IELTS One Skill Retake 2026: rules, fees and who accepts it

IELTS has four parts, called skills: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. One Skill Retake (OSR) means you take just one of them again, not the whole test. IELTS says the format and timing are the same as that skill in a full test.

You can book it only if your full test was IELTS on computer, which means you took it on a computer at a test centre. Our guide to computer-delivered IELTS explains how that works. After a paper test, you need to take the full test again.

The British Council says “you must sit the One Skill Retake within 60 days of your original test”. You can retake 1 skill, and only once for each full test. Your test centre must also offer One Skill Retake, so check before you book your full test.

Your original scores stay the same. You get a new Test Report Form, the document that shows your scores. It has your retake score and your other three scores from the original test.

IDP says the original form “will continue to exist alongside” the new one, and “Both are valid.” You choose which one to send.

IDP Nepal says you get an electronic Test Report Form for your retake, which you can download and print. Organisations that already receive IELTS results online get your retake result the same way.

The fee depends on the country and the provider: the British Council or IDP, which run IELTS in these countries. The table shows each fee as the provider’s own website states it, in local currency. We checked every page on 7 October 2026.

IELTS for UKVI is a version of IELTS for UK visa applications (UKVI stands for UK Visas and Immigration). IELTS SELT, in IDP Pakistan’s fees, stands for secure English language test, which the UK government says you may need for a visa. Where a provider offers One Skill Retake but does not publish the fee, the table says so: ask that provider. For the full test fee and every other IELTS fee, see our guide to the IELTS exam fee in 2026.

Not every organisation accepts One Skill Retake, and each one decides for itself. The table shows what each one’s own website says or, where that site is silent, what IELTS says. Express Entry is Canada’s online system for skilled workers who apply to live in Canada permanently. IELTS recommends that you check with the organisation directly before you book.

UK visa (UK Visas and Immigration): Accepted in selected locations, IELTS says (ielts.org, IDP India). The UK government’s English test page does not name it, so check your test centre offers it for UK visa tests (IELTS for UKVI).

One Skill Retake fits best when only one skill is below your target, you are still within 60 days of your original test, and the place you are applying to accepts it. Answer four questions in the checker at the top of this page to see which choice fits you.

Take the full test again if two or more skills are below your target, if your full test was on paper, or if the organisation does not accept One Skill Retake. There is more on full retakes in how many times you can take IELTS.