Can You Take the PTE Online or at Home? What Pearson Allows in 2026

Mostly no. PTE Academic, PTE Academic UKVI, PTE Core and PTE Home are taken at a test centre. PTE Express is a separate test you can take at home. It is for US universities and colleges that accept it. It doesn't count for visas.

First, check the exact test your university or application asks for. This guide explains the test names, where you take each test, and how to prepare from home. A computer-based test means you answer on a computer. It does not always mean you can take it at home.

We checked Pearson's pages and the visa rules below on 7 November 2026. Pearson changes its products from time to time, so confirm the details on its site before you book.

Can I take the PTE test online at home?

PTE Express can be taken from home. PTE Academic, PTE Academic UKVI, PTE Core and PTE Home must be taken at a test centre. Check the full name on your booking, because these are different tests.

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If you need PTE for Australian or New Zealand migration, a UK visa or Canadian permanent residence (PR), you'll be booking a test centre. If you're not sure whether that means PTE Academic or PTE Core, our guide to PTE Academic vs PTE Core sorts it out by goal.

Is PTE online or in person?

PTE Academic is taken in person, at a test centre. You read and type on a computer. You listen through a headset and record your speaking answers. You do not have a face-to-face speaking interview. Staff check your ID and help you get ready. Your personal items go into a locker.

PTE Express is different: you take it online from home. Check which test a page describes before booking. For PTE Academic, you can book, receive results and send scores online. Pearson says some responses are also reviewed by a human expert before the score is final. Our PTE test-day checklist explains ID, equipment and arrival time.

What happened to PTE Academic Online?

It did exist, for a while. Pearson introduced PTE Academic Online in January 2022, during the pandemic, as an at-home version with the same format and scoring as the test-centre one. Universities could accept it, but it was never valid for visas.

In 2023 Pearson detected organised cheating on the online version and stopped offering it. According to Ofqual, the UK regulator, Pearson withdrew the online delivery altogether in November 2023. The old PTE Academic Online web address now redirects to the main PTE Academic page, and Pearson says the service is no longer in use and that current PTE results are unaffected.

Any page telling you "PTE Academic is now available online" is describing a test you can no longer book.

PTE Express: the PTE you can take from home

PTE Express is Pearson's newer online test for students applying to study in the United States. Pearson calls it its only certified English test from home. It isn't an online version of PTE Academic. It has its own tasks and its own score report, so it only helps where a university lists PTE Express itself.

• Length: about 60 minutes, with 12 question types across reading, writing, listening and speaking, such as repeating a sentence, summarising a group discussion and writing an email.
• When: there's nothing to schedule. You buy the test and take it whenever you're ready.
• What you need: a computer with a camera, microphone and speaker, a mobile phone to act as a second camera, a government-issued photo ID and a stable internet connection. Headphones and earphones aren't allowed.
• Security: you use a secure app that limits access to other software. AI systems and people check the session afterwards.
• Results: an uncertified score within minutes of finishing, then a certified score on a 10–90 scale within 48 hours.
• Validity and retakes: scores are valid for two years. You can take up to three tests in any 30-day period, including your first test. See the PTE Express test policies.
• Practice: a free practice test in the same format, which you can repeat as often as you like.

A certified result is one Pearson has checked and approved. An initial score is available before that check is finished.

Check the PTE Express help centre to confirm availability where you live. Before you buy, check that your university is on Pearson's list of institutions that accept it. If your university only lists PTE Academic, or you need the score for a visa, PTE Express won't help you.

Is PTE online accepted in Australia, New Zealand, the UK or Canada?

No. Each country that uses PTE for visas wants a test taken at a test centre:

• Australia: Home Affairs accepts PTE Academic taken at a secure test centre. It doesn't accept tests delivered completely online, which it describes as remote-proctored or at-home. That rules out PTE Express and every other at-home test for Australian visas.
• New Zealand: PTE Academic counts for skilled residence applications. Tests taken at home do not.
• United Kingdom: a SELT has to be sat at an approved test location. Pearson's SELTs are PTE Academic UKVI and the PTE Home tests.
• Canada: for Express Entry, IRCC accepts PTE Core, not PTE Academic, and Pearson says PTE Core can't be taken at home.

Is the PTE Home test taken at home?

No. PTE Home is a test name, not a testing location. PTE Home A1, A2 and B1 test speaking and listening for certain UK family, settlement and citizenship applications. A1, A2 and B1 are English ability levels. You take these tests at a Pearson test centre. Each one lasts under 30 minutes and is pass or fail. Pearson shares your result with the UK Home Office and gives you a reference number to put on your visa application.

What you can do online

Outside the test room, most of PTE happens in your myPTE account:

• Booking. You book online in myPTE, or by phone. Pearson says you can book as little as 24 hours ahead if your centre has a free slot.
• Results. Your score report appears in myPTE, usually within two business days and sometimes up to five.
• Sending scores. You can send your scores to as many institutions as you like, free of charge.
• Retakes. After receiving your result, you can book another test, including in the same month. Pearson allows up to 12 times in 12 months.

If you haven't paid for your test yet, check our PTE voucher options before you book. Booking and test-day rules stay with Pearson either way.

PTE online practice tests you can take at home

You can prepare for PTE Academic at home. A mock is a practice test. Use practice to learn the questions and manage your time. These are free and paid options:

PrepEx scores are practice estimates, not official Pearson results. They're most useful for showing which task types are costing you points.

How to prepare for PTE at home

1. Learn the current format. PTE Academic has three parts and takes about two hours. Since August 2025 it has included two newer speaking tasks, Summarize Group Discussion and Respond to a Situation, so check that your practice material includes them. Our PTE format guide lists every task.
2. Practise with a headset microphone. The test centre gives you one, and your Speaking is scored from the recording, so practise the same way instead of talking at your laptop.
3. Practise typing under time. Your Writing answers and several Listening answers are typed, and Pearson scores spelling in Summarize Spoken Text.
4. Get used to background voices. Pearson says you may hear the people in nearby booths speaking during their test. Do some Speaking practice with a little noise around you, so it doesn't throw you on the day.
5. Take one timed mock, then drill tasks. A full mock helps you notice which skills need work. Review your answers, then practise those tasks before trying another full test.
6. Know your target. Check the exact scores on your university or application provider's website. Our good PTE score guide explains score targets. The PTE score converter helps you compare scales; it does not replace an institution's stated requirements.

Need an English test you can take at home?

If a test centre is too far away or fully booked, these tests can be taken at home. They're for universities that accept them. None of them counts for Australian visas, UK visas that need a SELT, or Canadian PR:

• PTE Express, for US universities and colleges that list it.
• The Duolingo English Test, which is online only. Check the DET computer, phone and room requirements before buying it.
• TOEFL iBT Home Edition.
• IELTS Online, which is IELTS Academic only.

Not sure which test your goal needs? Our comparison of all five tests covers where each one counts, and the free Test Finder narrows it down for your situation.

Practise PTE Academic free

You can't sit PTE Academic at home, but you can get ready for it there. On a free PrepEx account you can try every PTE Academic task type, with two graded sessions a day, AI feedback on Speaking and Writing, and answer review on Reading and Listening. PTE Pro adds the full-length mock tests and removes the daily limit.

Try free PTE practice See the full mock tests