TOEIC

Overview

TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) is a family of English-language proficiency tests owned and developed by ETS (Educational Testing Service). Unlike exams built for school admissions or immigration, TOEIC measures the everyday English skills needed in a workplace: following instructions, reading memos and reports, taking part in meetings and calls. ETS markets TOEIC tests worldwide through a network of authorised national administrators rather than running every sitting itself; adoption is especially heavy in Japan and South Korea, where employers, universities and government bodies use TOEIC scores for hiring, internal promotion and graduation requirements, alongside use by thousands of organisations in other countries.

TOEIC is not a single exam but three separate test products, each with its own format, timing and score scale: TOEIC Listening & Reading, TOEIC Speaking & Writing, and TOEIC Bridge (a shorter test for beginner-to-intermediate learners).

Who can apply

ETS sets no eligibility criteria for any TOEIC test — there is no minimum age, academic qualification or nationality requirement, and anyone can register directly with the test. In practice, most test-takers are job applicants, current employees asked by an employer to certify their English level, or students preparing to enter the workforce, rather than candidates seeking an academic admission or immigration qualification.

Exam pattern

TOEIC Listening & Reading

A single paper-based or computer-delivered test of 200 multiple-choice questions across seven parts, taking about two hours in total.

The Listening section (Parts 1–4) runs 45 minutes; the Reading section (Parts 5–7) runs 75 minutes. There is no speaking or writing component in this test.

TOEIC Speaking & Writing

A separate, computer-delivered test that is scored by certified ETS raters rather than machine-marked. The Speaking test has 11 tasks, commonly run in about 20 minutes; the Writing test has 8 tasks, commonly run in about 60 minutes. Candidates can take either test on its own or both together.

TOEIC Bridge

A shorter, easier test aimed at beginner-to-intermediate learners, used mainly by schools and training programmes to track early progress. TOEIC Bridge Listening & Reading has 50 Listening questions (about 25 minutes) and 50 Reading questions (about 35 minutes), covering sentence completion, text completion and reading comprehension. A separate TOEIC Bridge Speaking & Writing test is also offered.

Marking and results

TOEIC Listening & Reading has no negative marking; each section is converted to a scaled score of 5–495, and the two are added for a total score of 10–990. TOEIC Speaking and Writing are each rated by certified, calibrated ETS raters against criteria such as pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and content, and converted to a scaled score of 0–200 per test; ETS states there is no pass or fail score on the Speaking and Writing tests. TOEIC Bridge Listening and Reading scores each section from 15–50, for a total of 30–100. All three tests map their scores to CEFR levels (TOEIC Bridge up to B1; Listening & Reading and Speaking & Writing up to C1).

TOEIC scores are valid for two years from the date the test was taken, not from the date the score report is issued. After two years, ETS no longer certifies the score, and the candidate must retake the test to get a current one.

Important dates

TOEIC has no single worldwide exam calendar; frequency and dates are set by each country's authorised administrator. In Japan, the public TOEIC Listening & Reading test (administered by IIBC) is offered roughly once a month. In South Korea, the test (administered by YBM) is offered two to three times a month. Many countries also offer TOEIC on an on-demand, computer-delivered basis at authorised test centres. Exact 2026 dates are published only on each country's official TOEIC registration site.

Fees

Fees are set by the local administrator and vary by country and currency. For 2026, IIBC lists the Japan public Listening & Reading test fee at 7,810 yen (tax included) for test-takers who want a paper certificate, 7,700 yen for the certificate-free option, and a discounted repeat-test fee of 6,710 yen for test dates through December 2026. For 2026, YBM lists the South Korea standard registration fee at 52,500 won, rising to 57,750 won during additional/late registration windows. Candidates in other countries should check their local official TOEIC administrator's site for the current fee.

How to apply

Registration is not handled by ETS directly in most countries. Candidates register through the official TOEIC site run by their country's authorised administrator — for example IIBC in Japan or YBM in South Korea — by creating an account, choosing a test date and centre, uploading a recent photo for identification, and paying online. Where ETS runs the test directly, such as in the United States, registration works the same way through the official ETS TOEIC site.

Preparation tips

ETS publishes an official examinee handbook and a free sample test for each TOEIC test — Listening & Reading, Speaking & Writing, and Bridge — on the official TOEIC site, along with a free TOEIC Test Level Projector tool that gives a quick listening-and-reading level estimate from a short set of official questions. Because TOEIC's question types (such as the Listening photograph and question-response items, or the Speaking and Writing rating criteria) are specific to the test, candidates should work through the official sample materials before relying on third-party practice sets, and should practise Listening & Reading and Speaking & Writing separately if registering for both.