PTE 2025: Latest Updates 2025, Test Dates, Exam Fees, Registration Process Pattern & Syllabus, Score, and Preparation Guide

PTE is a computer-based English language proficiency test that assesses a candidate’s English language proficiency for academic or immigration purposes. The Pearson Test of English (PTE) assesses reading, writing, speaking and listening skills of non-native English speakers. PTE scores are accepted by 3,500+ institutions worldwide, including Oxford, Harvard, and Yale, and for visa applications to the US, Australia, Canada, UK, and New Zealand.

PTE offers different exam categories to suit various needs. PTE Academic is designed for university admissions and visa applications to Australia and New Zealand. PTE Core is specifically recognized by the Canadian government for immigration and citizenship applications. For the UK, the PTE UKVI tests, including PTE Home and PTE Academic UKVI, are accepted for work, family, and settlement visa applications. The registration fee ranges from ₹15,284 to ₹18,000 depending on the category of the test you want to take.

PTE Academic exam lasts for 2 hours and includes 70-82 questions in a single sitting. Scores range from 10 to 90, with results typically available within 48 hours. The PTE Score Report is valid for 2 years, although Australia accepts scores up to 3 years old.

Starting from August 7, 2025, the PTE Academic exam pattern will change, introducing 2 new question types: "Summarize Group Discussion" and "Respond to a Situation". This update increases the total number of question types from 8 to 10. Additionally, PTE will implement AI and human evaluation for content scoring, and tasks like essay writing will now include expert reviews on structure, coherence, and language range.

There are 500+ PTE test centers located across 127 countries and options for online testing are available too. There are 62 test centers across India, including Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

Why choose PTE?

Here are a few reasons why most candidates opt for PTE over other exams:

• Artificial Intelligence: PTE combines world leading language experts and responsible AI for accurate, fast and objective scores.
• Impartial scoring: PTE result is marked only on the responses you have made. Since the marking is done by artificial intelligence, there is no scope for biasedness while checking.
• Fast results: Candidates receive their Pearson PTE results within 48 hours. PTE Score Report is obtained within 3-5 working days.
• Send unlimited scores for free: PTE does not charge the candidates for additional scores sent to the universities.
• Unlimited acceptance for study/migration: PTE is not only accepted by universities but also for immigration purposes by the governments around the world.

PTE Application Fees & Payment Options

PTE application fees vary according to the category of the exam - PTE Academic, PTE Core and PTE UKSVI (PTE Home and PTE Academic UKVI).

Note: All the prices are inclusive of 18% tax.

Mode of Payment

PTE exam fee can be paid through Visa, MasterCard, and American Express Credit Cards. For debit cards, Visa and MasterCard are usually accepted.

How to Apply for the PTE Exam?

PTE Academic application needs to be completed by first creating an account on PTE official site (pearsonpte.com) and enabling PTE login with that. PTE exam has again resumed testing in China, India, and Australia in smaller batches, hence it is important to register for your slots early.

Note: Make sure your details exactly match your valid passport.

After logging in to PTE official website – PTE VUE, the candidate needs to follow the steps below.

1. Click on ‘Book a Test’
2. For test recommendations, the candidate needs to select answers to “Where do you want to go” and “What do you want to do there?”
3. To book the test, click on ‘Check availability & book’.

Now it’s time to find an appointment at a test center.

1. Enter where you’d like to take the test. PTE will provide a list of available test centers.
2. Then choose a center and select a date and time at least 24 hours in advance
3. Click on 'Book'.
4. Select your answers to a few booking questions.
5. Agree to PTE policies (Admission, Reschedule and Cancellation).
6. Pay for your test. You can pay with American Express, Discover, Mastercard or Visa. If you have a voucher or promo code, you can enter it.
7. Review your test appointment details and payment information.
8. Click on ‘Submit Order’.

For Indian students, PTE requirements include a passport without which the test cannot be taken.The maximum PTE score is 90.

What to Expect on PTE Test Day

PTE tests are taken on a computer at one of the test centres, where there are usually about 10-15 people taking their test together. Candidates need to arrive half an hour before your test to check-in securely and get ready for the test.

PTE Test Center Guidelines: Process & Rules

On arrival at the PTE Test Center, candidates must provide an acceptable identification document (ID) to the PTE Test Center Administrator. This document must be your valid passport. No other document will be accepted.

The PTE Test Center Administrator will guide the candidate through the check-in process and make sure that he/she understands and is comfortable with all the rules and procedures.

The Administrator will then confirm the candidate’s identity by:

• Requesting to see the ID and check if the details on the ID exactly match the booking details
• Taking a digital photograph of the candidate
• Asking for a digital signature
• Scanning the candidate’s palm.

Once complete, the administrator will give a safe place to store personal items.

• The candidate will be guided to a test seat in a partitioned booth, which will have a computer, keyboard, audio headset, chair, and notepad and pencil.
• The microphones will not pick up voices from nearby booths, so it won’t affect the test result.
• The computer uses a QWERTY keyboard, so candidates are advised to practice with one before the test day.
• The duration of PTE Academic, PTE Academic UKVI or a PTE Core test is 2 hours, while that of PTE Home test is 30 minutes.

PTE Rescheduling & Cancellation Guide

PTE Exam can usually be rescheduled or cancelled for free if there are at least 14 full calendar days left before the test. After this time, there will be a fee.

How to Reschedule the PTE Exam

• Free rescheduling for free if more than 14 full calendar days left before the test.
• If there are 14 days or less left before the test, the candidate must cancel and book another appointment.
• Rescheduling can be done a maximum of 6 times.

PTE Exam Cancellation Policy

• Full fee will be refunded if cancelled at least 14 full calendar days before the test.
• 50% refund if cancellation is done between 13 and 8 days before the test.
• No refund will be provided if there are fewer than 7 days left before the test.

Note: Pearson reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to cancel or reschedule tests, change test content or change the number of test takers in the test session during a PTE test. In the event Pearson cancels or reschedules a test, we will arrange a refund or reschedule to an alternative date or test center.

Apart from these policies of rescheduling and cancellation, there are certain exceptions for medical and family emergencies:

• If the test is missed due to an illness or family emergency, Pearson, at its discretion, will allow rescheduling the test free of charge.
• The candidate must fill in the “Request Emergency Reschedule” form with the evidence attached. The form must be filled as soon as they are aware of the emergency.

Note: The acceptance of the evidence is at the sole discretion of Pearson.

PTE Test Centres in India

There are in total 62 PTE test centers across India. PTE Test Centers are spread all over numerous cities in India. A few of them are listed below:

PTE Score Breakdown

A good PTE score can increase your chance of getting any scholarships the university may provide. As per Pearson, the average score in PTE ranges between 51 and 60 for undergraduate courses, 57-67 for graduate courses, and 36-50 for Foundation courses. You can avail PTE preparation apps to enhance your test skills.

While PTE tests are computer-based and machine-scored, human expert scorers are used to train the scoring engine on speaking and writing tasks, by rating test taker responses on every single speaking and writing item. The system then works by replicating the standards established through these human ratings

Human experts also carry out 2 types of scoring for live test responses. The first is the scoring of anomalies, which are unusual responses that the machine cannot reliably score. The second is task types (Describe Image and Retell Lecture) that always require a human review of content before scores are finalised.

The PTE Academic Score Report consists of an overall score and 4 communicative skills scores (listening, reading, speaking, writing).

Overall PTE Score

The overall score is based on the performance across the entire test. The candidate needs to complete between 52 - 64 tasks in any given test and a range of 20 different task types.

The overall score ranges between 10–90 points.

Communicative Skills Scoring

The communicative skills are listening, reading, speaking, and writing and their score range is 10–90 points. Some tasks assess more than 1 skill at a time and they are called integrated skills tasks (like Speaking & Writing).

Also check: PTE score required for Australia PR

PTE Band Score Conversion

Having a better understanding of PTE band score comparison is important to check the cut off requirements. PTE Band Score is machine-scored and can be best understood when compared with the IELTS band score as well as TOEFL score chart. The following PTE score chart will explain the scoring system when compared to the IELTS score:

The following PTE score chart will explain the scoring system when compared with TOEFL iBT score:

Therefore, from the above PTE score chart, it can be understood that an 89-90 is undoubtedly the best one can get. PTE scores of 74 - 85 are quite high scores that will massively help in admission. PTE exam does not have a passing score. Generally, PTE score range of 50 to 63 is considered competent and makes it hard for the candidates to ensure admission. Obtaining a score range between 65 to 75 or higher will increase the chances of securing admission to top universities.

Also check: PTE vs IELTS vs TOEFL

How PTE Scores Are Calculated

PTE Score Calculator helps calculate PTE scores using automated scoring technologies. PTE Academic provides a precise report of the overall score which grades a candidate’s English skills against the Global Scale of English.

Scores for some tasks are based only on whether the response is correct or incorrect, while others are based on correctness, formal aspects (e.g., whether it is over or under the word limit) and the quality of the response (e.g., fluency and pronunciation in the task Retell lecture).

• Correct or incorrect - If responses are correct, 1 score point will be given, but if they are incorrect, no points are awarded.
• Partial credit - If responses to these tasks are correct, the maximum score points available will be received. If they are only partly correct, some score points will be given, but less than the maximum available.

There is also another scoring method that assesses the ‘Content’ and ‘Form’ of a response.

• Content means how appropriate the content of a response is in relation to the prompt.
• Form scores are based on formal characteristics of the response such as the number of words.

When the response is scored as 0 for Content, no score points for the response will be given as the response becomes irrelevant to the prompt. However, If the response is of the appropriate length (form), a score will be given and the response will then be rated on the remaining traits: vocabulary, spelling, grammar, development, structure and coherence, and general linguistic range.

Sending PTE Scores to Universities

PTE Score Report is sent to the candidate typically within 48 hours. Universities do not accept paper or PDF versions of PTE Academic Score Reports. To validate the score, the institutions access PTE’s secure portal through the information provided by the candidate in the university application form.

To send PTE score card, the following steps need to be followed:

1. Login to your myPTE account.
2. Click ‘My activity’.
3. On the card where the test information is displayed, click ‘Share results’.
4. Type the name of your chosen institution in the field marked ‘Institution/Organization/Department/School’ and click ‘Search’.
5. Tick the box next to the institution’s name when it appears in the list. Repeat for each institution. (You can share your Score Report to an unlimited number of institutions, but you can only select up to seven recipients at any one time).
6. Review the details, then scroll down the page and click ‘Select Programmes’ and then ‘Next’ again to confirm.

PTE Score Report Details

The PTE score report contains the below mentioned sections:

• Personal details and photo
• Test registration ID and score report code
• Overall score
• Scores in each communicative skills (listening, reading, writing and speaking)
• A detailed description of the performance (Skills Profile)

PTE Cut-Off Scores for Top Universities

Both IELTS and PTE are used by candidates for higher education or immigration purposes. IELTS score is measured on a scale of 1-9 whereas PTE is scaled on numerical marks out of 90. Check the following top universities with average PTE scores and IELTS score requirements as follows: