exam.