Is TOEFL Essentials a language test for Canada PR?
Not yet, on IRCC's own pages. IRCC has designated TOEFL Essentials but says it "isn't currently accepted". The TOEFL iBT is not on the list at all. For Express Entry IRCC lists CELPIP-General, IELTS General Training, PTE Core, TEF Canada and TCF Canada.
People ask this because ETS announced that IRCC had designated TOEFL Essentials. This page sets that announcement next to what IRCC itself writes, so you can see where designated and currently accepted come apart on IRCC's own list. Immigration rules change, and IRCC's pages decide. This is not immigration advice.
What IRCC's own pages say
IRCC's list of designated tests, with the TOEFL line in full.
IRCC, the Canadian immigration department, keeps a list of the organisations and tests it has designated. IRCC's own guidance defines the word like this.
"“Designated” means we accept the results of an organization’s test as proof of language ability, because the organization and their test meet all our criteria."
The designated list is in IRCC's language requirements guidance. It names ETS, the company that runs the TOEFL, and one ETS test: TOEFL Essentials. It does not name the TOEFL iBT. This is what IRCC writes next to it.
"Educational Testing Services Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) Essentials This test isn’t currently accepted by IRCC. This page will be updated once we start accepting it."
IRCC's own definition says designated means it accepts a test's results, and its language requirements page names TOEFL Essentials as designated and approved. The same page then adds that the test isn't currently accepted. These two IRCC statements do not agree, so go by the note next to the test.
IRCC's page details show the page was last modified 2026-06-23.
| Test on IRCC's designated list | What IRCC writes |
|---|---|
| CELPIP | The CELPIP-General test is accepted for immigration and citizenship purposes. CELPIP-General LS is accepted for citizenship purposes only. |
| IELTS | The IELTS General Training test is accepted for immigration and citizenship purposes. |
| PTE Core | The PTE Core test is accepted for immigration and citizenship purposes. |
| TEF Canada and TCF Canada | Listed as designated French tests. |
| TOEFL Essentials | This test isn't currently accepted by IRCC. This page will be updated once we start accepting it. |
Express Entry: the list you can use
Five tests, and the option you must take for each.
For Express Entry, IRCC's language test page says you must prove your language skills with an approved test, booked with an agency IRCC has approved. This is the whole list.
"You can take any of these approved language tests: English French CELPIP: Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program You must take the CELPIP-General test. TEF Canada: Test d’évaluation de français IELTS: International English Language Testing System You must take the IELTS General Training option. We don’t accept IELTS One Skill Retake for Express Entry. TCF Canada: Test de connaissance du français PTE Core: Pearson Test of English You must take the PTE Core option."
There is no TOEFL on it, in either form. Two more rules from the same pages matter when you plan. Results must be recent, and IELTS One Skill Retake is not accepted for Express Entry.
- Express Entry: your results must be less than 2 years old when you complete your profile and when you submit your application for permanent residence.
- Other temporary and permanent residence programs: results must not be more than 2 years old when IRCC receives the application.
Citizenship
A shorter list, and a firm line.
For citizenship, IRCC's help centre lists the third-party tests it accepts. The English ones are CELPIP General, CELPIP General-LS, IELTS General Training and PTE Core. Then it adds a sentence that applies to every other test, TOEFL included.
"We don’t accept any other third-party test results, even if they’re similar."
What ETS said about TOEFL Essentials
A press release from 2025, read next to IRCC's page from 2026.
ETS announced in a press release that IRCC had added it to the designated list for TOEFL Essentials. The announcement is the reason people ask whether TOEFL is now accepted for Canadian permanent residence. Read what it says and what it does not say.
"today announced that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has added ETS to its list of designated language testing organizations for the TOEFL Essentials test, for use in Canadian permanent economic immigration applications."
"IRCC is not yet accepting TOEFL Essentials scores and will update its website once acceptance begins."
The release is dated August 21, 2025. IRCC's own page, last modified 2026-06-23, still says the test is not currently accepted. So the designation is real, and acceptance had not started on the pages we read. On IRCC's own list, designated and currently accepted are not the same thing.
ETS also pointed readers to IRCC's list to keep up to date. That is the right place to look, not a blog or a forum.
"The TOEFL Essentials test will be offered at secure test centers across Canada and globally. To stay updated, visit Designated language testing organizations - Canada.ca."
TOEFL Essentials in brief
What ETS says the test is, and what it costs.
TOEFL Essentials is a separate test from the TOEFL iBT. ETS describes it as short and task-based. Its press release for Canada and its own test page describe the test slightly differently, so we show both.
| Question | What ETS says |
|---|---|
| How long is it? | Approximately 1.5 hours (press release for Canadian immigration). |
| Where do you take it? | Press release: at a secure test centre in Canada and globally. Test page: conveniently from home. |
| When do scores arrive? | 6 days after your test day (test page). |
| What does it cost? | US$199 for all countries (registration page). |
Do not read the home option as a route to PR. The two ETS statements may describe two different versions of Essentials, and neither one changes IRCC's note that the test is not currently accepted. If IRCC starts accepting it, its page will say which version and where.
What about the TOEFL iBT in Canada?
A study test, not an immigration test.
The TOEFL iBT is the test most people mean by TOEFL. IRCC's designated list does not include it, so it does not count as proof of language ability for the immigration programs above. That does not make it a poor test. ETS says universities and other institutions use it as a measure of academic English proficiency, and that thousands of institutions, including universities in Canada, accept it. ETS's own updates page also says immigration authorities recognise TOEFL as the gold standard for academic English proficiency. IRCC's lists do not include the TOEFL iBT, so go by IRCC.
"Accepted by 13,500+ institutions in over 160 countries, including all universities in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany and thousands of other top universities around the world."
That is ETS describing its own test, so check with your university before you rely on it. The price in Canada is US$249 before tax, which we explain on the TOEFL fee page for Canada.
What to take if you need language proof for Canada
Pick from IRCC's list, then check the details.
If your goal is Express Entry, permanent residence or citizenship, the safe choice is a test IRCC lists. Which one suits you depends on your English and, for some programmes, your French. These pages help you decide.
- English tests accepted by IRCC: the tests, side by side.
- CELPIP against IELTS: two of the listed tests compared.
- PTE Academic against PTE Core: why the Core version is the one IRCC lists.
- CLB levels for Express Entry: what your scores mean once you have them.
Book only through the test owner's own booking page, and check the date on IRCC's list before you pay, because the list can change.
Common questions
Not on the IRCC pages we read. IRCC's designated list names TOEFL Essentials and says it is not currently accepted. The TOEFL iBT is not on the list, and IRCC's Express Entry page lists five other tests.
IRCC's language requirements page says TOEFL Essentials "isn't currently accepted by IRCC" and that the page will be updated once IRCC starts accepting it.
ETS said in August 2025 that IRCC had added ETS to its designated list for TOEFL Essentials, for permanent economic immigration, and that IRCC was not yet accepting scores. IRCC's own page, last modified 2026-06-23, still says it is not currently accepted. Watch IRCC's page, not rumours.
No test on IRCC's Express Entry list is a TOEFL. You can take CELPIP-General, IELTS General Training, PTE Core, TEF Canada or TCF Canada.
ETS says TOEFL iBT is accepted by 13,500+ institutions in over 160 countries, including all universities in Canada. Check with your own school, because the school sets its requirements.
ETS lists US$249 for the TOEFL iBT in Canada and US$199 for TOEFL Essentials in all countries, in US dollars. ETS says the iBT price excludes taxes, and its Essentials page says Canadian fees exclude sales and similar taxes, which are added to the order.
IRCC says Express Entry results must be less than 2 years old when you complete your profile and when you submit your application for permanent residence. For other programs, results must not be more than 2 years old when IRCC receives the application.
Duolingo is not on any IRCC list we read. For citizenship IRCC says it does not accept any other third-party test results, even if they are similar.