OET Exam Fees in 2026: Costs and Retakes

Short answer: The full OET test costs AU$587, whether you sit it on paper, on computer at a venue or as OET@Home. In the United States, the computer and OET@Home tests cost US$455. Most paper venues outside the US also sell resits of one, two or three sub-tests (AU$315, AU$415 or AU$515), but only after a full sitting, and the NMC, GMC, NMBI, AHPRA and ECFMG do not accept them. So if you need OET for one of those bodies, every retake costs the full fee again: AU$587, or US$455 for computer and OET@Home in the US (fees as of October 2026).

How much is the OET exam fee in 2026?

The full test, all four sub-tests in one booking, is AU$587 almost everywhere (OET support: how much does OET cost, as of October 2026). The only exception is the United States, where OET on computer and OET@Home are priced in US dollars.

If you cancel a paper booking, OET keeps a AU$7 online booking fee on top of the cancellation fee (OET support: cancelling a booking); the refund figures further down already account for it. OET lists a single fee for the full test and does not price it by profession, so a nurse, a doctor and a pharmacist pay the same. Choosing paper or computer is about which format suits you, not the price; our OET paper vs computer guide compares the two.

Why does OET cost a different amount in my country?

It mostly doesn't. OET publishes one fee in Australian dollars for test takers around the world, with US dollar prices only for the computer and at-home tests in the US (OET: paying for someone else's test). What changes from country to country is the exchange rate on the day you pay, and any charge your own bank may add for a card payment in a foreign currency. That is why fee figures in Indian rupees, Egyptian pounds or pounds sterling differ between websites: they are conversions, and they go out of date. Check the final amount on the booking screen before you confirm.

How much does it cost to retake OET?

A full retake costs the same as the first sitting: AU$587, or US$455 for computer and OET@Home in the US.

OET on paper also lets you book one, two or three sub-tests on their own, at most venues outside the US:

Two conditions come with these partial resits (OET support). You must have sat the full test before, and OET itself tells you to confirm that the organisation receiving your results accepts scores from individual sub-tests. For registration, the second condition is the one that decides it. If you missed a grade by a small margin, you can also ask OET for a re-mark before paying for a new sitting; the fee and rules are in our OET scores and grades guide.

Will your regulator accept a partial resit?

For the main regulators, no. Each of them wants all four sub-tests taken in every sitting it counts:

So a partial resit only makes sense if the organisation you are applying to says in writing that it accepts one. For the five bodies above, plan on the full fee for each attempt (AU$587, or US$455 for computer and at-home tests in the US). The scores each body asks for are in our OET scores and grades guide.

One GMC detail affects doctors who have already passed. Because your grades must come from your most recent sitting, booking another test after a pass, hoping for higher scores, puts that pass at risk: if the new sitting goes worse, it is the new one the GMC looks at.

What does it cost to reschedule or cancel an OET booking?

Moving your date costs about the same as cancelling (AU$120 against the AU$127 you lose by cancelling early), and you keep a test booked. Both cost less if you act early:

Rescheduling rules are on OET's manage your booking page and the refund figures on OET support, as of October 2026. Paper venues publish their own booking closing date, so check yours in your booking. A paper deferral cannot be reversed. On computer, if you move Listening, Reading and Writing, your Speaking moves too, and once you have taken one sub-test the rest cannot be moved. Moving Speaking alone costs AU$30 (US$25 in the US) up to 7 days before. Refunds go back to the card you paid with, within 7 to 10 business days.

What does a missed grade cost? Three worked examples

These are our own examples, built only from the fees above. The candidates are invented.

A nurse applying to the NMC misses Writing. She has the grades she needs in Listening, Reading and Speaking. A paper Writing-only resit would cost AU$315, but the NMC does not accept it. She books a second full test at AU$587, which brings her total to AU$1,174. The NMC does let her combine the two sittings, provided the test dates are within 12 months of each other, so her second sitting only needs to deliver the missing Writing grade, as long as no score in either sitting falls below the NMC's floor.

A doctor applying to the GMC passes everything except Reading. The GMC needs all four grades in one sitting, so the second full test has to bring a B in all four again, not only in Reading. The cost is the same AU$1,174, but the second sitting is harder, because Listening, Writing and Speaking have to be repeated at the same level.

A candidate three weeks before a paper test feels unready. If the venue's booking closing date has not passed yet, rescheduling costs AU$120. Sitting the test and missing a grade means paying AU$587 again for another full sitting. If your recent mock scores are well short of what your regulator needs, moving the date early is the cheaper choice. Leaving the decision until after the closing date raises the reschedule fee to AU$200.

For registration, OET is paid for one full sitting at a time, so it helps to know where you stand from a timed mock before you pay.

Where can you practise before you pay for the test?

Since each attempt costs a full fee, the cheapest pass is the one you are ready for. You can try your first OET Listening mock exam and your first OET Reading mock exam without a subscription, in a computer-based layout modelled on the real test, and see your score before you book. Spelling counts in Listening Part A: OET explained in one of its live sessions that a common word any healthcare professional should know, such as gallbladder, is marked wrong if misspelt by even one letter, and British or American spelling are both accepted as long as you use one style throughout. The OET Listening Part A section has you hear Part A words and type them, with an instant spelling check. If you are deciding whether to keep your date, the OET study planner turns the weeks you have left into a daily schedule.

Frequently asked questions

How much is the OET exam fee in Australian dollars?

The full OET test costs AU$587, as of October 2026, and covers all four sub-tests in one booking. The price is the same on paper, on computer at a venue and for OET@Home, everywhere except the computer and at-home tests in the United States.

Is OET@Home cheaper than sitting OET at a test centre?

No. OET@Home costs AU$587, the same as paper and computer tests at a venue. In the United States, both OET@Home and OET on computer cost US$455. Check that your regulator accepts OET@Home before booking it: NMBI does not, and AHPRA lists OET only on paper or on computer at a test centre.

Can I get a refund if I cancel my OET test?

Yes, if you cancel in time, but not the full amount. For a full test cancelled before bookings close you get AU$460 back, and AU$380 after the closing date. The deadline is one week before test day on paper and two days before the test on computer or OET@Home.

How much does it cost to retake only one OET sub-test?

A single sub-test costs AU$315 on paper, at venues outside the United States, and only after you have sat the full test once. Two sub-tests cost AU$415 and three cost AU$515. The NMC, GMC, NMBI, AHPRA and ECFMG do not accept these partial resits, so check with your own regulator first.

Is the OET fee different for doctors, nurses and other professions?

No. OET lists one price for the full test, AU$587, and does not price it by profession. What differs by profession is the content of the Writing and Speaking sub-tests, not the fee.

Why do OET fees in rupees, pounds or Egyptian pounds differ between websites?

OET sets its fee in Australian dollars (and US dollars for computer and at-home tests in the US). Prices in other currencies are conversions made on a particular day, so they drift as exchange rates move, and your bank may add a foreign-payment charge. The amount on the OET booking screen is the one to trust.

OET Ultimacy is an independent OET preparation provider and is not affiliated with OET or Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment. Test rules, fees and requirements can change, so always check oet.com and the body you are applying to.