TOEFL Exam 2025: Exam Dates, Eligibility , Exam Pattern, Admit Card, Syllabus, Preparation, Result & Score

TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) is an international English language proficiency test. Candidates who want to study or work abroad can apply for this test. Around 13,000+ institutions in 160+ countries accept the TOEFL scores. The test is available in three formats, including TOEFL iBT, TOEFL Home Edition, and TOEFL paper version. Candidates can choose between computer-based mode and offline mode. The exam is conducted over 60 times in a year, and candidates can choose any date. The TOEFL exam results are published 4-8 days after the examination.

The TOEFL exam is conducted by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). The difficulty level of the TOEFL examination is moderate to difficult. The TOEFL 2025 score validity period is 2 years. The eligibility criteria for TOEFL include that the candidate must have passed 10+2. The application fees of TOEFL 2025 are ₹16,900. Approximately 2.3 million candidates take the test each year. The exam syllabus is divided into 4 sections: reading academic writings, listening to classroom speech and lectures, speaking on familiar subject matter, writing essays and analyses.

There are a total of 50 questions and no negative marking is awarded for wrong answers. The total score range of the TOEFL exam is 0-120, with each section scoring between 0 and 30. To get admission to top universities, candidates require a TOEFL score of 100 or higher. The colleges that accept TOEFL exams include Harvard University, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), University of Debrecen and many more.

TOEFL: Quick Highlights

What is TOEFL 2025?

TOEFL 2025 is a standardized international English language examination used by foreign universities to check the English proficiency of ESL students. There are three formats of TOEFL exams, including TOEFL IBT, TOEFL Home Edition, and TOEFL Paper Edition. The TOEFL scores remain valid only for 2 years.

Types of TOEFL Exam

The TOEFL exam is of 4 types, catering to the different needs of applicants. TOEFL iBT is the most widely accepted TOEFL exam by the world’s universities. TOEFL PBT is not continuing, and TOEFL ITP is often used by various universities for their internal assessments. TOEFL Essentials was launched in 2021 to provide a fully online alternative to TOEFL. The 4 types of TOEFL exams are given below in the table:

TOEFL 2025 Application/ Registration Process 

To apply for TOEFL exams, candidates must follow the guidelines provided by ETS. The TOEFL 2025 application process is as follows:

• Step 1- Candidates must apply from the governmental ETS official site. With the registered credentials, they must log in and press the register button for TOEFL 2025. 
• Step 2- The candidates can choose the type of exam ( iBT, PBT), test centre, and test date offered. 
• Step 3- Then, the candidates are required to enter their personal and academic information, as well as upload a scanned  copy of their passport, which is valid 
• Step 4- Candidates must now pay the application fees through credit/debit card or PayPal.

TOEFL 2025  Application Fees

Express registration within 7 days of the test requires candidates to pay ₹4,100. Read below to know about the TOEFL 2025 application fees details.

The TOEFL 2025 syllabus has four sections.  The TOEFL Reading syllabus will contain two or three long academic texts of 700-750 words long. The TOEFL listening syllabus will include a sequence of academic lectures. The TOEFL Speaking syllabus will require the candidate to present their opinion/views on certain topics.

The TOEFL exam contains 4 sections. A total of 58 questions are asked in each section. The table below contains the TOEFL 2025 exam pattern. 

TOEFL Exam Sections

The TOEFL question is divided into 4 sections that include writing, speaking, and reading, speaking. All the sections are timed separately and aim at evaluating the English language. Read below to know in detail about the TOEFL exam pattern of each section.

Reading Section

Listening Section

Speaking Section

Writing Section

TOEFL 2025 Exam Day Guidelines & Dress Code

Candidates must follow the guidelines as fixed by ETS. Read to know in detail.

• Candidates must arrive at the test center at least 30 minutes before their scheduled time.
• They must bring a valid, original passport (no photocopies or expired IDs allowed).
• Candidates must use only the scratch paper and pencil offered by the test centre 
• It is mandatory to follow all instructions from proctors strictly and remain seated unless permitted.

Things to Avoid During Exams

Here is a list of things that candidates must avoid during the exams

• Don’t ignore instructions and follow the exam rules and time limits carefully.
• It is recommended not to bring any personal items into the test room, including cell phones, smartwatches, recording devices, large bags, etc. 

TOEFL 2025 Exam Details: Dress Code

There is no fixed dress code for TOEFL. However, candidates are recommended to wear light and transparent clothes during the examination. 

TOEFL 2025 Previous Year Question Paper

ETA does not release the previous year’s question papers directly. However, candidates can get various resources and sample papers online. The below contains the TOEFL 2025 sample papers.

For more practice sets, you can read the portion of the eligibility and criteria.

TOEFL 2025 Results  

TOEFL 2025 scores are announced within 6-8 days of the examination. ETS will send an email as soon as the scores are available. The TOEFL results contain the following 

• Section-wise scores
• Total score

How to Download TOEFL 2025 Scores?

Follow the steps below to download TOEFL 2024 scores

•  Candidates must visit www.ets.org and sign in to the ETS account.
•  When the scores are ready (4-8 days after the test date), candidates must click on the “Scores” tab. The results will appear
• Candidates must click "Download Score Report” to download the PDF

TOEFL 2025 Preparation Tips

The preparation for the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) should include understanding the exam format, vocabulary and grammar construction, listening practice, and much more. To get TOEFL 2025 preparation tips, you can read the following details.

• Exam format:

All the candidates need to understand the exam format. Candidates should know all about the exam syllabus, exam pattern, how the TOEFL exam is scored and the TOEFL cutoff. 

• Vocabulary and Grammar Construction:

The improvisation of the Vocab section is much difficult but not impossible. Because Vocab is a very important part of English, you can read the English magazines, journals, newspapers etc to improve your Vocabulary and Grammar.

• Listening Practice:

Candidates must listen to English news and English music to improve their listening practice.

• Speaking Practice

The candidates are advised to record their voice and listen it itself and search for mistakes in the form of vocabulary or grammar. 

• Writing Development:

It is very important to write a good essay for writing development. A candidate should write English on a page daily to improve their writing skills. 

Top TOEFL 2025 Preparation Books and Resources

Preparation books and resources are given as follows: 

• Four full-length practice tests (paper & digital)
• Interactive digital tests with real past questions
• ETS raters’ comments on Speaking & Writing
• Writer’s Handbook & scoring explanations
• Cambridge Preparation for TOEFL: Check PDF
• TOEFL Official Guide PDF: Check PDF

What are the Steps for Rescheduling a TOEFL 2025 Test?

The steps for rescheduling a TOEFL 2025 test are as follows.

• Candidates must log in to the ETS account and go to the My Tests section
• Select the test and click on reschedule 
• Pay the rescheduling fees

TOEFL 2025 Results  

TOEFL results are available within 4- 8 days from the time of examination. The scorecard contains both total marks and section-wise marks.

Understanding TOEFL 2025 Score

TOEFL total score ranges from 0 to 120, and it has 4 sections of the exam, i.e., Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing and each section has a scale of 0 to 30 and the scores are added together to determine the total score. The score range and descriptors for TOEFL iBT scores are given below:

TOEFL Exams are available in 3 formats. The question paper has two sections and the total duration is 2 hours. Read below to know about the TOEFL 2025 exam details.

TOEFL IBT Test Dates

The table below contains detailed information on TOEFL IBT Test dates of all major cities, like Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Pune, Lucknow, Noida, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana, Indore, Chandigarh, and Coimbatore.

Types of TOEFL Exams

The following are the major types of TOEFL exams. 

•  TOEFL iBT (Internet-Based Test)  

TOEFL iBT is the most popular version, which is offered online at fixed examination centres. The candidates are evaluated based on reading, writing, and speaking skills

• TOEFL iBT at-home Edition  

The Home edition can be taken by candidates who are not able to access a testing centre due to distance, health, or the inability to travel. The same format, content, and scoring as the regular iBT is used and is administered by a live human proctor. 

• TOEFL paper test

This format is popular in areas where the internet or a computer is not reliable. Only covers Reading, Listening, and Writing. The total duration is 2 hours. The structure and the content are like those of iBT, but since it does not require speaking, it might fail to meet all admissions requirements.

TOEFL 2025  Score Vs Expected Percentile

The TOEFL total scores can be converted to a percentile. Read below to know about the TOEFL score vs percentile.

Colleges Accepting TOEFL Scores

 Here is a list of top colleges offering TOEFL scores.

• Harvard University
• Stanford University
• University of Debrecen
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
• California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
• University of Oxford
• University of Cambridge
• University of California, Berkeley
• University of Chicago
• Princeton University
• Yale University
• Columbia University
• University of Toronto
• McGill University
• University of Melbourne
• Australian National University (ANU)
• National University of Singapore (NUS)
• Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
• University of Edinburgh
• University College London (UCL)
• ETH Zurich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
• University of Tokyo
• University of British Columbia (UBC)
• University of Sydney
• University of Amsterdam
• University of Pennsylvania (UPenn)
• London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
• University of Hong Kong (HKU)
• Cornell University
• University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
• Duke University

TOEFL Cutoff for Top US Universities

As we discussed, More than 13,000 institutions across 160+ countries accept TOEFL exam scores, including top universities like Harvard, Columbia University and many more. Below is a list of top universities are their corresponding TOEFL exam score cutoff:

TOEFL Practice Papers

TOEFL practice papers are given for all Writing. Reading, Listening & Speaking.

TOEFL Writing Practice Test

To practice writing skills, solve TOEFL writing papers:

TOEFL Reading Practice Test

To practice Reading skills, solve TOEFL Reading papers:

TOEFL Listening Practice Test

To practice Listening skills, solve TOEFL Listening papers:

TOEFL Speaking Practice Test

To practice Speaking skills, solve TOEFL Speaking papers:

Frequently Asked Questions

Ques: What is the mode of the TOEFL exam?

Ans: TOEFL exams are conducted in mainly two modes, i.e., TOEFL iBT (Internet-based Test) and TOEFL iBT Home Edition. 

Ques: What is  the TOEFL cut-off for Harvard University 

Ans: The TOEFL cut-off for Harvard University is 105.

Ques: What is the TOEFL 2025 fee structure and payment methods?

Ans: The application fees of TOEFL are ₹16,900. It is possible to pay via  Credit Card, Debit Card, PayPal, or  TOEFL Voucher.

Ques: When will the TOEFL results be released?

Ans: The TOEFL results are  released within 4-8 days of the  exam 

Ques: What are the colleges accepting TOEFL scores?

Ans: The colleges accepting TOEFL scores are Harvard University, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), California Institute of Technology (Caltech), University of Oxford, and many more.

Ques: What are the most common exam question types in TOEFL?

Ans: Mostly MCQs and essay-type questions are asked in TOEFL.

Ques: What are the changes in TOEFL 2025 as compared to previous years?

Ans. The changes in TOEFL 2025 as compared to previous years are AI-based identity check, adaptive Reading and Listening, faster results within 72 hours, dual scoring (0–120 and CEFR 1–6), modern content, improved audio equipment, new academic discussion writing task.