IELTS for Academic and General Training: transfer and cancellation policy

You may transfer your IELTS test date:

• five weeks before the scheduled test date (first component) – free of charge
• less than five weeks before the scheduled test date (first component) – a 25% administration fee will be charged*
• less than three days before the scheduled test date (first component) – no transfers can be arranged, except in the exceptional circumstances and special consideration circumstances.

The transfer test date must be within three months of the original test date. If you are unable to attend on the transfer test date, neither a further transfer nor a refund can be given.

You can submit your transfer request through this link. We will review your request and process it by following the Transfer Policies of the exams of which you registered.

You may cancel your test:

• five weeks before the scheduled test date (first component) – you will be eligible for a refund of 75% of the test fee*
• less than five weeks before the scheduled test date (first component) – you will not be eligible for a refund, except in the exceptional circumstances stated below.

Note that refunds can take up to six weeks to process.

To cancel your IELTS and IELTS for UKVI test, please log in to the Test Taker Portal and submit a cancellation request, along with an upload of supporting documentation/evidence. Only supporting documents in English or Indonesian are accepted.

* An additional bank transfer fee may be deducted by your bank.

You may be able to request for an exception to be made to the standard transfer or cancellation policies, with supporting evidence, in cases of:

• A traumatic experience (traffic accident immediately before test, serious distress, personal distress on test day)
• Domestic or Family crisis including disruption in living arrangement, house moving; primary carer responsibilities (e.g. childcare, elderly relative); and serious crisis (e.g. divorce, eviction, other)
• Government mandated obligation (military service, jury service, pandemic, lockdowns, or unavoidable legal service (fire, military, police, etc)
• Serious medical conditions which prevent you from attending or performing normally on test day. This need to be verified by a medical certificate from a qualified medical practitioner** (does not include minor illness such as a mild cold)
• Bereavement, or other forms of significant hardship (crisis due to illness of a family member, death of extended family member within last month, death of immediate family member within last 2 months)
• Civil unrest, extreme weather, natural disaster.

You can apply for special consideration before the test, and up to two calendar days after the test date. However, applications for special consideration will not be accepted after your results have been released.

You need to contact your test centre directly through email to exams@britishcouncil.or.id and provide full information as to why you qualify for special consideration with supporting evidence. Your test centre will assess your application and will respond to you within seven working days of receiving your full application in writing, during which time your results will be put on hold until a decision is finalised.

If your test centre approves your application, you will receive a refund or transfer. In some cases, this will be subject to an administrative fee. Please be aware that refunds can take 4–6 weeks to process. Note that there will be no adjustment to band scores.

If your test centre does not approve your exception request, then the standard transfer and refund policies, detailed above, will apply.

Under certain circumstances outside of test centre control, we may have to cancel your test and transfer your IELTS date to a future date. These circumstances include, but may not be limited to, extreme weather conditions, natural disaster, civil unrest, industrial action, technical problems, issues at the venue or other types of disruption or disturbance in the local environment.

In these circumstances, your test centre will provide you with as much notice as possible and give you the choice of either a full refund*, or a transfer to a future test date – whichever you prefer.

If your test is cancelled or postponed due to other circumstances such as technical failure, venue or environmental factors, your test centre will provide you with as much notice as possible and give you the choice of a refund or a transfer to a future test.

The British Council is not liable for any losses you incur as a result of test cancellation.

* An additional bank transfer fee may be deducted by your bank.

** Only copies of medical certificates from a certified medical professional can be accepted. Please keep the original document with you as we may require it for further verification.