Test Day Rules for TOEFL iBT and IELTS: ID Requirements, Banned Items, and What to Expect

ID rules that trip up first-time test takers

Both TOEFL and IELTS require ID that matches your registration exactly. For TOEFL iBT, the 2026-27 TOEFL iBT Information Bulletin lists acceptable primary ID as a passport, a US passport card paired with supplemental ID, a driver's license, a state or province ID card, or a national ID card. The document must be original, physical, and unexpired, and it must show your full name, date of birth, a recent photograph, and your signature, all matching what you used when you registered.

ETS rejects several document types outright, even as backup ID: international driver's licenses, mobile driver's licenses, draft classification cards, international student ID cards, credit or debit cards, notary-prepared letters, birth certificates, Social Security cards, employee ID cards, most temporary IDs, diplomatic or embassy ID cards, and Aadhaar cards. If your only documents fall on this list, contact the ETS Office of Testing Integrity before you register, not on test day.

IELTS keeps its rule simpler: bring the identical identification document you used when you booked the test, according to the official IELTS test day guidance . Switching to a different passport or ID between booking and test day, even a valid one, can cause a problem at check-in, so keep the same document ready.

Arrival and check-in

For TOEFL at a test center, arrive at least 30 minutes before your scheduled start time to complete check-in. Arrive after your start time and you cannot test, and your fee is not refunded, per the same Bulletin. For TOEFL iBT Home Edition, check-in opens 15 minutes before your scheduled time and closes 30 minutes after it, so complete identity verification through the proctoring app well inside that window.

IELTS test centers expect you to arrive with time to spare rather than rushing in. Online IELTS test takers face stricter enforcement, since arriving late can mean the test is denied outright.

What you can and cannot bring

TOEFL bans phones, tablets, smartwatches, headphones, calculators, dictionaries, translators, notes, and any wearable or scanning device from the testing room. Personal items other than ID stay outside the room too, except food, drink, and medication, which you can access only during a break. TOEFL iBT itself has no scheduled breaks, so plan accordingly.

IELTS test takers switch off phones and other electronic devices before entering the room. A clear bottle of water is allowed at the desk, food is not. Watches are not permitted at in-person test centers, a wall clock or an on-screen timer tracks your time instead.

Breaks

TOEFL iBT runs with no scheduled breaks across all four sections, Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing. Use the washroom and eat before you check in.

For IELTS, the Listening, Reading, and Writing sections run back-to-back as one continuous 2 hour 40 minute session with no break between them. Speaking is scheduled separately, sometimes on a different day. Handle food and washroom needs before this block starts, since you cannot pause once it begins.

Security checks on test day

Expect identity verification beyond a simple ID glance for TOEFL. ETS procedures allow photographing or video recording you, fingerprinting or thumbprinting, comparing your signature, and visual inspection of clothing, footwear, and eyeglasses if closer inspection is needed. Ask for these checks to be done by staff of the same gender as you, though ETS cannot guarantee every test center has staff available for that.

Both testing bodies treat test security this closely because a single flagged irregularity can hold or cancel your scores, which delays every step downstream, including sending a verified score to a university.

Extra rules for TOEFL iBT Home Edition

If you test at home instead of a test center, additional rules apply. You must be alone in a room with no one else entering while you test, and all doors must stay closed before testing begins. Screen-sharing or remote-access software, including Zoom, Skype, TeamViewer, Microsoft Teams, and Apple Remote Desktop, must be disabled and stay disabled through the whole test, and it must not open automatically during the session.

Your entire session is recorded and monitored by a human proctor, and your photo is taken. A second camera may be required depending on your setup, along with a full equipment check completed through the TOEFL Test App before your appointment. Note-taking materials for Home Edition are limited to a small whiteboard with an erasable marker, or a blank sheet of paper inside a transparent sheet protector with an erasable marker, and the paper cannot leave the sheet protector at any point during the test.

Friends and visitors

At a TOEFL test center, friends, relatives, and other visitors cannot wait inside the test center or stay in contact with you while you test or during breaks, unless you are 15 or younger. If you are 15 or younger, a parent or another authorized adult aged 18 or older needs to accompany you and complete a release form at the test center.