PTE Score Validity: 2 Years, Expiry and How to Send

A PTE Academic score is valid for two years from the test date, according to Pearson. After that the score expires, and Pearson says you can no longer open the report or send it to an institution. Some authorities count validity differently, so check your own route. You send a valid score to institutions from your myPTE account, free of charge. Checked 10 Oct 2026.

What Pearson says about validity

• Two years from the test date. Pearson's PTE Academic page says the score is valid for two years from the test date and then expires for study and visa use. Its scoring help centre says the same about your Score Report. Checked 10 Oct 2026.
• Institutions can differ. Pearson's PTE Academic page says most education institutions and immigration authorities want a test taken in the last two years. It gives no list of exceptions, so confirm the rule with the university or authority you are applying to. Checked 10 Oct 2026.
• UK visas count from the award date. gov.uk says a secure English test result is valid for 2 years from the date the test is awarded, and it must have been awarded in the two years before the date of your application. See gov.uk SELT guidance. Checked 10 Oct 2026. The UK score levels are explained in PTE score for UK.

Validity applies to the result, not to your skills. A score is a record from one test day. Your admission or visa file needs a result that is still in date on the day you apply.

What I could not confirm

We did not find an official page stating the exact validity rule for every country. For Australia, Home Affairs says on its Competent English page that a result must be from the 3 years before your visa application, depending on the visa subclass. That is a Home Affairs rule, separate from Pearson's two-year limit on sending and opening your report. Open the official page for your visa route before you rely on any date.

Which date matters: a planner

The date that counts is the date your application is submitted or assessed, not the date you plan to arrive. Use this table to plan. It is our own worked example, not a Pearson tool.

Worked example: a student tests on 15 Jan 2026 and plans for an intake that starts in September 2028. The score expires in January 2028, so it will be out of date before the application window. Testing later, closer to the application, is safer. Keep a buffer before the expiry date.

How to send your score

Pearson's scoring help centre lists two ways to share scores. Checked 10 Oct 2026.

1. Sign in to your myPTE account and send the score report to your chosen institution.
2. Or give the institution your Score Report Code.

What Pearson also says:

• You can send to an unlimited number of institutions, free of charge.
• It takes around 48 hours after sending for the institution to see the score.
• Institutions do not accept paper or PDF score reports.
• You choose which score to send, and institutions see only that score.

Results usually come within 48 hours of the test, per the Pearson scores page. Checked 10 Oct 2026. Read how to open your report in PTE result.

Text version of this diagram

• Illustration only; this is our own schematic, not a real score report and not Pearson artwork.
• 1. Score Report Code: specific to each test you take, used to share the report with institutions.
• 2. Overall score: 10–90, based on performance across the entire test; it is not an average of the four skill scores.
• 3. Communicative skills: Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing, each scored 10–90.
• 4. Skills breakdown: the four skill scores shown against the overall score.
• 5. Test centre and dates: the test date and a valid-until date. A PTE Academic UKVI report also carries a SELT URN in the top banner.

Checklist before you apply

• Write down your test date and the date two years later.
• Check the institution's own English requirement page for its validity rule.
• For UK visas, use the award date and check gov.uk for your route.
• Send scores at least a week before a deadline.
• If the score is close to expiring, consider a retest. Prepare with practice tasks and compare scores with the PTE score chart.
• Need to compare with IELTS bands? Use the PTE to IELTS converter for an estimate only.

If a retest is needed, see the PTE exam fee and the PTE passing score guide.