Computer-delivered IELTS in 2026: what changes on screen and how to prepare

ielts.org announced in March 2026: "from mid-2026, we will no longer offer IELTS as a paper-based test. All IELTS tests will be delivered on computer. Exact timelines will vary by market." If you book IELTS now, plan for a computer.

The good news: the test itself does not change. Question types, content and marking stay the same as on paper, and IDP says the level of difficulty is also the same. Listening timing is the one exception: on computer you get 2 minutes to check at the end, with no separate 10 minutes to transfer answers. What changes most is how you work: you type instead of writing and highlight on screen instead of underlining.

Screen habits matter. In 7,111 full Listening mocks on GoPrep (28 August to 26 September 2026), about 3% of answers were left empty in Parts 1 to 3, but 14% were empty in Part 4. Below you'll find a table that turns paper habits into screen habits, a drill for the 2-minute Listening check and a readiness checklist for the week before your test.

Here is what the ielts.org announcement and the official pages it links to say:

• Paper is ending, market by market. All IELTS tests move to computer from mid-2026, and the exact date depends on your country. Results from paper tests you already took stay valid until the end of the recommended two-year period. How long a result counts where you apply: IELTS validity rules for visas and universities.
• You may still handwrite Writing. In selected markets there is a new option, Writing on Paper: you take Listening and Reading on computer, see the Writing tasks on screen, and write your answers in pen on an IELTS Writing Answer Sheet. Task types, scoring and timing stay the same.
• UK visa tests are fully digital. The test for UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) will only be available in the fully digital format, and Writing on Paper is not available for IELTS for UKVI.
• Both test types move. IDP runs the computer test for both the General Training and Academic tests.
• Speaking stays with a person. The Speaking test is a face-to-face session with a trained IELTS examiner, not a recording on the computer.
• IELTS Online is a different product. It is the IELTS Academic test taken at home, and some organisations may not accept it. Computer-delivered IELTS (often shortened to CD IELTS) means the computer test at an official test centre.

IELTS in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan (checked 28 September 2026)

• IDP describes IELTS on computer on its Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan pages, with results "within 1 to 5 business days".
• British Council lists IELTS in 13 cities in Kazakhstan and 14 cities in Uzbekistan. Its Kazakhstan page says computer-delivered IELTS is available in all 13. Its results pages in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan say computer results arrive "typically within two days".
• None of these pages said whether Writing on Paper is offered in either country. If you want to handwrite your Writing, ask your test centre before you book.
• Prices, dates and booking steps are in our guides to IELTS registration in Kazakhstan and IELTS registration in Uzbekistan.

Listening: type as you hear

You hear each recording once through headphones the centre provides, and you type straight into the boxes on screen. You can also write notes on a notes sheet. The timing is different from paper, because there is nothing to transfer:

• before each part, some time to read the questions;
• after each part, some time to review that part;
• at the end, 2 minutes to check your answers. There are no extra 10 minutes to transfer, as there are on paper.

The whole Listening test takes between 30 and 34 minutes on computer. IDP's advice is plain: "You should write the answers to the system as soon as you hear them."

Those 2 minutes are small but they matter. Part 4 had the most empty boxes in the GoPrep mocks mentioned above, and of the 1,825 of those mocks that ended one correct answer short of the next half band, 44% had at least one empty box. A blank answer will get no marks, while a guess might. More numbers by part are in our IELTS Listening tips.

Reading: passage on the left, questions on the right

IDP describes a help button and settings for font size, and headphones are provided. In Reading, the passage sits on the left and the questions on the right, so you scroll instead of turning pages. IDP describes the tools:

• Highlight and notes. Select words, right-click, and highlight them or add a note.
• Navigation. A bar at the bottom shows all 40 questions. You can mark a question for review and come back to it.
• Timer. A clock at the top starts to flash in the last 10 minutes and 5 minutes.

You type or choose each answer next to its question, so there is nothing to copy onto an answer sheet at the end. Our IELTS Reading tips show how to split the 60 minutes in Reading.

Writing: typed, with a word count on screen

The tasks appear on the left and you type on the right. Answers save automatically, you can start with either task, and you can see the number of words you typed in the corner. Task 1 still asks for at least 150 words and Task 2 at least 250 words.

A word counter doesn't write the words for you. Here is how long separate Task 2 practice essays typed on GoPrep were, and how they scored across all 8,071:

Two things stand out:

• 1 in 5 essays was under 250 words, even though every answer was typed. Across all 9,640 separate Task 1 practice answers scored in the same period, 1 in 4 was under 150 words.
• The two groups above 300 words had similar averages: both round to 6.5. These figures don't show that writing more causes a higher score. And ielts.org gives a practical reason not to aim for length: you won't be penalised for a longer essay, but you may not have time for checking and correcting at the end. Aim for 250 to 300 words with developed ideas and time to proofread.

Inside full 60-minute mocks, where Task 1 comes first, more Task 2 essays fall short: our Writing time guide has those numbers and a minute-by-minute plan. For the essay itself, see our Writing Task 2 guide.

Speaking: still a conversation

Speaking is a live conversation with an examiner, in person or, at some centres, by video call at an official test centre. With IELTS on computer, IDP says Speaking is on the same day, before or after the other three parts; British Council Uzbekistan lets you choose your Speaking slot when you book.

If you practised with paper books, such as Cambridge IELTS practice tests, these habits need a screen version:

The centre gives you pens and paper and you can also write notes on the login details sheet, so planning by hand is still possible. Spelling counts on screen as on paper: a word with a spelling error is marked wrong. Our Listening spelling guide lists the words that cost the most marks.

Four of the six answers needed a change, and only one was a listening problem: the blank. The other three were two typing slips and a word-limit break. On the test, you will lose the mark for writing more than the word limit. So spend your 2 minutes in this order: fill every empty box, then check word limits, then read names and numbers letter by letter.

With either provider, a computer test also makes you eligible for One Skill Retake, where offered: you retake one section within 60 days instead of the whole test. If you took Writing on Paper, the retake must be Writing on Paper too. Our guide to how the IELTS band score is calculated shows how your overall band is worked out.