# TOEFL Score Review or Retake? Check the Rules | topin

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## Identify the process before looking at the price

A score review asks ETS to re-evaluate Speaking or Writing from an existing sitting. A retake produces a new full-test result. Test-day score cancellation prevents that sitting’s scores being reported, while reinstatement restores a voluntarily cancelled result within the stated request window. An administrative or security review initiated by ETS is a different matter again.

Reading and Listening cannot be appealed through the ordinary Speaking/Writing score-review service. If the issue is technical or administrative rather than disagreement with an evaluation, follow the relevant incident or account-support route. Paying for a review does not turn it into a complaint-handling process for any possible problem.

__ETS policy routes checked 5 October 2026.__
| Route                   | What it does                                    | Main condition                                   |
| ----------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
| Speaking/Writing review | Re-evaluates existing responses                 | Within 30 days; no recipient reporting requested |
| Full retake             | Produces another complete result                | Booking rules and three-day interval apply       |
| Test-day cancellation   | Cancels all sections of that sitting            | Chosen at the end; no fee refund                 |
| Reinstatement           | Restores voluntarily cancelled scores           | Request within 60 days, with fee                 |
| Administrative enquiry  | Investigates a reported issue or pending status | Follow ETS instructions for the case             |

Do not choose a route merely because the words appeal and review sound reassuring. Write down the result you need: evaluation of an existing response, a new performance, restoration of a cancelled report or resolution of a missing-score status. Then check that the service actually does that.

## Check score-review eligibility before selecting recipients

ETS’s current bulletin and score FAQ allow a review of Speaking and/or Writing up to 30 days after the test date, for a fee. They say you cannot request it if you have already requested scores to be sent to any institution or agency. That includes the recipient decision made before the test, not only an additional order after results appear.

If you preselected a recipient, do not assume the review option remains available because the university portal still says pending. The policy concerns the request to report scores. Recipient delivery and matching status do not undo the reporting request.

If you have not requested reporting, check the request window in the account and the live terms. Record the official test date and the intended section. A review is not an opportunity to rewrite the email or record a clearer interview answer; ETS evaluates the responses from that sitting.

Before a future appointment, decide whether keeping review eligibility is valuable enough to forgo included recipients. Our [reporting deadline guide](/articles/toefl-send-scores-deadlines) explains the four included reports and their timing. That choice can have financial and deadline consequences, so it belongs in the original reporting plan.

Eligibility alone does not establish that a review is worthwhile. You still need to compare the application constraint, likely timing and what you know about the original performance. Do not treat practice feedback as proof the official evaluation must be wrong.

## A review can leave the score unchanged or lower it

The current bulletin says scoring specialists review the relevant responses. If the original score is confirmed, ETS notifies you within three weeks. If the result changes, higher or lower, the revised score becomes the official result for that date. Therefore, a review is not a protected second chance that can only increase your score.

The dedicated global fee page checked on 5 October 2026 lists US$80 for one section and US$160 for both. The India page lists a different rupee amount for a single-section review. Confirm the payable price and currency in your own account rather than converting the dollar figure manually.

For an original example, a candidate needs Writing 5 and has 4.5, with no reporting requested. A review could matter if an accepted revised result reaches the requirement, but there is no published guarantee of a change. A retake could produce a new response, but requires preparation, a slot and full-test expense. Both must fit the deadline.

If Speaking and Writing are both above all requirements, a review may have no defined administrative purpose. If Reading is the only blocker, the service cannot address it. The [retake framework](/articles/toefl-retake-decision-plan) helps identify which new performance would actually solve the application problem.

Keep cost and uncertainty explicit. Do not invent a probability of an upgrade, a typical number of points gained or an automatic fee refund. Use the terms shown for your order and ask ETS if a material condition is unclear.

## Understand the end-of-test cancellation choice

The bulletin says you can choose reporting or cancellation at the end. Cancellation applies to every section and provides no refund. If you choose reporting, the result becomes part of your record and goes to designated recipients; the bulletin says it cannot then be cancelled.

A feeling that Speaking went badly is incomplete evidence. You may have heard your hesitation more sharply than a listener would, and you do not yet have the final Writing or Speaking scores. Decide using the policy and your preplanned reporting considerations rather than the discomfort of a difficult last task.

Cancellation does not remove the three-day retake interval. ETS applies that restriction even when a prior result was cancelled. You cannot use cancellation as a way to test again immediately outside the policy.

If there was a technical problem, report it through the administrator or proctor while it is observable. Keep an incident record afterwards without reproducing secure test content. The cancellation screen and an administrative complaint are different decisions, and neither should be assumed to substitute automatically for the other.

Before the appointment, write a reminder: read the final screen carefully and do not click a cancellation option accidentally. You do not need a memorised decision for every possible score, but you should understand that cancellation affects the whole sitting, costs the fee and changes reporting availability.

## Reinstatement restores a result; it does not remark it

If you voluntarily cancelled and change your mind, the current bulletin allows reinstatement through the ETS account within 60 days of the test date, with a fee. It estimates approximately three weeks after the request and payment for reinstated scores to be reported to you and designated institutions.

The global fee page lists US$20 for reinstatement, while the India page has a rupee listing. Check your actual quote. The small service fee does not eliminate the timing problem: a restored score may still arrive too late for an application that needs official evidence soon.

For an original example, a candidate cancels on 1 October, later learns that their earlier result will expire and requests restoration well within 60 days. The action restores the cancelled sitting; it does not create a new test date or extend validity from the request date. Compare the restored result’s original date with the receiving institution’s window.

Use the [validity planning guide](/articles/toefl-score-validity-application-dates) for that check. Reinstatement, downloading another PDF and ordering an extra report all leave the original test date unchanged.

If your score was cancelled by ETS rather than voluntarily at the end, do not assume the ordinary reinstatement service applies. Read the notice and use the contact or enquiry process it specifies. The reason and authority for cancellation determine the route you need.

## Make a decision with score, time and acceptance together

Put the official profile, target requirements and calendar side by side. If a review is eligible and addresses the only missing Speaking or Writing requirement, compare its uncertainty and stated window with a prepared retake. If it is ineligible, stop budgeting for it and focus on an accepted new result or an institution-approved alternative.

* Identify whether the problem is evaluation, performance, cancellation or administration.
* Check reporting-request history before assuming review eligibility.
* Confirm the request window and payable price in the account.
* Allow for the possibility of unchanged or lower reviewed scores.
* Check the receiving institution’s evidence and deadline rules.
* Retain the order confirmation and official revised report if a change occurs.

For preparation, topin’s [free TOEFL mock](/toefl/practice-test), marked on the official scale, can show recurring response problems before another appointment. Treat it as practice evidence. A discrepancy between a mock estimate and an official score is not on its own evidence of a scoring error.

Use current ETS task rubrics to inspect what the response communicated: task coverage, relevance, development and language control. For a retake, improve the recurring problem on fresh prompts. A beautifully revised answer to a familiar prompt does not show what you will produce unseen.

After any route completes, finish the handoff. Check which result is now official, whether it meets all requirements and what report must be sent. A successful service request is an intermediate step; the application still needs acceptable evidence delivered and matched.

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## FAQs

Can I review Reading or Listening?

No. ETS’s ordinary score-review service covers Speaking and/or Writing. A technical or administrative issue needs its appropriate enquiry route.

Can I review after selecting a free recipient?

ETS says review is unavailable once you have requested scores be sent to an institution or agency. That includes recipient choices made before the test.

Can a reviewed score go down?

Yes. The current bulletin says a revised score may be higher or lower and becomes the official result for that test date.

How long can I request reinstatement?

For voluntarily cancelled results, the bulletin gives 60 days from the test date, with a fee and an approximately three-week reporting estimate after request and payment.

Does cancelling refund the test fee?

End-of-test score cancellation does not refund the fee. It is separate from cancelling an appointment before testing under the appointment refund policy.

## Sources (checked 5 October 2026)

* [ETS: 2026–27 TOEFL iBT Information Bulletin; checked 5 October 2026](https://www.ets.org/content/dam/ets-org/pdfs/toefl/toefl-ibt-bulletin.pdf)
* [ETS: scores and score-report policies; checked 5 October 2026](https://www.ets.org/toefl/test-takers/ibt/faq/score-reports.html)
* [ETS: score validity, MyBest and reviews; checked 5 October 2026](https://www.ets.org/toefl/test-takers/ibt/scores/understand-scores.html)
* [ETS: global service fee listing; checked 5 October 2026](https://www.ets.org/toefl/test-takers/ibt/register/fees.html)
* [ETS India: rupee fee listing; checked 5 October 2026](https://www.in.ets.org/toefl/test-takers/ibt/register/fees.htm.html)
* [ETS: recipients and approximate delivery times; checked 5 October 2026](https://www.ets.org/toefl/test-takers/ibt/scores/send-scores.html)

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