IELTS Remark (Enquiry on Results): How It Works and How Long It Takes

A re-mark checks the marking of the answers you already gave. It does not give you a new attempt. So it fits one situation: you think a mark is wrong. People write it as remark or re-mark. This page uses re-mark.

What a re-mark is

A re-mark is a review of the score you already have, by a more senior marker.

Senior Examiners or Markers mark your test papers again. If a mark changes, your test centre issues a new Test Report Form source: ielts.org.

You can ask for any or all of the four sections: Listening, Reading, Writing or Speaking. A senior examiner re-marks your test without knowing your original scores source: British Council.

You can ask for the whole test or for one or more sections. Experienced senior examiners re-mark Writing and Speaking source: IDP.

How long a re-mark takes

The longest wait is 21 days from your application, whoever ran your test. The shortest wait differs.

With the British Council, the result comes within 2 to 21 days of your request. The time depends on how many sections you ask to be re-marked source: British Council.

With IDP, the result comes within 2 hours to 21 days of applying source: IDP.

If 21 days pass and you have no answer, contact your test centre source: ielts.org.

Plan for the full 21 days if you have a deadline. If your score changes, the new result still has to reach the organisation you are applying to. How long IELTS results take covers that step.

How to apply

You apply through the organisation that ran your test. The steps and the time limit depend on which one that was.

The rules differ between test centres, so contact your local test centre source: ielts.org.

The ielts.org page does not give a deadline or a way to apply. The British Council and IDP pages are more specific.

With the British Council

With IDP

You apply by contacting the test centre where you took your test source: IDP.

You can ask within 6 weeks of the test date on your Test Report Form source: IDP.

There is a shorter limit if you also want a One Skill Retake on the same test. For Listening, Reading and Writing, ask for the re-mark within two weeks of your original test date. Then wait for the re-mark status before you register for the retake source: IDP.

That page names only these three sections. It says nothing about Speaking.

So IDP has two different limits, on two different pages. If a retake is possible for you, ask your centre which limit applies before the two weeks run out.

The fee, and when you get it back

You pay a fee for a re-mark. The fee is fully refunded if your band score changes. Contact your test centre for the amount source: ielts.org.

If your band scores change, the fee is refunded source: IDP.

The fee is refunded if your score improves in any section of the test source: British Council.

These are not the same rule. For example, one section might go up by half a band while your overall band stays the same. The British Council wording covers that case. The other two pages do not make clear whether it counts.

Fees also vary by test centre, so this page gives no amount. Ask your test centre for the fee and for the refund rule that applies to your test.

Can a re-mark lower your score?

With the British Council, no.

The ielts.org and IDP re-mark pages do not say whether a score can go down. If you did not take your test with the British Council, ask your centre before you apply.

Is a re-mark worth it?

No owner publishes how often a re-mark changes a score. So no one can tell you how likely a higher score is, and this page does not try.

Think about what a re-mark does. It costs a fee, which comes back only under the rules above. It can take up to 21 days.

A re-mark makes most sense when you have a reason to think one mark is wrong. That might be one section far below your timed practice scores, or far below your other sections. It makes less sense when you know a section went badly. Then the problem is the performance, not the marking.

Check first whether a change would matter. Your overall band is the average of your four section bands, rounded to the nearest half band source: ielts.org.

Put your scores into the band score calculator and raise one section by half a band, then by a full band. If your overall band and your section minimums stay the same, a re-mark of that section changes nothing you need.

Re-mark or One Skill Retake

A re-mark looks at the same answers again. A One Skill Retake is a new attempt at one section.

You must sit the retake within 60 days of your original test. You get the results within 3 to 5 days. You can then choose whether to use your original or your new Test Report Form source: ielts.org.

If you think the mark is wrong, a re-mark is the tool for that. If you had a bad day, only a retake gives you a new performance. IELTS One Skill Retake explains who can use it.

If your score changes, the new Test Report Form is the one you send. How long IELTS results are valid explains how long organisations accept a result. The IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training pages list the other guides on results.

The definition, timing, refund and test centre points come from ielts.org's cancellations, refunds, remarks and transfers page, the retake points from its One Skill Retake page, and the overall band rule from its IELTS scoring in detail page. The application steps, the six weeks, the refund rule and the score that never goes down come from the British Council's Request a remark page. The IDP points come from its request a remark page and, for the two-week limit, its One Skill Retake page. None of these pages shows a date. All were last checked on 3 October 2026. Fees and terms are set locally, so your test centre is the authority on both.

Frequently asked questions

How long does an IELTS re-mark take?

Up to 21 days after you apply. It can be as fast as the same day. The time depends partly on how many sections you ask for source: ielts.org.

When is the deadline to ask for a re-mark?

With the British Council, within six weeks of the test date on your Test Report Form source: British Council. With IDP, it is also six weeks source: IDP.

With IDP, it is two weeks for Listening, Reading and Writing if you also want a One Skill Retake source: IDP. Elsewhere, ask your test centre.

Can I ask for a re-mark of just one section?

Yes. You can ask for any or all of the four sections source: British Council. You can also ask for one or more sections, or the whole test source: IDP.

Can an IELTS re-mark lower my score?

With the British Council, it will never go down source: British Council. There is nothing on this in the ielts.org and IDP re-mark pages, so ask your centre.

Is an IELTS re-mark worth it?

It depends on why you think the mark is wrong. No owner publishes how often a re-mark changes a score. Apply when you have a clear reason to doubt one mark. Check too that a change would affect your overall band or a section minimum.