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PTE Academic · Guides · October 30, 2026 · 6 min read

Can you take PTE at home in 2026? PTE Academic Online, PTE Home and what visas accept

A laptop and headset on a sofa marked with a small cross, and a dotted path leading to a building with rows of computer booths

No. As of October 2026, PTE Academic cannot be taken at home. Pearson’s own PTE Academic page says so in those words: the test is taken on a computer at an authorised PTE test centre. Pearson did launch an at-home version, PTE Academic Online, in November 2021, but it is not among the tests Pearson offers today. Australia’s Department of Home Affairs also states that it does not accept English tests delivered completely online (“remote-proctored” or “at-home”) for visas. What you can do at home is prepare, including mock tests.

What Pearson offers in 2026

Pearson’s test finder lists four products. All of them are sat at a test centre:

Test What it is for Where you take it
PTE Academic study worldwide; visas for Australia and New Zealand; some professional registration test centre
PTE Core Canadian permanent residency and citizenship (IRCC) test centre
PTE Academic UKVI UK work visas and study below degree level test centre
PTE Home A1, A2, B1 UK family visas, extensions, settlement and citizenship test centre

Pearson says it has more than 500 test centres in over 115 countries. How to find one and book is covered in PTE exam booking; the differences between Academic and Core are in PTE Core vs Academic.

“PTE Home” is not a test you take at home

The name misleads many people. PTE Home A1, A2 and B1 are short UK tests of speaking and listening, about 30 minutes, with a pass or fail result. “Home” refers to the UK Home Office, which approves them as Secure English Language Tests for family visas and settlement. Pearson’s PTE Home page says you take the test at an official PTE test centre.

So if you searched for “PTE Home B1” hoping to sit PTE from your room, it is a different test for a different purpose, and it is not taken at home either. For which PTE version a UK visa needs, see PTE for UK visas.

What happened to PTE Academic Online

In September 2021 Pearson announced PTE Academic Online, “exactly the same test as PTE Academic” with remote proctoring, available from 16 November 2021. In 2026 it no longer appears in Pearson’s list of tests, and the PTE Academic page states that the test cannot be taken at home.

Many prep sites, YouTube videos and agents still describe the online version as if it were open for booking. If a page tells you how to “book PTE at home”, check its date. On Pearson’s site today, every booking path leads to a test centre.

If you hold an older score from PTE Academic Online, two limits apply. Pearson keeps any score report available for two years from the test date, and acceptance is decided by the receiver. Ask your university or visa authority directly before relying on it.

Who would accept an at-home test anyway?

Even when at-home English tests are available, many of the bodies that PTE takers apply to will not accept them.

Receiver Online / at-home tests
Australia, Department of Home Affairs not accepted: the department says it does not accept evidence from tests delivered completely online (“remote-proctored” or “at-home”)
Universities their own rules; check the course page. See PTE score for universities
New Zealand, Canada, UK visas check the official visa page. See PTE for New Zealand and PTE for Canada

For Australia the answer is final: book PTE Academic at a test centre. The scores per skill for each visa level are in PTE score for Australia, and student-visa specifics are in PTE for the Australian student visa.

Why PTE stays at test centres

Pearson’s reason on its PTE Academic page is security and fairness: a controlled test centre makes the result trustworthy for the universities and governments that rely on it. The check-in shows what that means in practice. At the centre your passport is checked against your booking, you are photographed, sign, have your palm scanned and leave your belongings in a locker. That is hard to reproduce at a kitchen table, and immigration departments know it.

For you, the useful consequence is that a test centre setting is predictable. You will sit in a booth with a headset among about 10–15 other people, and you will hear them speaking. Practise with some background noise so that it does not surprise you.

What you can do at home

Nearly all of the preparation. Only the official test needs the centre.

At home How
Learn the format the PTE exam pattern lists all 22 task types with timing
Practise each task in exam timing a headset with a microphone and tasks that run on the real timers, for example Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence and Write from Dictation
Take mock tests a full mock under exam conditions, then a section mock for your weakest skill
Check where you stand Pearson sells official Scored Practice Tests on pearsonpte.com; unofficial mocks, including ours, give estimates
Plan the date work back from your deadline; PTE preparation in 2 weeks shows how to use a short window

Two habits help close the gap between your room and the centre:

Common questions

Can I give the PTE exam from home? No. As of October 2026, PTE Academic, PTE Core, PTE Academic UKVI and PTE Home are all taken at a Pearson test centre.

Is PTE Academic Online still available? It was launched in November 2021, but it is not among the tests Pearson offers in 2026, and Pearson’s PTE Academic page says the test cannot be taken at home.

Is the PTE online test accepted for Australia PR? No. Home Affairs does not accept English tests delivered completely online or at home.

What is PTE Home B1? A short speaking and listening test for UK settlement and citizenship, approved by the UK Home Office. Despite the name, you take it at a test centre.

Is the PTE test taken on a computer? Yes. Every part, including Speaking, is done at a computer with a headset in the test centre. There is no face-to-face interview.

Prepare at home, sit at the centre

The Nomto trainer is built for the home half of the job. All 22 task types run in exam timing, with the tone and the 3-second microphone cut-off on spoken tasks; spoken and written answers get AI feedback on content, fluency and pronunciation with an approximate 10–90 estimate; Reading and Listening are marked by key with partial credit and negative marking. Finish with a full mock test and a four-skill report, then book your seat at the centre.

Sources

Checked on 30 October 2026:

PTE Academic™ is a trademark of Pearson. Nomto is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Pearson.