If your plans change or you face an unexpected situation, you may need to cancel or transfer your IELTS test date. Outlined below is our Cancellation, Refund and Transfer policy.
The information on this page is relevant to standard IELTS tests. If you're taking an IELTS for UKVI test, including IELTS for UKVI Life Skills, please visit our IELTS for UKVI cancellations and transfers policy page.
British Council IELTS exam cancellation
You can cancel your IELTS test registration at any time before taking your test via the Test Taker Portal. Refund terms depend on when you cancel and whether exceptional circumstances apply:
| Cancellation date | Refund Policy |
| within 7 days from your test date | no refund |
| within 7 days from the initial payment date | full test fee |
| after 8 days from the initial payment date | Refund after deducting the cancellation fee (25% of the full test fee) |
Please note:
- If you cancel your IELTS test no less than 7 days before the test date, you will receive a refund of the IELTS exam fee minus an administration fee. Please note IELTS refund policy can take 4 to 6 weeks to process.
- If there are less than 7 days left between your initial payment date and your registered test date, you cannot request for cancellation.
- If your make your payment and request cancellation on the same day, you can get a full refund. In case your request made out-of-office hours fails or encountre systematic errors, send us your request in e-mail to exams@britishcouncil.or.kr before midnight on the day.
Test taker exceptions
If you are ill or have a personal emergency on your test date, you may need to cancel your test. If this is the case, you can submit a case for special consideration due to exceptional circumstances to your test centre. This will allow you to carry over your test fee to a later test date or, in some cases, apply for a refund.
We define exceptional circumstances as:
- a traumatic experience
- domestic crisis
- unavoidable legal or military obligation
- serious medical conditions which prevent you from attending or performing normally on test day.
- bereavement or other forms of significant hardship
- civil unrest or extreme weather.
You can make a case for exceptional circumstances before the test and up to two calendar days after the test date if you did not attend the test. Applications for special consideration will not be accepted after your results have been released.
You need to contact your test centre directly and provide full information as to why you qualify for special consideration with supporting evidence. Your test centre will assess your application and will respond to you within seven working days of receiving your full application in writing.
If your test centre approves your application, you will receive a refund or transfer. In some cases, this will be subject to an administrative fee. Please be aware that refunds can take 4–6 weeks to process.
To apply for special consideration, please contact your Test Centre and submit a cancellation request, along with your supporting evidence.
Test centre exceptions
Under certain circumstances outside of your test centre’s control, we may have to cancel your test and transfer it to a future date. These circumstances include, but are not limited to, extreme weather conditions, natural disaster, civil unrest, industrial action or force majeure.
In these circumstances, your test centre will provide you with as much notice as possible and give you the choice of either:
- a full refund, or
- a transfer to a future test date convenient to you.
If your test is cancelled or postponed due to other circumstances such as technical failure, venue or environmental factors, your test centre will provide you with as much notice as possible and give you the choice of a refund or a transfer to a future test
IELTS test day transfers
If you have booked an IELTS test and you need to change your test date, you can transfer your booking to a new date. Transfer terms depend on when you apply for you transfer:
| Transfer request date | Transfer policy |
| 15 or more days before the test date | Up to five transfers at no cost. |
| within 5–14 days of the test date | Transfer allowed. An administrative fee of 25% (KRW 86,750) will be charged. |
| Under 5 days | No transfers allowed. Any transfer requests will be treated as a cancellation, and normal refund rules will apply. |
To request a transfer, visit the Test Taker portal and follow the instructions under 'Manage my booking'.
Please note:
- Even in case you bring your test date forward, the new test date must be within the open dates available on the online registration system. (At the time of the request, test sessions scheduled at least 48 hours later are eligible for selection.)
- If you transfer the test booked before the fee increase, the total transfer fee will be: administration fee (25% of the paid test fee) plus the difference between the new and original test fees.