Where can I take IELTS or PTE in London?

Pearson's test centre finder listed three Pearson Professional Centres in London itself (Southgate, Southwark and Docklands) and two more in Greater London, at Croydon and Uxbridge. All five are on GOV.UK's approved list, so each can be booked for PTE Academic UKVI and PTE Home as well as PTE Academic and PTE Core.

Pearson's finder does not say which tests each centre runs on which day. When you book, choose the test first and then the city; only centres with slots for that test appear.

In the UK, GOV.UK only accepts a Secure English Language Test (SELT) from four providers: Trinity College London, the IELTS SELT Consortium, LANGUAGECERT and Pearson (SELT guidance). From IELTS only IELTS for UKVI and IELTS for UKVI Life Skills count; from Pearson only PTE Academic UKVI and PTE Home. The test must be sat at an approved centre and awarded in the 2 years before you apply.

ielts.org's IELTS for UKVI page lists Life Skills B1 (a Pass, listening and speaking) for ILR and British citizenship, Life Skills A1 for a first family visa and A2 to extend it, and IELTS for UKVI with at least 5.5 in each of the four skills for the Skilled Worker and Health and Care Worker visas (B2; B1 if you were already on the route before 8 January 2026 and are only extending). Pearson's SELT page maps PTE Home A1, A2 and B1 and PTE Academic UKVI to the same routes. Confirm your level on GOV.UK, then see our ILR and citizenship guide.

IELTS fees are the ones each centre shows on its ielts.org page on 10 October 2026 (ielts.org says prices can change and may be subject to local tax). Standard IELTS varied by centre across the UK, from GBP 240 to GBP 260, while IELTS for UKVI was GBP 257 and Life Skills GBP 182 at every centre that listed them. PTE prices are from Pearson's price finder with the United Kingdom selected. Refund and transfer rules are in our IELTS fee in the UK and PTE fee in the UK guides.

GOV.UK's 2 October 2026 list also shows Trinity College London (Kings Cross, Hammersmith, Hounslow, Croydon and Stratford) and LANGUAGECERT (Holborn, the City, Wood Green, Chiswick and Croydon) running approved SELTs in London. Those tests are accepted on the same terms but are not covered here.

Outside London, the nearest British Council IELTS for UKVI centres on ielts.org are in Cambridge and Portsmouth, and Pearson has centres in Reading, Oxford and Cambridge. See also our Birmingham and Manchester guides.

IELTS: open a London centre on the ielts.org finder and use its Book a Test link. For a visa, settlement or citizenship application, book IELTS for UKVI or IELTS for UKVI Life Skills at a centre on GOV.UK's approved list; ielts.org says UKVI only accepts these tests taken in person at an official IELTS for UKVI centre (IELTS for UKVI).

ID (GOV.UK): bring an original, valid passport, convention travel document or stateless persons travel document. In the UK you can also use your eVisa: sign in to your UKVI account and get a share code by choosing "to prove your immigration status for anything else". An expired BRP or BRC works up to 24 months after its expiry date or until 31 December 2026, whichever is sooner, and EEA national identity cards are accepted. Book in exactly the name on the document you will bring.

PTE: choose the test, then London, pick a centre and a slot (Pearson's booking guide). Pearson's ID policy applies the same SELT rules to PTE Academic UKVI and PTE Home, and asks for the eVisa share code when you book; the code lasts 90 days, so bring a physical ID too if you can.

Results: ielts.org says IELTS on computer results usually come in 1–2 days and Life Skills results within 9 days (results); Pearson says its SELT results usually arrive within 2 days (SELT page). Your result carries a SELT reference (the "UKVI number" for IELTS, the "SELT URN" for Pearson) that goes on your application, and GOV.UK accepts results awarded in the 2 years before you apply. Before you pay, try a free IELTS mock test or a free PTE mock test.