TOEIC Score Validity: 2 Years, Expiry, Reports and Retakes

So the real expiry is practical. Here is what that means when your score report turns two.

How Long Are TOEIC Scores Valid?

Two years from the test date. ETS states that TOEIC scores are valid for 2 years, and ETS Global re-issues and confirms results for 2 years after the test. The clock starts the day you sit the test, not the day your score report reaches you.

The figure is ETS policy. An ETS research memorandum by Powers and Lall (2013) supports not reporting English proficiency scores that are more than 2 years old, and ETS Global adds that language skills can change over time. The validity period is how long ETS stands behind a result.

The organization asking for your score sets the recency rule it actually enforces, and it can ask for something more recent. That distinction decides almost everything else on this page.

Do TOEIC Scores Expire?

The score itself doesn't change, but after two years it can no longer be reissued or confirmed, so most organizations stop accepting it. Nothing in your result is recalculated at the two-year mark.

Administrators word this differently. ETS's European pages say scores are valid for 2 years. IIBC in Japan says score validity does not expire, yet it reissues the Official Score Certificate only for up to 2 years after the test date. Either way, your score record stays fixed, and the reissue window is the real limit.

Acceptance, then, is the real subject. An institutional rule decides whether an older score counts inside its recency window. Once a reissue is no longer possible, few organizations can verify the score at all.

Is the TOEIC Valid for Life?

No, a TOEIC result is not a lifetime qualification for formal use, even where the score itself never changes.

The confusion has a source. IIBC tells Japanese test takers that score validity does not expire, and a framed Certificate of Achievement looks permanent. Yet the ETS handbook lists "the date the scores are valid until" among the features of the Official Score Certificate, so the official document carries its own valid-until date.

Work to a practical rule instead of a theory of lifetime validity. Treat any score older than two years as unusable for a formal requirement until the specific institution tells you otherwise. The two-year rule is the safe default.

What Is the Score Report Delivery Date?

The delivery date matters when a deadline is close. Where ETS Global runs the session, online results for a Listening & Reading test at a test center appear 3 to 5 hours after the test. The ETS handbook says a score certificate can take 7 to 21 days, depending on local policy. ETS notes that these times aren't guaranteed. Count backwards from the date the institution needs the report, not from your test date.

Our TOEIC results guide covers country schedules and how to check your score online.

What Are the TOEIC Score Correspondences on the CEFR?

Requirements are often written as CEFR levels, so a reader checking whether an older score still qualifies needs the level as well as the number. ETS maps the Listening & Reading test from A1 to C1, with no C2. Read your total score against the mapping below. ETS also sets a minimum for each section, so a level requirement may check both halves.

If your institution asks for B2, the 785 B2 line applies to the total, with 400 and 385 for the sections. That CEFR correspondence doesn't change as a score ages; only its acceptance does.

Can You Retake the TOEIC?

Yes, you can retake the TOEIC, and each sitting produces its own separate score report with its own test date and valid-until date. ETS's examinee handbook covers repeat test takers in a section of its own.

Each certificate stands on its own, so you choose which report to submit, as long as it sits inside the window the reader accepts. Scores can shift slightly between sittings. ETS puts the standard error of difference at about 35 scaled points per section, so a smaller gain may be measurement error.

Timing is where the renewal decision sits. Book the new sitting early enough that the certificate arrives before your deadline, with room for one more attempt if the first falls short. Local administrators set their own booking and retake conditions, so check yours. A timed TOEIC practice test shows where your score stands before you rebook.

How Do You Register for the TOEIC?

TOEIC registration runs through the local administrator in your country, a member of the ETS Preferred Network, and in Japan that is IIBC. ETS names two routes: the Public Testing Program, which you book yourself, and the Institutional Program, which an employer or school arranges. Scores from an institutional test are only valid within the issuing institution, so book a public test if other organizations will read the score.

1. Confirm the deadline the institution has set for receiving your score.
2. Find your country's local administrator in the ETS Preferred Network directory.
3. Choose a public test date whose results arrive before that deadline.
4. Create an account with the administrator and book the session.
5. Pay, confirm, and bring valid photo identification on test day.

What Is the Cost of the TOEIC?

No single global price exists. Each country's local administrator sets its own test fee, so check the published fee before you budget, because price by country varies. Our TOEIC exam fee guide compares fees by test and country.

In a validity context the retake cost is the number that matters. A score that lapses means paying for a new sitting, so timing a renewal well is a financial decision as much as an administrative one.

Funding is worth asking about too. When an employer or school arranges an institutional session, it handles the booking, but those scores stay inside that organization. Before you pay for a public test, ask your employer or school whether funding is available.

Do Employers Accept an Old TOEIC Score?

Acceptance is decided by whoever reads your score, within limits ETS sets. ETS re-issues and confirms results for 2 years, so an employer that verifies scores can only check one inside that two-year window. An organization can also set a stricter recency rule of its own, so read its posting.

A lapsed score keeps informal value. It still shows a level you once reached, which can help in an internal conversation even if it fails a formal check. The safest move is to ask the organization directly. Employer acceptance is institutional policy layered on top of the ETS rule, and the document you hold matters too.

• Public test score certificate: the ETS handbook says it can be used worldwide, and it prints the date until which its scores are valid.
• Institutional test score report: valid only within the organization that issued it, so it rarely helps with a new employer or school.
• Score roster: ETS says a roster from an institutional session can't be used by test takers as an indication of their official score.
• Internal records: an employer that ran an institutional test already receives the result, so its own policy decides how long the score counts.
• Scores past two years: ETS no longer re-issues or confirms them, so a reader who needs verification will usually ask you to sit a new test.

Is 700 TOEIC Good?

A TOEIC total of 700 sits in the B1 band on ETS's mapping, which runs from 550 to 780: solid, but below the 785 threshold for B2. Whether it is good depends on the requirement you face.

For a renewal of an expiring 700, targeted Reading work often pays better than a straight re-sit, because the B2 Reading minimum of 385 can hold back a total that is otherwise close. Check both section scores against the 400 and 385 minimums before you book. Our TOEIC score guide sets out what each band means.

How Long Is a TOEIC Certificate Valid?

It depends on which TOEIC certificate you hold. The Official Score Certificate prints the date its scores are valid until, in line with the two-year convention, while the ETS handbook says the Certificate of Achievement is not an official score report.

Keep the distinction clear. The Certificate of Achievement is a display document in a format suitable for framing, issued on request. ETS Global calls the Score Report the official document acknowledging your English proficiency. Verification checks the score itself, which ETS confirms for two years, so a framed certificate's expiry date, or the lack of one, decides nothing. Our TOEIC overview explains the test behind both documents.

Should You Retake the TOEIC Before Your Score Expires?

Retake early only if you have a known deadline. Otherwise a fresh result simply starts its own two-year clock from the new test date, and you have paid for a new sitting to move the window a few months.

Treat retake timing as scheduling rather than study. Leave room for report delivery, up to 21 days for a certificate under the ETS handbook, plus a booking window wide enough for one repeat attempt if the first result disappoints. Booking any later removes both safety nets at once. Our TOEIC preparation guide covers how much a short run-up can realistically move.

Which CEFR Level Does Your TOEIC Score Still Prove?

A lapsed score still documents the CEFR level you reached, even where an institution will not accept it as current evidence. Those are two different claims, and only one of them runs out.

Score stability helps you plan. The ETS handbook says that across several versions taken in a short period, your scores would center around one average, with a standard error of about 25 points per section.

Over a longer gap, language skills change, which is why ETS limits reporting to two years. Treat the level reached as a baseline for a re-sit, not as proof of your level today. Our TOEIC to CEFR guide maps each band in full.