What happened?
IELTS identified a technical issue that led to a small proportion of test takers – less than 1% – receiving incorrect results between 24 August 2023 and 4 September 2025. The issue has been investigated and resolved. All affected test takers have been contacted and provided with revised scores. Most affected test takers received no change to their overall band score; they received a change to a component score only.
Are all results affected?
No, not all test results were affected.
There were more than 7.5 million IELTS tests taken globally between August 2023 and September 2025. Less than one percent of those tests (63,216, including re-sits; 62,794 test takers) had some form of correction.
Most corrections were upwards. Two thirds of all corrections resulted in no overall band score change, and about a third resulted in a band score change of 0.5.
(IELTS results are made up of reading, writing, speaking and listening components. Added together these components make up the overall IELTS score or ‘band score’. Find out more on how IELTS components and band scores work.)
Direction of corrections worldwide:
- 93% of corrected tests (58,867) had an upwards correction to an individual test component
- 7% of corrected tests (4,344) had a downwards correction to an individual test component
- Five corrected tests had one downwards test component correction and one upwards test component correction.
- What changed:
- 34% of corrected tests (21,717) had a correction to a component score that led to an overall band score change.
- 66% of corrected tests (41,499) saw only a component score change (with no change to overall band score)
- Size of overall band changes:
- Of those with band score changes, almost all band adjustments (up or down) were 0.5.
- 1,115 had a 0.5 downwards band score change.
- 20,600 had a 0.5 upwards band score change.
Two (2) individual tests saw a 1.0 change in band score (both upwards)
Were any tests taken before August 2023 affected by this issue?
No. This issue affected no tests taken before August 2023.
I came across a claim that large numbers of migrants who did not pass English tests were still granted visas. Is that accurate?
No. This is untrue.
We have sought to counter misinformation, including a since-corrected media report, which falsely claimed that "thousands of migrants" had been let into the UK "despite failing language tests".
IELTS is used by many different institutions for multiple purposes around the world. It is wrong to conflate global figures with those of a narrow subset of test takers and their specific use of the test.
Did the technical issue affect all types of IELTS tests and test formats?
The issue impacted a very limited number of IELTS tests. It did not affect paper-based tests or IELTS Online tests. While both Academic and General Training formats were impacted, it is important to note that over 99% of test takers were unaffected.
How many test takers from our organisation are affected?
We have notified Recognising Organisations individually if any IELTS results that they previously received or verified are impacted by this issue. The communication includes detailed instructions on how to view or download the impacted results from the IELTS Results Service.
Have any results that we have received or verified been changed or withdrawn?
Impacted results have been corrected. If you have previously received or verified an impacted test, the result of this test has now changed and we have sent you an email to confirm this, which includes instructions on how to check which of your previously received or verified tests have been impacted on the IELTS Results Service.
Will affected test takers receive a new Test Report Form (TRF)?
Yes. All affected test takers will be issued a new official TRF reflecting the corrected score. The new TRF will replace the previous version and should be used for all in-progress future applications.
What if we receive a TRF that does not match our records?
We recommend that you verify TRFs using the official IELTS Results Service. If there is a mismatch, the information on the IELTS Results Service is the up-to-date result information. For further support, please contact the IELTS customer support team through the enquiry form in our Contact Us page here.
What should organisations do if they have already processed an application based on a score that has been corrected?
Organisations are advised to use the new result for all in-progress and future application decisions. If an application has already been processed, you are advised to update your records based on the new TRF which is available to view in the IELTS Results Service.
How can you be sure this won’t happen again in the future?
The technical issue that we identified has been fully resolved, and additional safeguards, automated checks, and audit controls have been implemented to prevent recurrence.