The good news is that IELTS registration in India keeps documentation simple. A valid passport is the only accepted form of identification — no other ID (Aadhaar, PAN, driving licence, and so on) is accepted for registration or on test day.
Students should have the following details ready before they begin:
There are three ways of registering for the IELTS exam:
The IELTS Academic exam fee in India is INR 19,000, and this applies equally whether you choose IELTS on Computer or IELTS on Paper. Since IDP is the official IELTS test administrator in India, this fee is standardised across all cities and test centres.
|
Test type |
Fee (INR) |
|
IELTS Academic — on Computer |
19,000 |
|
IELTS Academic — on Paper |
19,000 |
|
IELTS Academic for UKVI |
19,250 |
|
IELTS One Skill Retake |
12,650 |
Rescheduling (transferring your test date) costs an additional INR 4,750 for both IELTS on Computer and IELTS on Paper. There's no limit on how many times you can retake IELTS Academic if you want to improve your band score — you'll simply need to pay the fee again for each attempt, or use IELTS One Skill Retake if you only need to improve one section.
IELTS registration begins with choosing between IDP's online and offline modes. Since IDP is the sole official administrator of IELTS in India, all registration — online or offline — routes through IDP.
Registering online is the fastest way to book your test, and takes just a few steps.
There are two offline routes: registering in person or applying by courier.
Visit your nearest IDP branch or Input Node and follow either of these methods:
Assisted online registration: Register using the office computer with staff assistance, pay the exam fee by card, and submit a photocopy of your passport along with a signed Terms & Conditions form. You'll receive an instant acknowledgement confirming your seat.
Paper application form: Alternatively, fill out the physical application form provided at the office, sign the Terms & Conditions document, and attach a photocopy of your passport (first and last page, plus any observation pages). Pay the fee by card, Demand Draft (payable to "IDP Education India Private Limited," New Delhi), or a cash deposit at an ICICI branch using the customised deposit slip. Staff will submit your form in the system and issue an acknowledgement slip confirming your booking.
Note: If you pay by Demand Draft, your seat is confirmed only once the draft is realised — so this route takes a little longer than paying by card.
If you can't visit a branch or register online, you can register by courier:
Your application is processed once the documents and fee are received, and your seat is subject to availability for your chosen date and city.
You can pay the IELTS Academic exam fee through:
Since IDP is the official IELTS administrator in India, live seat availability for both computer-delivered and paper-based IELTS is shown directly on the IDP IELTS India registration portal when you select your preferred test city and date. IELTS on Computer generally runs far more frequently — up to three times a day, seven days a week, in many cities — while IELTS on Paper is limited to a fixed set of dates each month. If your preferred paper-based date is full, checking the computer-delivered option is usually the quickest way to secure an earlier slot.
Plans change, and IELTS has clear rules for both rescheduling and cancelling a booking:
Rescheduling: You can transfer your test to a new date for a fee of INR 4,750, provided your original test date is at least nine days away at the time of your request. The new date is subject to availability and is allotted at the test centre's discretion.
Cancellation: If you cancel nine days or more before your test date, a 25% processing charge applies and the remaining fee is refunded within 7–10 working days. Cancelling within nine days of the test date also results in the same 25% charge on the standard test, though refund terms are stricter and vary by test type — for IELTS Academic and General Training specifically, no refund is issued for cancellations made within two days of the test or after the test has taken place. Refund and cancellation requests must be submitted with supporting documentation through your candidate login or by submitting the relevant form to your test centre.
There's no single fixed cutoff date for IELTS Academic registration — instead, booking simply closes once all seats for a given city and date are filled. Because IELTS on Computer runs far more frequently than IELTS on Paper, computer-delivered slots tend to stay open closer to the test date, but popular cities and months fill up quickly regardless. The safest approach is to book as early as possible once you've decided on your target test date, especially if you need results by a specific university application deadline.
💡 If you're still building your prep timeline, our IELTS Online Live Classes and Academic Classroom Coaching programmes are designed to help you register with confidence, once you know exactly how much preparation time you need.
Once payment is confirmed, changes to your test date, city, or test type are treated as a reschedule rather than an edit. You can request this through your candidate login or by submitting a Test Date Transfer form to your test centre, provided your original test date is at least nine days away. A transfer fee of INR 4,750 applies.
No. A valid passport is the only document accepted for IELTS registration and test-day identification in India — no other ID is accepted. If your passport is expired or not yet issued, you'll need to renew or obtain one before registering.
The fee is INR 19,000 for IELTS Academic, whether you choose IELTS on Computer or IELTS on Paper. IELTS Academic for UKVI costs INR 19,250, and IELTS One Skill Retake costs INR 12,650.
IDP is currently the sole official administrator of IELTS in India, handling all registration — online, in person, and by courier — for both IELTS Academic and General Training.
Yes. You can request cancellation through your candidate login or by submitting the relevant form to your test centre, along with supporting documentation. Cancelling nine or more days before your test date incurs a 25% processing charge on the fee, with the rest refunded within 7–10 working days. No refund is issued for cancellations made within two days of the test date or after the test.
Online registration is confirmed instantly once payment goes through. Offline registration by Demand Draft or courier takes longer, since your seat is only confirmed once your draft or payment is realised and your documents are verified — so it's worth allowing a few extra days if you're registering this way.
Since Academic and General Training are structured differently in the Reading and Writing sections, switching test types after registering is treated the same as rescheduling — you'll need to request the change through your candidate login or test centre, subject to availability and the applicable transfer fee.
There's no fixed registration deadline — booking simply closes once seats for your chosen city and date are full. IELTS on Computer runs more frequently than IELTS on Paper and tends to have more last-minute availability, but it's best to register as early as possible to secure your preferred date.