The TOEFL has no fixed calendar — it runs continuously at test centres and from home. So the questions worth answering are which delivery option to use, how the unusually permissive retake rules change your planning, and when a score expires.
Test Ninjas Research · Updated September 11, 2026
No cap on attempts, 3 days between them, 2-year validity. That combination is much more forgiving than most admissions exams, and it should change how you plan: a first sitting can reasonably be a real attempt rather than a rehearsal.
Two ways to take it
The Home Edition is the same exam, not a reduced version. Content, format, scoring and cost are identical; only the delivery differs. The choice usually comes down to whether you can reliably meet the equipment and environment requirements at home.
Test centre and Home Edition compared
Availability
Notes
Test centre
60+ dates a year in most locations, 170+ in some
Authorised centres worldwide
Home Edition
About four days a week, nearly 24 hours
Remote proctoring, your own computer
Cost
Identical for both
Roughly $173–$475 by country
Content
Identical for both
Same format, same scoring
Retakes and validity
The TOEFL is unusual here. There is no limit on how many times you can sit it and only a three-day minimum gap, so a disappointing score does not cost you a cycle the way it can on exams with annual caps.
Planning constraints
Rule
Value
Minimum gap between attempts
3 days
Maximum attempts
No limit
Score validity
2 years from the test date
Booking lead time
Varies by centre and demand — book early for popular locations
The expiry window is the real constraint
Two years sounds generous until you map it against a long application timeline. A score earned early in an undergraduate degree, or before a deferred start, can lapse before enrolment — and institutions ask for a current score, not the best one you ever had. Work backwards from when the score must still be valid, not merely from the application deadline.
Fees
The registration fee varies considerably by country — roughly $173 to $475 including local taxes, and around $270 in the United States. ETS shows the current figure for your location during registration, and rescheduling and late-registration fees apply on top. Check the live figure rather than relying on a published range, since these are revised periodically.
Most also require the GRE, which ETS administers alongside the TOEFL. Our GRE course covers Verbal and Quant in full, with adaptive practice tests and instant scoring.
Year round. There is no fixed calendar the way there is for exams like the MCAT. Authorised test centres run 60 or more dates a year in most locations and 170+ in some, and the TOEFL Home Edition is available roughly four days a week, nearly around the clock.
Yes — same content, same format, same scoring, and it costs the same as testing at a centre. The difference is delivery: you take it on your own computer under remote proctoring, with equipment and environment requirements you need to check before booking.
There is no limit on the number of attempts. You must wait at least 3 days between tests. That is unusually permissive — most admissions exams cap attempts per year or per lifetime.
Two years from the test date. This matters more than it sounds: if you sit the TOEFL early in a long application timeline, it can expire before you enrol, and institutions will ask for a current score.
The fee varies by country — roughly $173 to $475 depending on location and local taxes, and about $270 in the United States. ETS publishes the current figure for your country during registration, and it is revised periodically, so check rather than budgeting from a published range.
Early enough that the score is in hand before your earliest application deadline, but not so early that it expires. Because there is no waiting period beyond 3 days and no cap on attempts, booking a date that leaves room for one retake is straightforward — unlike exams where a retake means waiting months.