How do I send my TOEFL scores to universities?

Key takeaways

• Your TOEFL iBT test registration includes four free official score reports that you can select or update before test day through the ETS portal.
• Ordering score reports after taking the exam requires requesting additional paid reports from your account, with current fees listed on the official ETS website.
• Accurate score routing relies on using the correct four-digit institution code and department code to prevent scores from arriving at the wrong admissions office.
• Universities receive your official score report automatically containing both your single-test date scores and your combined section superscores.
• Most universities do not accept student-printed score report downloads, requiring official electronic transmission directly from the testing service.

Free Score Recipients Before Test Day

When registering for the TOEFL exam, ETS provides four free official score reports to universities or institutions of your choice. This feature is an effective way to manage university application costs, provided you already know your target institutions and their specific language admission expectations.

You can add or modify these recipients in your online account up until the cutoff deadline specified in the ETS registration portal prior to test day. Note that selecting free recipients beforehand means scores are automatically transmitted once processed, without an option to preview and withhold them if you perform below your expectations on that attempt.

• Select institutions where you are confident your preparation meets or exceeds minimum score thresholds.
• Review university policies to determine whether they evaluate single test sittings or require all historical scores.
• If you are sitting the exam for diagnostic purposes, you might decide to review your scores before ordering reports.

Step-by-Step Guide to Ordering Additional Score Reports

If you did not select universities before test day, or if you wish to apply to further institutions after seeing your final results, you can order additional score reports at any time during your score validity period. The ETS online portal facilitates this process securely and efficiently.

A standard processing fee is charged per additional report. Always verify the current fee structure and accepted payment methods directly on the official ETS website before completing your transaction.

1. 1Log in to your official ETS account using your registered username and password.
2. 2Navigate to your score management page and select the option to order additional score reports.
3. 3Search for your target institution by typing its name or entering its unique four-digit Designated Institution (DI) code.
4. 4Select the correct academic department or admissions office corresponding to your undergraduate or graduate program.
5. 5Carefully verify your recipient list for code accuracy, proceed to the checkout screen to pay the required fee, and confirm your order.

Understanding Institution Codes (DI) and Department Codes

ETS utilizes a standardized coding system known as the Designated Institution (DI) code. This four-digit number is assigned to every registered university, college, and educational entity. The DI code ensures your TOEFL score report reaches the exact institution, preventing errors caused by similar university names.

Alongside the DI code, many graduate schools request a specific academic department code so that your file is routed directly to specialized departmental admissions committees such as engineering or business. In contrast, undergraduate applicants generally use the general undergraduate admissions code or select the default unassigned department option.

• Always locate the TOEFL DI code directly on the international admissions requirements page of the university's official website.
• Never assume codes are identical across different standardized tests such as the SAT or GRE; each test maintains its own directory.
• If a graduate program does not specify a department code, choose the general graduate school admissions listing provided in the system.

Score Delivery Methods and Processing Timelines

The vast majority of universities in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Türkiye, and Malaysia receive TOEFL scores through the secure ETS electronic score delivery system. This allows admissions officers to download scores directly and match them to student files efficiently. However, a small number of institutions still require physical paper reports delivered by mail.

The timeframe for scores to reach institutions depends on whether recipients were selected prior to the test or ordered as additional reports afterwards, as well as the institution's designated delivery method. The following table highlights the essential operational differences between these options.

Score Validity and the MyBest Scores System

Official TOEFL scores remain valid for exactly two years from your test date. Once this two-year window expires, ETS can no longer issue official score reports, and the records are retired from active databases, requiring candidates to retake the test if they need new proof of English proficiency.

All official ETS score reports automatically display combined superscores alongside the scores from your chosen single test administration. This feature compiles the highest scaled section scores achieved across all valid TOEFL tests taken in the previous two years across Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing. Although this composite appears automatically on every report, its acceptance depends entirely on each university's admissions policy.

Special Considerations for Saudi and GCC Applicants

Students in Saudi Arabia and the GCC region, whether graduating from national curriculum high schools, international schools, IB programs, or American curriculum tracks, navigate multi-tiered application requirements. When applying for government sponsorship programs such as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Scholarship Program, scholarship committees may request an uploaded student score copy, while partner universities abroad strictly require official score transmission through ETS.

For students applying to English-medium degree programs or seeking foundation year English waivers at universities within Saudi Arabia, it is crucial to confirm the specific local DI code to ensure scores integrate seamlessly into the university's centralized admissions and registration portal.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Emailing a downloaded student-copy PDF to the admissions office instead of ordering an official ETS report, which most universities reject.
• Entering the wrong DI code for a different campus branch or selecting an inappropriate program level, such as sending undergraduate scores to a graduate school.
• Waiting until the exact university application deadline day to order scores, ignoring the multi-day processing time required for electronic matching.
• Mismatches between the student name and date of birth in the ETS account and the details on the university application and passport.
• Delaying score orders under the misconception that superscores require a separate application, when they are bundled automatically on all official reports.

Advice from our academic team

The Apostrophe Academy academic team · Last reviewed: 2026-09-07

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

Dates, fees, policies and university requirements change. This page explains the method and the reasoning; always confirm current numbers and dates with the official test provider or the university before you act on them.

• ETS — TOEFL iBT scores

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