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Rules checked 26 September 2026

IELTS One Skill Retake calculator

If one skill kept you below your target, see what a retake of just that skill has to score, what your new overall band would be, and whether your 60-day window is still open.

1. Your full test

2. What you need

A different minimum for one skill?

For example, the NMC asks for 7 in Listening, Reading and Speaking but 6.5 in Writing.

3. Try a retake

Your answer

Choose all four skill bands from your full test. Add what you need, and the answer shows the lowest band a retake has to reach.

Close the gap in the skill that is short.

Start the free lesson

How the calculator works

It replaces the skill you choose with the band you try, keeps your other three bands, and applies the published IELTS rounding rule. The “lowest band” is the first half band at which the requirement you entered is met. If another skill is also below its minimum, no single retake can fix it, and the calculator says so.

It works with the requirement you type or pick. It cannot tell you whether a university or regulator will accept a retake result: that is their decision. See who says they accept it, or check a named course's requirement.

Questions

How is my overall band worked out after a One Skill Retake?

Your new Test Report Form shows the retaken skill's new score with the other three skills from your original test. The overall is the average of those four bands, rounded to the nearest half band, with averages ending in .25 rounding up to the next half band and .75 up to the next whole band.

What score do I need in my IELTS Writing retake?

It depends on the requirement and your other three bands. If the only problem is a skill minimum, you need that minimum. If the overall is also short, you may need more: with 6.5, 7, 6 and 6.5 against 7 overall and no skill below 6.5, Writing has to reach 7, because 6.5 leaves the overall at 6.5.

How long do I have to take a One Skill Retake?

IELTS says you must book and take it within 60 days of your full test. You can do one retake for each full test.

Can I take a One Skill Retake after a paper test or IELTS Online?

No. IELTS offers it only when the full test was IELTS on computer at a centre that runs One Skill Retake. That includes IELTS on computer with Writing on Paper, but the retake must use the same Writing mode as your test. It covers both Academic and General Training.

Which result do I send, the original or the retake?

IELTS lets you choose whether to use your original or your new Test Report Form. Whether an institution accepts the new one is its own decision, so check before you book.

Sources

The rounding and retake rules come from IELTS. Course presets come from each university's or regulator's own page.