TOEFL score submission: should I send the 1 to 6 band or the 0 to 120 score?

What appears on the score report sent to institutions?

A single score report shows the 1 to 6 bands for the four sections and the total, the CEFR level, the 0 to 120 comparable total and MyBest scores. Everything below is stated in ETS documents (page = PDF page order, checked 2026-10-30).

• 1 to 6 bands: the four sections and the total are reported in steps of 0.5. The total is the average of the four section bands, rounded to the nearest 0.5 (ETS "Updated TOEFL iBT Test Overview", hereafter the Test Overview, page 21; ETS "TOEFL iBT Technical Manual", hereafter the Technical Manual, page 40). Rounding examples and the 0 to 120 conversion table are in "How do TOEFL 1 to 6 scores compare with 0 to 120 scores?".
• CEFR level: the score report also shows which CEFR level each section band and the total band corresponds to (the Technical Manual, page 41; the ETS institutions page).
• 0 to 120 comparable total: the midpoint of the 0 to 120 range that corresponds to the 1 to 6 total. In the example ETS gives, a total of 4.5 (1 to 6 band) appears with a comparable total of 90 (0 to 120) (the ETS institutions page). The only comparable value ETS lists as a score report item is the total; section-level 0 to 30 values are not on that list (same page).
• MyBest scores: the highest score in each section across tests taken in the last 2 years, and the MyBest total is the average of those four scores (the Test Overview, page 21; the Technical Manual, pages 40 to 41). On score reports for tests taken on the 1 to 6 scale, the MyBest field shows earlier 0 to 120 scale scores converted to 1 to 6 (ETS "Understanding TOEFL Scores", hereafter the ETS scores page, no publication date).
• The score report shows the scores from the test date you select together with your MyBest scores (the ETS scores page).

When do you choose score recipients, and how many?

Your test fee includes score reports to up to 4 institutions, and you choose recipients in your ETS account (ETS "2026-2027 TOEFL iBT Information Bulletin", hereafter the Information Bulletin, page 11; the ETS scores page). The two ETS documents give different deadline times for choosing recipients (see "Where ETS documents disagree, and what we did not find" below). The rules below come from the scores section of the Information Bulletin, which applies from July 2026 to June 2027 (page 1).

• When the test ends, you choose whether to report or cancel your scores. If you choose to report, the scores also go to the recipients you chose, and you cannot cancel after that. Cancellation must cover all four sections together, and the test fee is not refunded (page 11).
• Canceled scores can be reinstated for a fee within 60 days after the test date. Reinstated scores are reported to you and the institutions you chose about 3 weeks after you request and pay (page 11).
• Adding recipients after the deadline costs a fee for each score report. Once additional score reports are ordered, recipients cannot be changed or removed, and there are no refunds (pages 11 to 12).
• Speaking and Writing score reviews are requested, for a fee, within 30 days after the test date. If you have already asked for scores to be sent to institutions, you cannot request a review (page 12). Reading and Listening scores are not eligible for review (the ETS scores page).
• Institutions can verify scores that test takers submit themselves against ETS records (page 12; the Technical Manual, page 46). If the submitted scores differ from ETS records, at the institution's request ETS reports the official scores and any earlier scores recorded within the last 2 years (page 12).
• Scores are valid for 2 years from the test date, and ETS neither reports nor verifies scores older than 2 years (page 11).

Where do people misread scores when entering them on an application?

Common misreadings come from recalculating a value that is already on the score report, or from reading a date seen in your own account as the institution's date. The cases below are examples we wrote for illustration.

Example 1

• Misreading: "The school requires 100 on the 0 to 120 scale, so I look up my total of 5 (1 to 6 band) in the ETS table and write down one number between 95 and 106 instead."
• Correct reading: "Compare the 0 to 120 comparable total printed on the same score report directly with the school's requirement of 100."
• Why: ETS says both formats are on the score report, so there is nothing to calculate or convert separately (the ETS scores page FAQ). That a total of 5 corresponds to the 95 to 106 range is an explanation from the ETS institutions page. Which number to enter in the application field is set by the school's notice.

Example 2

• Misreading: "A comparable total of 90 (0 to 120) on the score report means the same as a 90 earned on the old-format test."
• Correct reading: "It is not a score earned on the old test; it is the midpoint of the 0 to 120 range that corresponds to a 1 to 6 total of 4.5."
• Why: ETS calls this comparable total the midpoint of the corresponding range and describes it as the most reliable comparison estimate between the two scales (the ETS institutions page). The old 0 to 120 total was the sum of the four section scores (same page).

Example 3

• Misreading: "The day my scores appeared in my ETS account, the school received them too."
• Correct reading: "The day scores appear in my account is the day I can check them; the day the school receives them is something to confirm with the school separately."
• Why: The Information Bulletin says scores appear in your account about 3 days after the test (page 11, checked 2026-10-30), and the ETS scores page says the PDF score report can be downloaded from the following day. The ETS documents we checked do not state when institutions receive scores (see below).

Example 4

• Misreading: "I downloaded the PDF score report and uploaded it to my application, so submission is done."
• Correct reading: "Check the school's notice to see whether it requires the score report sent by ETS or reviews the copy I uploaded first."
• Why: The Information Bulletin only says that institutions can verify scores submitted by test takers against ETS records (page 12); it does not say which method institutions require. The ETS scores page also says each institution sets its own requirements.

Where do ETS documents disagree, and what did we not find?

The two ETS documents give different deadline times for choosing recipients, and the ETS documents we checked do not say when institutions receive scores.

Where ETS documents disagree

• Recipient deadline: the ETS scores page (both the English and Korean versions) says "by 10 p.m. on the test day", while the Information Bulletin, page 11, says "by 10 p.m. the day before the test (local time at the test center)" (both checked 2026-10-30). The scores page has no publication date, while the Information Bulletin applies from July 2026 to June 2027 and describes itself as an agreement between the test taker and ETS (pages 1 and 3). Our view: if you choose recipients before 10 p.m. the day before the test, the earlier of the two, you satisfy both statements. Check the deadline again on your ETS account screen before the test.
• When scores appear in your account: the ETS scores page and the Test Overview, page 3, say "3 days", the Information Bulletin, page 11, says "about 3 days", and the Technical Manual, page 5, says "72 hours" for when official scores are available. All four statements refer to when test takers get their scores; none says when institutions receive them.

What we did not find in the ETS documents we checked (within the Test Overview, "TOEFL iBT Test: 2026 Update Test Blueprint and Specifications Document" (the Specifications Document), the Technical Manual, the Information Bulletin, the ETS scores page, the ETS institutions page and ETS help pages for institutions)

• When institutions receive electronic scores: the Technical Manual, pages 9 to 10, lists "completing automated scoring and delivery of score reports within 72 hours" among the test design requirements, and page 5 says official scores are available within 72 hours, but it does not say when institutions receive scores and add them to applications.
• Which number to enter in the application field (the 1 to 6 total, section bands or the 0 to 120 comparable total): this is not in the ETS documents; the school decides.
• Whether MyBest scores are accepted, and whether there are minimum section scores: ETS says only that institutions decide (the ETS scores page). The ETS institutions page recommends that institutions set section score requirements alongside the total score.
• Score report items after January 2028: to the question "Will we receive score reports showing only 1 to 6?", the ETS institutions page only answers not until January 2028, and does not detail what score reports will include after that.

What should you check, and where, before you submit?

Check your score report values in your ETS account, the sending rules in the Information Bulletin and the ETS scores page, and each institution's requirements in that institution's notices.

• Values on your score report (section and total 1 to 6 bands, CEFR level, 0 to 120 comparable total, MyBest): your scores and PDF score report in your ETS account. Do not convert them yourself (the ETS scores page).
• Recipients, 4 free reports, recipient deadline, additional score reports: the "Sending your scores" section of the ETS scores page and the Information Bulletin, pages 11 to 12. The two documents give different deadlines, so follow the earlier one, as in "Our view" above.
• Score reviews and the order of sending: the Information Bulletin, page 12. Once you ask for scores to be sent to institutions, you cannot request a review, so if you are considering a review, decide before sending.
• Required score format and minimum section scores: the notices of the institutions you apply to. The ETS institutions page gives institutions an example of listing 0 to 120 for tests taken before January 21, 2026 and 1 to 6 for tests taken on or after that date. How to read score requirements is covered in "What TOEFL score do I need?".
• Whether MyBest is accepted: the notices of the institutions you apply to. The ETS scores page also advises checking directly with institutions.
• Whether the deadline refers to the date scores are sent or the date the institution receives them, what to enter in the application field, and whether PDF copies are accepted: the notices of the institutions you apply to. Check the date you see your scores (your account) and the date the institution receives them separately (Example 3).
• Validity: ETS does not send scores more than 2 years past the test date (the Information Bulletin, page 11), so check the test date when you order additional score reports.
• Visa and residence use: that agency's notices. The Information Bulletin, page 11, has a note that the only tests currently approved for Australian visa purposes are tests taken before January 21, 2026 and TOEFL iBT Australia (checked 2026-10-30).