After the test
PTE results usually arrive within two business days and at most five in normal processing, and a score is valid for two years from the test date. Here is how to check it, send it, read the report, and what to do if it looks wrong.
Every rule that applies after the test, with the page it comes from and the date we last checked it. Pearson can change these without notice; if a row matters to a deadline, confirm it on the source page.
| Fact | Rule | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Results, usual | RuleWithin two business days of the test, for PTE Academic, UKVI and Core | SourcePearson: PTE Academic, PTE Core and UKVI pages | Checked21 Oct 2026 |
| Results, longest normal wait | RuleUp to five business days, depending on processing times | SourcePearson: PTE Academic, Core and UKVI pages; Help Center, Scoring | Checked21 Oct 2026 |
| Results flagged for review | RuleCan take longer than five days after an extra review or a security check; Pearson gives no fixed limit | SourcePearson: Help Center, Scoring | Checked21 Oct 2026 |
| Validity | RuleTwo years from the test date, and the score can no longer be sent after that; receiving bodies can set their own window (Home Affairs: up to three years, by subclass) | SourcePearson: Help Center, Scoring; Test Taker Handbook | Checked21 Oct 2026 |
| Express Entry (PTE Core) | RuleLess than two years old when you create the profile and when you apply for permanent residence; expired results at application are refused | SourceIRCC: Express Entry language test results | Checked21 Oct 2026 |
| Canadian citizenship (PTE Core) | RuleAges 18 to 54: Listening 28+ and Speaking 42+; no expiry, and expired results are accepted | SourceIRCC: language proof for citizenship; IRCC help centre | Checked21 Oct 2026 |
| Viewing the result | RuleIn myPTE: the View Score button on the homepage, or the test under My Activity | SourcePearson: Help Center, Scoring | Checked21 Oct 2026 |
| Sending scores | RuleFree, to an unlimited number of institutions, up to seven per send (PTE Academic) | SourcePearson: Help Center, Scoring | Checked21 Oct 2026 |
| Institution can see it | RuleAbout 48 hours after you send it; paper and PDF copies are not accepted | SourcePearson: Help Center, Scoring | Checked21 Oct 2026 |
| Score report code | RuleThe 10-character code at the top of the report, below your name | SourcePearson: Help Center, Scoring | Checked21 Oct 2026 |
| Rescore | RuleUS$160, by phone, within 14 calendar days; most recent test only, once per registration, not once another test is booked; refunded only if the overall or a communicative skill score changes | SourcePearson: rescore policy | Checked21 Oct 2026 |
| Technical review | RuleUS$50, requested within 15 business days of the result; checks audio recordings for technical faults; never changes scores; test fee refunded if a fault is found | SourcePearson: rescore policy | Checked21 Oct 2026 |
| Booking the next test | RuleOnce you have received the scores from your last test; one booking at a time, up to six months ahead | SourcePearson: Help Center, Scoring; Test Taker Handbook | Checked21 Oct 2026 |
| Attempts | RuleUp to 12 tests in a 12-month period; more only through Pearson’s exception form | SourcePearson: Help Center, Scoring; Test Taker Handbook | Checked21 Oct 2026 |
Expect your PTE result within two business days, and allow five before chasing Pearson.
Pearson says most test takers get their result within two business days, and some wait up to five business days depending on processing times. The timing is the same for PTE Academic, PTE Academic UKVI and PTE Core. Pearson emails you when the score is released in myPTE, so there is nothing to refresh in the meantime.
Longer waits have two causes in Pearson’s help centre: the system flags some results for additional review, and the biometric security systems can trigger an investigation. Neither has a published time limit. If an offer or visa deadline is close, plan around the five-day upper end rather than the two-day usual, and book the test with that margin.
Key points
A PTE score is valid for two years from the test date, but each receiving body sets its own window.
Pearson’s help centre says a score report is valid for two years from the date you took the test, not the day the result arrived. Once two years have passed you can no longer assign the score to an institution, so send it in time. The score validity entry compares the authorities.
Receiving bodies apply their own rules on top. For Express Entry, IRCC wants the result less than two years old both when you create the profile and when you apply for permanent residence. For Canadian citizenship IRCC sets no expiry date. Home Affairs says results may stay valid for up to three years, depending on the visa subclass.
Key points
Your result is in myPTE under View Score, and the online report is the only version institutions trust.
Sign in to myPTE and select View Score on the homepage; if the button is not there, open the test under My Activity. Pearson’s Score Guide says the report shows an overall score and four communicative skill scores, and the score report code sits at the top, below your name.
At the bottom of the report, View Skills Profile opens a private breakdown that no institution sees. Pearson’s handbook describes it as your performance in eight skills areas, with study recommendations, which makes it the page to read before planning a re-sit. If Pearson’s email has arrived but no score shows, the help centre says it should appear within 24 hours.
Key points
Send scores from myPTE, free and unlimited; each destination then checks the result online, never from a PDF.
Pearson’s help centre says you can send PTE Academic scores to up to seven institutions at once, as often as you like, free of charge. The institution can see the report about 48 hours after the send. Institutions do not accept paper or PDF copies; they look the result up on Pearson’s score review website with the score report code or your registration ID.
Other destinations have their own route. A UKVI report carries a SELT URN and is shared with the UK Government automatically; the URN goes on your visa form. PTE Core reports carry an IRCC URN for the IRCC form, or you send the result to IRCC from myPTE. The send scores entry has the steps.
Key points
Decide on a rescore within 14 days and before booking a re-sit; a technical review never changes scores.
Pearson’s rescore policy prices a rescore at US$160, paid by phone within 14 calendar days of the score being released. Pearson rescores your spoken and open-ended written responses, on your most recent test only, once per registration. In most cases scores do not change, but they can go up or down, and a changed score replaces the old report straight away.
The rescore fee is refunded only if the overall or a communicative skill score changes; the test fee is not. A technical review, US$50, checks your audio recordings for faults that could have affected the score. It never changes a score, but the test fee is refunded if Pearson finds a fault. For a near miss, a re-sit is usually better value.
Key points
Book the next test after your last result arrives; every retake is the full three-part test.
Pearson’s help centre says you can book another test once you have received the scores from your last one, and the handbook allows only one booking at a time. The cap is 12 tests in any 12-month period. Before you book, a free scored mock shows whether the gap has closed.
Every retake is the whole test: Speaking and Writing, Reading, then Listening. PTE has no equivalent of the IELTS One Skill Retake, and IRCC does not accept One Skill Retake for Express Entry either. Fees vary by country; the price myPTE shows at checkout is the one that applies, and the fees and booking page lists the ones we have checked.
Key points
Source: Pearson Help Center (Scoring), PTE Academic Score Guide, PTE Academic Test Taker Handbook and Speaking & Writing test format, checked 21 Oct 2026.
| Item | What it is | Who sees it |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | What it isOne 10–90 number computed from every scored item; not the average of the four skills | Who sees itYou and the institutions you send to |
| Communicative skills | What it isListening, Reading, Speaking and Writing, each 10–90 | Who sees itYou and the institutions you send to; visa authorities read these |
| Score report code | What it is10 letters and digits at the top, below your name | Who sees itInstitutions searching Pearson’s score review website |
| SELT URN | What it isUnique Reference Number, only on PTE Academic UKVI reports | Who sees itUK Government: shared automatically, and quoted on your visa application |
| IRCC URN | What it isUnique Reference Number on PTE Core reports | Who sees itIRCC, entered on your visa application form |
| Skills Profile | What it isYour performance in eight skills areas, with study recommendations | Who sees itYou only; never shared with institutions |
| Personal Introduction | What it isThe unscored spoken introduction recorded at the start of the test | Who sees itTest-day data that Pearson’s handbook says may be shared with institutions you send scores to |
Most test takers receive PTE results within two business days. Some take up to five business days, depending on processing, and results flagged for extra review can take longer. You receive an email when the report is ready in myPTE.
Two years from the test date, for PTE Academic, PTE Academic UKVI and PTE Core. Receiving bodies can set their own window: IRCC sets no expiry for citizenship, and Home Affairs accepts results up to three years old depending on the visa subclass.
Yes. IRCC requires the result to be less than two years old both when you create your Express Entry profile and when you submit the application for permanent residence, and refuses an application made with expired results.
Sign in to myPTE and select View Score on the homepage, or open the test under My Activity. The report shows the overall score, the four communicative skills and the score report code.
Send it from myPTE: choose up to seven institutions at a time, free of charge and as often as you need. The institution can see the report about 48 hours after the send. Paper and PDF copies are not accepted as official.
It is the 10-character code of letters and digits at the top of the score report, below your name. Institutions use it, or your registration ID, to look up your result on Pearson’s score review website.
Request a rescore by phone within 14 calendar days for US$160. Pearson rescores the spoken and open-ended written responses of your most recent test only, and a rescore is not possible once another test is booked. The fee is refunded only if the overall or a communicative skill score changes, and scores can go down as well as up.
As soon as you have received the scores from your previous test. Pearson allows up to 12 tests in a 12-month period, and every retake is the full test.
The overall score is computed from every scored item, including integrated items that feed two skills, so it is not the average of the four skill scores. Institutions and visa authorities set requirements on the overall, the skills, or both.
