The short answer
PTE has no fixed test dates: it runs on demand at test centres through the year, and Pearson's booking guide says you can book a slot as little as 24 hours ahead. Pearson does not print a fee on a static page; its test centres and fees page is a country price finder. For India, the most recent secondary source we found, Yocket's fee guide dated 17 October 2026, lists INR 18,900 including 18 per cent GST for PTE Academic, PTE Academic UKVI and PTE Core, and INR 15,300 for each PTE Home test. Treat that as a dated secondary figure and confirm it in the price finder before you pay. Results typically arrive in about 2 days for PTE Academic and 48 hours for PTE Core, with some taking up to five business days, and a score is valid for two years from the test date. The thing most candidates get wrong: they book late and then need to move the date inside the 14-day window, where Pearson's policy allows no reschedule and refunds at most half the fee.
PTE fees: India, other countries, and how to check yours
Pearson's PTE Academic and PTE Core pages both say the fee varies by the country in which you take the test and send you to the price finder. Here is what we can and cannot confirm.
| Test | What Pearson says it is for | India fee (secondary) |
|---|---|---|
| PTE Academic | Global study, Australian and New Zealand visas, professional registration | INR 18,900 incl. 18% GST |
| PTE Academic UKVI | UK work visas that need a four-skills test and study below degree level | INR 18,900 incl. 18% GST |
| PTE Core | IRCC permanent residence and citizenship applications | INR 18,900 incl. 18% GST |
| PTE Home A1, A2, B1 | Two-skills tests for UK family, extension and citizenship routes | INR 15,300 each |
Source for the India column: Yocket, "PTE Test Fees in India 2026", dated 17 October 2026, which splits the INR 18,900 into a base fee of INR 16,017 plus INR 2,883 GST. It is not a Pearson page. For Nepal, the Philippines, Canada, the UK and Australia we have no figure we could confirm this week, so we do not print one: choose your country and test in the price finder and you will see the local price before you pay.
Other costs Pearson does publish
| Item | Cost | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Rescore (human rescore of the whole test) | USD 160, refunded if your overall or skill scores change | Rescore policy, updated 25 August 2026 |
| Technical review of speaking audio | USD 50; refunded with the test fee if a fault is found | Rescore policy |
| Cancelling more than 14 full calendar days ahead | Nothing; full refund | Cancellation and rescheduling policy, updated 17 September 2026 |
| Cancelling 14 to 7 full calendar days ahead | Half the fee (50 per cent refund) | Same policy |
| Cancelling 7 calendar days or fewer ahead | The whole fee (no refund) | Same policy |
| Arriving late on test day | The whole fee; you are not allowed to test | PTE Academic and PTE Core Test Taker Handbooks |
Pearson's booking guide lists American Express, Discover, Mastercard and Visa as payment cards, and says voucher or promo codes are entered at payment. Pearson does not list a late-booking surcharge on the pages we read.
Which PTE test to book (the costly mistake)
The fee is the same across three of the tests in India, so booking the wrong one is pure loss: a new fee and a new sitting. Pearson's pages draw the lines like this.
- Canadian PR, citizenship or a postgraduate work permit: PTE Core. The IRCC language-testing page tells Federal Skilled Worker applicants they must take the PTE Core option. Studying in Canada needs PTE Academic instead, per Pearson's Core page.
- University study anywhere, or an Australian or New Zealand visa: PTE Academic. Pearson says Australia's Department of Home Affairs and Immigration New Zealand accept it for visa types that need an English test.
- A UK work visa that needs a four-skills test, or UK study below degree level: PTE Academic UKVI. Pearson says it has the same content, format and scoring as PTE Academic; the difference is a SELT Unique Reference Number for the visa form.
- A UK family, extension or citizenship route that needs speaking and listening only: PTE Home A1, A2 or B1. Our UK visa English test hub explains which level each route needs.
Speaking preparation also differs: PTE Core has Respond to a Situation with an Appropriacy trait and no lecture or group discussion tasks. See our PTE Core speaking page and, for Academic, the listen-then-speak tasks page.
Test dates and booking, step by step
Pearson's Academic and Core pages describe 500+ test centres with regular test dates and last-minute availability, and its site lists centres in over 115 countries. There are no national exam dates to wait for. The limits that matter come from the policies: you must book at least 24 hours ahead, you can book up to 6 months ahead, and you can hold only one booking at a time. The steps below follow Pearson's How to book your PTE exam guide.
- Click "Book a test", answer "Where do you want to go" and "What do you want to do there", and check that the recommended test matches the list above.
- Click "Check availability and book", enter where you want to test, choose a centre, and pick a date and time at least 24 hours away.
- Create your myPTE account with details that exactly match your passport. If your passport shows middle names, put your first and middle names in the "Given names" field. Pearson says you can correct account details up to 3 days before the test, and not after.
- Answer the booking questions. For Australia or New Zealand you can tick a box to allocate your scores to the DHA or INZ automatically.
- Agree to the admission, reschedule and cancellation policies, pay, review and click "Submit Order". The booking appears in myPTE and you receive an email.
Our advice (not Pearson's): book first, then plan your preparation to the date, and choose a date more than 15 clear days away so that you keep the free reschedule if your preparation runs late.
Reschedule and cancel: the official rules
From Pearson's cancellation and rescheduling policy, last updated 17 September 2026. Days are full calendar days before the test.
| Time left before your test | Reschedule | Cancel |
|---|---|---|
| More than 14 full calendar days | Free (at most 6 times per appointment) | Full refund |
| Between 14 and 7 full calendar days | Not possible: the button is not shown; cancel and book again | 50 per cent refund |
| 7 calendar days or fewer | Not possible | No refund |
The FAQs on the PTE Academic and PTE Core pages word these bands slightly differently ("14 or more days", "between 13 and 8 days", "fewer than 7 days"). The policy page is the dated document, so plan to it. If you cannot attend because of illness or a family emergency, Pearson may allow a free reschedule at its discretion: fill in the Request Emergency Reschedule form with your evidence as soon as you know, and no later than 72 hours after your appointment. There is no automatic right to a refund.
Test day: arrival, ID and what you are given
From the PTE Academic Test Taker Handbook (July 2025) and the PTE Core Test Taker Handbook (October 2025), both on Pearson's handbook page.
- Arrive at least 30 minutes early and sign in. Late arrivals are not allowed to test and lose the fee.
- Bring a valid, non-expired passport. The name, date of birth, citizenship and gender on it must exactly match your booking. Photocopies are not accepted, even if certified. If you do not have your passport because of an ongoing visa application, you must ask for it back for test day. Pearson's acceptable ID page lists alternatives in some countries.
- Biometrics: the Test Administrator checks your ID and takes a palm vein scan and your signature.
- Lockers: phones and personal items go in a locker, switched off.
- At your desk: a computer with a headset and an erasable whiteboard with two pens. Do not write on the board until the test starts.
- No scheduled breaks. You can ask for one, but the clock keeps running.
- Length: Pearson describes both PTE Academic and PTE Core as about 2 hours. Neither can be taken at home.
Results: when they arrive and why some take longer
| Test | Typical | Upper limit Pearson gives |
|---|---|---|
| PTE Academic and UKVI | About 2 days (Academic page; handbook: "typically available in two days") | Up to 5 business days |
| PTE Core | Typically 48 hours (Core scoring page) | Up to 5 business days (Core FAQ) |
You get an email when the Score Report is ready, then sign in to myPTE and click "View Score" (or find the test under "My Activity"). Pearson's help centre gives two reasons a result can take longer than five working days: the system flagged it for additional review, or a biometric security check triggered an investigation. If you were told the score is ready but cannot see it, Pearson says to try again later, since it should appear within 24 hours, and then to use the Customer Support form. You can download a PDF for your own records, but institutions will not accept it.
Score validity and sending scores
A PTE Academic or PTE Core Score Report is valid for two years from the test date. Pearson's help centre adds that scores must be assigned within those two years; after that they expire and cannot be sent. Pearson's scoring explained page also says that while most institutions accept results up to two years old, some set shorter or longer validity periods, so check yours. How sending works depends on the test.
| Where the score goes | How (Pearson help centre and Score Guides) |
|---|---|
| Universities and colleges (Academic) | In myPTE, "Send Scores", search for the institution, tick up to seven at a time, confirm. Free and unlimited. The institution can see it after about 48 hours. Or give them your Score Report Code. |
| Australia DHA or New Zealand INZ (Academic) | Sent automatically if you ticked the DHA or INZ box when booking. When you lodge your application, include the Test Registration ID of the result you want reviewed. |
| UK Home Office (Academic UKVI) | Enter the SELT Unique Reference Number from your Score Report on the visa form. |
| IRCC (Core) | Give your Score Report Code on the application, or in myPTE choose "Share results" and search for IRCC. |
For Express Entry, the IRCC language-testing page says results must be less than 2 years old when you complete your profile and when you submit your permanent residence application. A score that is 23 months old on the day you create a profile can expire before an invitation arrives, so allow for that gap.
Retakes, rescores and technical reviews
Pearson's retake policy (effective 8 August 2024): you can book a new test only after you have received the scores from your last one; you can hold one booking at a time; tests can be booked up to 6 months ahead; and you can sit up to 12 times in any 12-month window, with an exception form for more. The help centre says a retake can be within the same month.
The rescore policy (updated 25 August 2026) is worth reading in full before you pay USD 160. A human expert rescores the whole test. In most cases scores stay the same, and they can go down as well as up. A changed score replaces the old one at once, so request a rescore before you share the score in any application. You can request one rescore per test, for your most recent test only, by phone within 14 calendar days of the score release, and not if you have already booked another test. A technical review (USD 50) checks only whether a technical fault affected your speaking recordings; it never changes a score, but if it finds a fault Pearson refunds the test fee and the review fee. Request it within 15 business days of your results.
If your Speaking score is the one that fell short, our 79 plus roadmap explains the Oral Fluency and Pronunciation scales and gives a 30-day plan, and the practice bank has timed sets for every speaking task.
Plan backwards from your deadline
This is our planning advice, built only on Pearson's published timings. Work from the date your university, IRCC profile or visa application needs the score.
| Step | Allow | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Institution or authority sees the score | About 48 hours after you send it | Pearson's help centre timing for institutions |
| Your result arrives | Up to 5 business days after the test | Pearson's upper limit; most arrive in about 2 days |
| A possible retake | One more test cycle | You can only book again once your previous scores are out |
| A free date change | Book more than 14 full calendar days ahead | Inside 14 days there is no reschedule, only a 50 per cent or zero refund |
| Preparation | The 30-day plan, or whatever your diagnostic shows you need | Booking first fixes the date the plan counts down to |
Put together, a candidate with a firm deadline should sit the first test early enough to leave room for one retake plus both waiting periods. The PTE Speaking hub carries the live dates block and the change log for this page; we re-check the price finder and the policy pages before every update, and the PTE vs IELTS for Indians page compares the cost and timing with IELTS.