Can I Postpone IELTS exam? || IELTSMaterial 2024

When you are booking your IELTS exam, you might not know about certain circumstances that might come up that will make you postpone your IELTS exam date. Keeping the uncertainties of life in mind, the organizers of the exam have granted every candidate the permission to postpone IELTS exam.

In this article, we will discuss the grounds, process and other topics related to postponement of the IELTS exam.

Conditions to Postpone IELTS exam

An IELTS candidate can postpone the exam. But to avoid any whimsical postponement on the candidate’s side, the British Council and IDP have provided certain conditions under which he/she can do it. They are:

• Death of a close family member
• Accident on the way to the test center/ or days before the scheduled date
• Serious illness or medical emergency
• Being victim to a crime on the way to the venue
• Loss or theft of passport
• Problems while traveling, like cancellation of mode of transport, protests, road blockage, etc.

Process to postpone the exam

When faced with the above-mentioned situations, the candidate must contact the test center via email or in person. Requests for postponement through telephone will not be entertained.

• You should fill up a Request for Refund form or Test Day Transfer Form with necessary details.
• Along with the form, it is mandatory to attach appropriate evidence or documents to prove the reason to postpone the exam.
• In case you are postponing the exam at least 34 days before the scheduled date, you need not state any reason for the process.
• Once the form has been filled, you have to submit all the documents to the test center along with a certain fee.
• Make sure that the date you choose is the final one as you can postpone IELTS exam only once.

But, what are the documents that you can provide as evidence?

Read on to know more!

Documents required for the process

Different types of documents can be provided as a proof for deferral based on the situation.

In case of an accident/medical emergency

• A medical report with the signature and registration number of a licensed physician.
• Records of hospital admission and information about discharge

In case of a death in the close family

• A death certificate signed by the appropriate authority with his or her registration number.

In case you are victim of crime

• FIR copy in the event of an accident or crime.

In case of loss of passport

• Document from the passport office confirming the candidate’s passport number and the anticipated return date.

Refund Policy for postponing the exam

When it comes to refunding the fees you have paid for the postponement process of IELTS, an administrative charge is deducted before processing the refund. Initiation of the reimbursement occurs within 10 business days.

But, as usual, there are certain conditions related to the refund policy which are followed by the test centers. They are mentioned below:

• You will get a refund after deducting an administration fee if you reschedule or cancel more than five weeks before the test date.
• Unless you have a pressing medical reason, the entire fee will be deducted if you arrange a test appointment or cancel within five weeks of the test date.
• You will get a refund after subtracting the local administrative fee if you provide a medical certificate within five days of the test date.

Facts about Postponing/Transfer of IELTS exam date

Given below are some important facts about postponing/transferring of the exam date:

• You can defer the exam date only up to three months from the original date of the exam.
• You must apply at least three weeks before your test date for the computer-based IELTS exam.
• One-fourth of your test fee is the administrative fee.
• The testing facility will decide when to reschedule the exam. You must therefore completely cancel the exam if they are unable to comply with your request.

We hope you have got all the information related to the postponement of the IELTS exam. If you want further details or other data related to IELTS, you can book a free session and talk to our IELTS experts.