How can I take the TOEFL® in the USA?

If English is your second language and you are or will be in the United States before going to university, you may be wondering if you can take the TOEFL in the US.

In order to take the TOEFL in the USA, look for the nearest test center to where you live or will be living. You do not have to be a US citizen to take the TOEFL in the USA, but you do need to ensure that you have ID that meets the requirements of ETS® before you will be able to take the test.

This post will explore all things TOEFL while you are in the US, from what type of ID you will need to how much it costs to how accepted the TOEFL is in the US.

Taking TOEFL in the USA

The good news is that anybody can take the TOEFL in the United States. You do not need to be a US citizen to do so. So if you are living or plan to live in the US, before going to university there, all you need to do is look for a test center near you.

If you are living (or will be living) in or close to a large city, there is a good chance you will be able to find a testing center close by. Below is a table with each state, along with most testing centers for that state. If you don’t find the city you are looking for in this table, you can check the ETS website to see if there is a testing center there. Note that the nearest test center to you may actually be in another state! To check this, you can use the same link for ETS above and put in the city, and it will tell you the closest test center.

State City
Alabama Montgomery
Alabama Birmingham
Alabama Huntsville
Alabama Tuscaloosa
Alabama Auburn
Alaska Anchorage
Alaska Fairbanks
Arizona Tempe
Arizona Phoenix
Arizona Goodyear
Arkansas Little Rock
Arkansas Russellville
California Glendale (Los Angeles)
California Culver City (Los Angeles)
California Diamond Bar (Los Angeles)
California Anaheim
California San Jose
California San Francisco
California San Bruno (San Francisco)
California Santa Rosa
California San Diego
California Riverside
California Lake Forest
California Fair Oaks (Sacramento)
California Fresno
California Bakersfield
Colorado Greenwood Village (Denver)
Colorado Longmont
Colorado Colorado Springs
Colorado Fort Collins
Connecticut West Haven
Connecticut Norwalk
Connecticut Hartford
Delaware New Castle
Florida Miami
Florida Ft. Lauderdale
Florida Boca Raton
Florida West Palm Beach
Florida Tampa
Florida Sarasota
Florida Longwood (Orlando)
Florida Fort Myers
Georgia Augusta
Georgia Atlanta
Georgia Smyrna (Atlanta)
Georgia Macon
Georgia Valdosta
Georgia Americus
Georgia Albany
Hawaii Honolulu
Idaho Meridian (Boise)
Idaho Sergeant Bluff
Idaho Moscow
Illinois Peoria
Illinois Chicago
Illinois Sycamore
Illinois Decatur
Illinois Champaign
Illinois Bettendorf
Illinois Sycamore
Indiana Indianapolis
Indiana Lafayette
Indiana Bloomington
Indiana Mishawaka (South Bend)
Indiana Culver
Indiana Fort Wayne
Indiana Muncie
Iowa Des Moines
Iowa Hiawatha
Iowa Fort Dodge
Kansas Lees Summit (Kansas City)
Kansas Topeka
Kansas Hays
Kentucky Lexington
Kentucky Louisville
Louisiana Metairie (New Orleans)
Louisiana Baton Rouge
Lousiana Lafayette
Lousiana Natchitoches
Maine Bangor
Maine Farmington
Maryland Hyattsville
Maryland Columbia
Maryland College Park
Maryland Baltimore
Maryland Towson
Maryland Bethesda
Massachusetts Burlington
Massachusetts Boston
Massachusetts Lowell
Massachusetts Worcester
Massachusetts Brockton
Massachusetts Salem
Michigan Detroit
Michigan Troy
Michigan Ann Arbor
Michigan Grand Rapids
Michigan Lansing
Michigan Gaylord
Minnesota Bloomington (Minneapolis)
Minnesota Rochester
Mississippi Flowood
Mississippi Ellisville
Mississippi Meridian
Mississippi Mississippi State
Missouri Rolla
Missouri Jefferson City
Missouri Columbia
Missouri St. Louis
Missouri Springfield
Missouri West Plains
Montana Helena
Montana Bozeman
Nebraska Kearney
Nebraska Omaha
Nebraska Lincoln
Nevada Las Vegas
New Hampshire Concord
New Hampshire Portsmouth
New Hampshire New London
New Jersey Hamilton Township
New Jersey Laurel Springs
New Jersey Clark
New Jersey Mt. Laurel
New Mexico Santa Fe
New York Albany
New York East Syracuse
New York New York
New York Brooklyn
New York Queens
North Carolina Charlotte
North Carolina Raleigh
North Carolina Greensboro
North Carolina Greenville
North Carolina Durham
North Dakota Bismarck
Ohio Cincinnati
Ohio Worthington (Columbus)
Ohio Akron
Ohio Niles
Ohio Mentor (Cleveland)
Ohio Fairborn (Dayton)
Ohio Toledo
Ohio Athens
Ohio Troy
Oklahoma Oklahoma City
Oklahoma McAlester
Oklahoma Lawton
Oklahoma Tulsa
Oklahoma Stillwater
Oregon Bend
Pennsylvania Philadelphia
Pennsylvania State College
Pennsylvania Harrisburg
Pennsylvania Clarks Summit (Scranton)
Pennsylvania Vestal
Pennsylvania Lancaster
Pennsylvania Allentown
Pennsylvania Bloomsburg
Pennsylvania Erie
Rhode Island Warwick (Providence)
Rhode Island Cumberland
South Carolina Columbia
South Carolina Charleston
South Carolina Florence
South Carolina Greenville
South Dakota Sioux Falls
South Dakota Rapid City
South Dakota Aberdeen
Tennessee Nashville
Tennessee Clarksville
Tennessee Chattanooga
Texas Houston
Texas Austin
Texas San Antonio
Texas Dallas
Texas Fort Worth
Texas Tyler
Texas Abilene
Texas Amarillo
Utah Lindon
Utah Orem
Utah Taylorsville (Salt Lake City)
Utah Salt Lake City
Vermont Williston
Virginia Lynchburg
Virginia Glen Allen (Richmond)
Virginia Roanoke
Virginia Harrisonburg
Virginia Richmond
Virginia Chesapeake
Virginia Falls Church
Virginia Annandale
Washington Bellingham
Washington Fife (Tacoma)
Washington Mountlake Terrace (Seattle)
Washington Des Moines
Washington Spokane
Washington D.C. Washington D.C.
West Virginia Charleston
West Virginia Morgantown
Wisconsin Madison
Wisconsin Brookfield (Milwaukee)
Wisconsin Ashwaubenon (Green Bay)
Wisconsin Oshkosh
Wyoming Casper

What ID requirements do I need to take the TOEFL in the USA?

To take the TOEFL in the USA, the type of ID you will need depends on whether or not you are a US citizen.

If you are a US citizen, the following are acceptable forms of ID:

  • Passport (including name, photo, and signature)
  • National ID (including name, photo, and signature)
  • Gov. issued driver’s license (including name, photo, and signature)
  • State ID card (including name, photo, and signature)
  • Military ID (including name, photo, and signature)

According to ETS ‘ rules, if your photo or signature are missing, you can use a supplementary ID as proof.

If you are not a US citizen, you must use your passport as your ID, which should include your name, photo and signature. If your photo or signature are missing from your passport, you may supplement it with another ETS-approved ID along with your passport.

How much does the TOEFL cost in the USA?

The TOEFL currently costs $235 in the USA, independently of where you take the test.

Can I take the TOEFL test online?

Yes, you can take the TOEFL online under the format of the TOEFL iBT Home Edition. The test is exactly the same as the TOEFL iBT you would take in a test center. The only difference is that you will be monitored by a proctor online through the ProctorU system. Keep in mind that not all universities accept the Home Edition of the TOEFL.

If you want to explore this test a little further, I wrote a post that will help you understand what the TOEFL iBT Home Edition entails.

Is TOEFL accepted in the USA?

All universities in the United States accept the TOEFL, and it is the preferred English proficiency test for 90% of them. The main reason for this is that the TOEFL was invented in the US, precisely for non-native English speakers looking to go to university in the US.

Happy studying!