Registering for the TOEFL iBT in France:
steps to follow

What do you need to create an ETS account and register?

ETS says to register for the TOEFL iBT by creating an account on its website. The 2026–2027 Bulletin immediately states the most important condition: the name entered during registration must exactly match the name printed on the ID presented on test day. ETS’s identification page also requires your date of birth and says accents and diacritical marks are not included in the comparison; for compound names, the Bulletin also disregards apostrophes.

Accounts and registrations are non-transferable. The Bulletin says only the test taker may register or ask questions about their registration: you cannot book for someone else or transfer your place to them. Keep your account contact information up to date; ETS uses it to reach you if a session has to be canceled.

ID requirements depend on your test location and nationality. The Bulletin refers to ETS’s identification page for the requirements at your test location. Generally, with a few exceptions, the Bulletin requires an ID to:

• be an original document: photocopies are refused, and the document cannot be shown on a phone or other device;
• be issued and recognized by the authorities of the country where you are a citizen or resident, in line with the requirements for your test location;
• be valid: an expired document is refused;
• include a recent photograph that clearly resembles you;
• bear your signature, with the name on the ID matching the name on the signature;
• show a first name, last name, and date of birth that match your registration.

Which IDs does ETS accept or refuse?

For a test taken in the country where you are a citizen or permanent resident, the Bulletin lists a passport, driver’s license, and national identity card as primary IDs. If your primary ID does not have your signature, ETS also accepts a secondary ID showing your photograph and signature, with the same name as your registration.

The Bulletin also lists documents that are always refused, as either primary or secondary ID: an international driving permit, birth certificate, credit or debit card, employee card, or mobile driver’s license. A valid but incomplete primary ID can be supplemented; however, the Bulletin says a secondary ID cannot resolve a mismatch in your last name. The last name on your primary ID must match your registration.

Test center in France or Home Edition: how do you choose and find a date?

ETS offers two ways to take the test. At an authorized test center, it is offered more than 170 times a year; the page reviewed gives no country-by-country schedule. The Home Edition is available worldwide, 24 hours a day, 4 days a week. ETS asks you to register at least 24 hours before your appointment after checking that your environment and equipment meet its requirements. This 24-hour deadline differs from the Bulletin, which closes standard registration 7 full days before the test and express registration 2 days before, without distinguishing the Home Edition in the passage reviewed. Read both before booking. According to the Bulletin, the at-home session is recorded and monitored by a human proctor.

ETS’s options page recommends checking the requirements of your target institutions before choosing between the two formats. Do this before booking: your institution, not ETS, knows what it requires. Register online through your account. The fees page says you must select your test location to see the registration fee, so choosing France is also the first step in finding the price.

For the Home Edition, the Bulletin refers to the My TOEFL Home dashboard, where you download the test application and run the equipment check. It adds that a mobile app identity check may be required before the test, in which case you must complete it at least 48 hours before the test time. If this applies to you, the 24-hour deadline on the options page is too short. This is our interpretation, not an ETS statement, and it means you should not book the Home Edition at the last minute.

How much does registration cost, and when is the deadline?

The test fee varies by location. To register from France, select France on ETS’s fees page, then check the total at checkout before paying. The additional fees published below are in US dollars and exclude VAT or other applicable taxes; they are added to the test fee where applicable.

Standard online registration closes 7 full days before the test date; after that, ETS charges an express registration fee. Express registration closes 2 days before the test date. ETS gives the example of a Saturday test, for which Thursday is the final registration day.

One point remains unclear for France: VAT. The fees page says TOEFL iBT prices exclude VAT or other applicable taxes except in European Union countries, implying that VAT is included in France. However, the Bulletin lists France among the countries where the test fee and additional fees exclude taxes, which are added at checkout. ETS’s two documents therefore differ; check the amount due at checkout.

When should you select your score recipients?

According to the Bulletin, the test fee includes up to 4 score reports that ETS sends to the institutions or organizations you selected before the test. You can add, remove, or change recipients until 10 p.m. local test center time the day before the test. After that, ETS charges for each report sent.

In this passage, the Bulletin does not specify what “local test center time” means for an at-home session. If you take the Home Edition, select your recipients well before the day before the test instead of relying on an ambiguous time.

You can order additional reports in your account for US$29 per institution before tax. ETS says recipients cannot be changed or removed once the order is placed, and no refund is available. Use your free reports for the institutions you have selected before the deadline.

• Select recipients before the test, for up to 4 free reports.
• Changes: until 10 p.m. local test center time the day before the test.
• After that: a non-refundable report for each institution, US$29 before tax.

What should you check on your confirmation, and can you register again soon?

The ETS pages reviewed here do not describe the contents of the confirmation message; the checklist at the end of this section is ours, based on the Bulletin rules. Check the message and your account for anything that could prevent you from taking the test or cause you to lose your fee.

If you need to retake the test, the Bulletin does not limit the number of attempts, but you may not take it more than once within a 3-day period, even if you canceled your previous scores. You also may not register for another date that is less than 3 days from an existing appointment. Rescheduling or canceling follows a different deadline—4 full days before the test date—which is covered in the article on cancellations.

• First name, last name, and date of birth, checked against your ID letter by letter.
• The date, time, and location, either a test center or Home Edition. At a test center, ETS asks you to arrive at least 30 minutes before your assigned time; at home, check-in opens 15 minutes before the scheduled time and remains available for 30 minutes afterward.
• The appointment number, if shown: the Bulletin lists it among the information to provide to TOEFL Services when requesting reimbursement of travel costs after an ETS-initiated cancellation.
• The recipients of your 4 free score reports.
• The email address and phone number on your account, kept up to date so ETS can contact you.