- When results arrive
- What CELPIP costs
- How long a result stays valid
- Canada: the Express Entry 2-year rule
- Australia: DHA acceptance and older tests
- The tests DHA accepts since 7 August 2025
- How to avoid wasting a test fee
Two numbers decide how you plan around CELPIP: how long the result takes to arrive, and how long it stays usable. Getting either wrong means a delayed application or a fee paid twice. This page covers the timeline, the fee, and the expiry rules in Canada and Australia — because a result that is dead for Express Entry can still be alive for a DHA visa.
When results arrive
CELPIP General is delivered in a single sitting — all four components in one session, with no separate speaking appointment to schedule. Results are posted online in your CELPIP account, so there is no results interview and nothing to collect.
The standard turnaround is 8 business days from your test date, or 3 business days with express rating. Business days exclude weekends and public holidays, so plan backwards from your deadline using the slower figure unless you have paid for express rating.
| Stage | Standard service | With express rating |
|---|---|---|
| Results posted in your CELPIP account | 8 business days from the test date | 3 business days from the test date |
What CELPIP costs
Test fees are set by the provider, not by IRCC and not by the Department of Home Affairs, and they change over time. The figures below come from the 2025 edition of the official guidebook so you can budget — always confirm the current fee for your country and test centre on celpip.ca before you book.
| Test | 2025 guidebook fee | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| CELPIP-General (all four skills) | $290 + tax | Canada (Express Entry, PNP, citizenship) and Australian skilled and employer-sponsored visas |
| CELPIP-General LS (Listening + Speaking only) | $195 + tax | Canadian citizenship purposes — it does not meet Australia's four-component requirement |
Tax is added on top of the quoted figure, so you pay more than $290 or $195, and each sitting is a separate booking — a retake is a new fee, not an extension of the first. See the CELPIP test format page for what each sitting contains.
How long a result stays valid
CELPIP's own score validity is 2 years. That is the provider's ceiling: no receiving authority can extend a score the provider has already retired, and each authority can be stricter than the provider.
In practice you track two clocks at once, and the tighter one governs. Canada reads the rule strictly; Australia sets it per visa subclass.
Canada — the Express Entry 2-year rule
For Express Entry, a language test result must be less than 2 years old at two separate points: when you complete your Express Entry profile, and when you submit your application for permanent residence. Most people check only the first date, then watch a valid result expire while they sit in the pool waiting for an invitation.
If your results expire before you submit your PR application, you have three options:
- Retake the test and use the fresh result. This resets the 2-year clock to the new test date, and it is the only way to extend your usable window.
- Submit your PR application before the expiry date. If you hold an invitation and can complete the submission in time, applying before the result lapses keeps it valid for that application.
- Decline the invitation and re-enter the pool. If you cannot submit in time and do not want to retake immediately, declining lets a later round invite you once you have new results.
There is no fourth option: applying with expired results means refusal. Treat the expiry date as a deadline inside your Express Entry timeline, not after it. See CELPIP scores for Express Entry.
Australia — DHA acceptance and older tests
CELPIP General was added to the Department of Home Affairs list of accepted English tests on 7 August 2025. Results from tests taken on or before 6 August 2025 may still be usable as evidence until 6 August 2028, but whether they count depends on the visa subclass — check yours before assuming an older result is either dead or still alive. The CELPIP for Australia (DHA) page sets out the per-subclass positions.
Two rules apply regardless of subclass. The test must be CELPIP General: every Australian visa that requires a test needs all four components, so the two-skill General LS does not satisfy it. And it must be taken at a secure test centre — DHA does not accept online or at-home sittings, and CELPIP Online is named among the tests excluded for that reason.
The tests DHA accepts since 7 August 2025
The 7 August 2025 change reorganised Australia's accepted-test list. CELPIP General joined it alongside the tests that were already accepted:
| Test | Accepted by DHA since 7 August 2025 | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CELPIP General | Yes | Secure test centre only — CELPIP Online is not accepted |
| IELTS | Yes | Secure test centre only — IELTS Online is not accepted |
| PTE Core | Yes | Accepted computer-based option |
| MET | Yes | Cannot claim Proficient or Superior English — DHA does not publish those levels for MET |
| LANGUAGECERT Academic | Yes | The online variant is not accepted |
| Cambridge C1 Advanced | Yes | Centre-based sittings |
| OET | Yes | OET@Home is not accepted |
| TOEFL iBT | Yes | The Home Edition is not accepted |
For Canada the choice is narrower. Express Entry accepts IELTS General Training (not Academic) and PTE Core (not PTE Academic), alongside CELPIP General. Because CELPIP General is both IRCC-designated for Canada and DHA-accepted for Australia, one result can serve both countries — provided it still has validity left at both application dates.
How to avoid wasting a test fee
Every sitting costs the full fee again, and a retake that does not move you to a higher CLB level buys nothing. In Canada the language line of the CRS is scored per ability — listening, reading, writing and speaking measured separately, with no averaging — so the question is not whether you passed, but which ability still has points left to win.
| CLB level per ability | First official language — points with a spouse | Points without a spouse |
|---|---|---|
| CLB 10 or more | 32 | 34 |
| CLB 9 | 29 | 31 |
| CLB 8 | 22 | 23 |
| CLB 7 | 16 | 17 |
| CLB 6 | 8 | 9 |
| CLB 4–5 | 6 | 6 |
| Below CLB 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Maximum across four abilities | 128 | 136 |
Read that table as a map of where a retake pays. One ability moving from CLB 7 to CLB 8 is worth 6 CRS points either way (16 to 22 with a spouse, 17 to 23 without); CLB 8 to CLB 9 is worth 7 with a spouse and 8 without; CLB 9 to CLB 10 adds 3 either way. The gain shrinks as you climb, and with the score capped at four abilities, lifting all four from CLB 7 to CLB 8 changes your total by 24 points with a spouse.
The practical rule is to time a retake around your score target, not the expiry date. If your result is still valid and already sits at CLB 10 in all four abilities, a retake cannot add a single CRS point — so time your application to use the valid result instead. If you are at CLB 7 or 8 in one or two abilities, a retake that lifts those to CLB 9 is usually worth more than any other single change to your profile.
Australia rewards the same logic with points on the skilled-visa test rather than CRS points, where Proficient English is worth +10 and Superior +20. Use the CELPIP CLB and CRS calculator to see where each ability sits, and the CLB score guide for what each level requires, before you book.
Still choosing a test? Work through the practice tests first so the sitting you pay for is one you are ready for.
Last reviewed: 29 September 2026.