{"id":2879,"date":"2016-02-23T09:08:52","date_gmt":"2016-02-23T17:08:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/?p=2879"},"modified":"2020-12-10T13:44:08","modified_gmt":"2020-12-10T21:44:08","slug":"what-identification-do-you-need-to-take-the-toefl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/what-identification-do-you-need-to-take-the-toefl\/","title":{"rendered":"What Identification Do You Need to Take the TOEFL?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As I mentioned in an earlier post, <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/toefl-eligibility\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">anyone is eligible to take the TOEFL<\/a>. There are no restrictions based on age, English ability, or prior education. The only thing you need in order to take the exam is the ability to pay the fee\u2026 and proper proof of identification.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Rules vary in different countries<\/h2>\n<p>All test-takers are required to provide at least one government issued identification document containing their name (as it appears on the exam), their photograph and their signature. The exact types of government documents that are acceptable vary from country to country. In the majority of countries, ETS accepts passports, national IDs, government-issued driver\u2019s licenses, and military IDs. In quite a few countries, a state or provincial ID or driver\u2019s license is also acceptable proof of identification on test day.<\/p>\n<p>There are some significant exceptions, however. Three very large nations are more restrictive than the norm. In India, Nigeria, and Bangladesh, the <em>only<\/em> acceptable document for test day identification is a passport. And for residents of mainland China, the only TOEFL ID accepted by ETS is a Second Generation National Resident ID. (Residents of Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan can show a travel permit with name, photo, and signature if they take the exam on the mainland.) And in Pakistan, the only two acceptable government IDs are a passport or a SMART National Identity Card (SNIC).<\/p>\n<p>To see the exact ID requirements for the TOEFL in your country, search the dropdown menu at the TOEFL\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ets.org\/toefl\/test-takers\/ibt\/register\/id.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">official directory of identification rules<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Providing supplemental identification<\/h2>\n<p>The Philippines is also an interesting exception to the TOEFL ID rules that apply to most countries. The Philippines is not more restrictive than the norm\u2014it\u2019s actually <em>less<\/em> restrictive in some ways. It\u2019s the one country where a Social Security System ID card is an acceptable form of proof\u2026 as long as the card is presented with two forms of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ets.org\/toefl\/ibt\/register\/id\/supplemental\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">supplemental identification<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>What is supplemental identification? It can be an additional acceptable ID document, such as a national ID card, driver\u2019s license, passport, etc\u2026 It can also be a student ID card or a letter from your school confirming your identification.<\/p>\n<p>And supplemental ID is not just used in the Philippines. Supplemental ID is also required if the staff at a TOEFL test center question the primary ID you show them, or if your primary ID is missing your photo, signature, or name as it appears on the test registry.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>TOEFL ID rules when testing outside of your home country<\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019re taking the TOEFL outside of your home country, you must show a passport as ID. If key information on your passport is not in English (name, photo, signature), then you\u2019ll need to also show at least one supplemental ID document.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>What to do if you don\u2019t have the required identification<\/h2>\n<p>In rare instances, a TOEFL test-taker may have no access to acceptable ID for the exam. This is most likely to happen to individuals with refugee status, but it can happen in other cases too. If you can\u2019t get the forms of ID you need for any reason, contact the ETS Office of Testing Integrity (OTI). Explain your situation, and the OTI will help you find and submit alternative acceptable proof of your identity. The OTI <em>must<\/em> be contacted at least seven days before your exam. They can be called in the US by dialing +1-609-406-5430. Their fax number is +1-609-406-9709, and their email is TSReturns@ets.org.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As I mentioned in an earlier post, anyone is eligible to take the TOEFL. There are no restrictions based on age, English ability, or prior education. The only thing you need in order to take the exam is the ability to pay the fee\u2026 and proper proof of identification. &nbsp; Rules vary in different countries [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13594],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[13630],"class_list":["post-2879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-about"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.7 (Yoast SEO v21.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Identification Do You Need to Take the TOEFL? - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/what-identification-do-you-need-to-take-the-toefl\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Identification Do You Need to Take the TOEFL?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As I mentioned in an earlier post, anyone is eligible to take the TOEFL. There are no restrictions based on age, English ability, or prior education. The only thing you need in order to take the exam is the ability to pay the fee\u2026 and proper proof of identification. &nbsp; Rules vary in different countries [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/what-identification-do-you-need-to-take-the-toefl\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/MagooshTOEFL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshEnglishLearning\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-02-23T17:08:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-10T21:44:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/files\/2016\/09\/Facebook-SEO-Default.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David Recine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@MagooshTOEFL\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@MagooshTOEFL\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David Recine\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/what-identification-do-you-need-to-take-the-toefl\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/what-identification-do-you-need-to-take-the-toefl\/\",\"name\":\"What Identification Do You Need to Take the TOEFL? - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2016-02-23T17:08:52+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/fa2be5405a605e37f4199c90e2236768\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/what-identification-do-you-need-to-take-the-toefl\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/what-identification-do-you-need-to-take-the-toefl\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/what-identification-do-you-need-to-take-the-toefl\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What Identification Do You Need to Take the TOEFL?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/\",\"name\":\"Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test\",\"description\":\"Online TOEFL Preparation\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/fa2be5405a605e37f4199c90e2236768\",\"name\":\"David Recine\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/de262e64bb4e3e488753d8c58ff3cc70\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b70c17ee6f3ef87dc4cc5dbdebda911d6dd30dfe15845e4b1d459a3e1b33ef98?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b70c17ee6f3ef87dc4cc5dbdebda911d6dd30dfe15845e4b1d459a3e1b33ef98?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"David Recine\"},\"description\":\"David is a Test Prep Expert for Magoosh TOEFL and IELTS. Additionally, he's helped students with TOEIC, PET, FCE, BULATS, Eiken, SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT. David has a BS and MA from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and an MA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshEnglishLearning\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/david-recine\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCra3KQoJlOP7RYwaCyH2qew\"],\"knowsAbout\":[\"TOEFL\",\"IELTS\",\"TOEIC\",\"PET\",\"FCE\",\"BULATS\",\"Eiken\",\"SAT\",\"ACT\",\"GRE\",\"GMAT\"],\"knowsLanguage\":[\"English\",\"Italian\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Content Creator\",\"worksFor\":\"Magoosh\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/author\/davidr\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Identification Do You Need to Take the TOEFL? - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/what-identification-do-you-need-to-take-the-toefl\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Identification Do You Need to Take the TOEFL?","og_description":"As I mentioned in an earlier post, anyone is eligible to take the TOEFL. There are no restrictions based on age, English ability, or prior education. The only thing you need in order to take the exam is the ability to pay the fee\u2026 and proper proof of identification. &nbsp; Rules vary in different countries [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/what-identification-do-you-need-to-take-the-toefl\/","og_site_name":"Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test","article_publisher":"https:\/\/facebook.com\/MagooshTOEFL","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshEnglishLearning","article_published_time":"2016-02-23T17:08:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-12-10T21:44:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/files\/2016\/09\/Facebook-SEO-Default.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"David Recine","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@MagooshTOEFL","twitter_site":"@MagooshTOEFL","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"David Recine","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/what-identification-do-you-need-to-take-the-toefl\/","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/what-identification-do-you-need-to-take-the-toefl\/","name":"What Identification Do You Need to Take the TOEFL? - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#website"},"datePublished":"2016-02-23T17:08:52+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/fa2be5405a605e37f4199c90e2236768"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/what-identification-do-you-need-to-take-the-toefl\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/what-identification-do-you-need-to-take-the-toefl\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/what-identification-do-you-need-to-take-the-toefl\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Identification Do You Need to Take the TOEFL?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#website","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/","name":"Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test","description":"Online TOEFL Preparation","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/fa2be5405a605e37f4199c90e2236768","name":"David Recine","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/de262e64bb4e3e488753d8c58ff3cc70","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b70c17ee6f3ef87dc4cc5dbdebda911d6dd30dfe15845e4b1d459a3e1b33ef98?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b70c17ee6f3ef87dc4cc5dbdebda911d6dd30dfe15845e4b1d459a3e1b33ef98?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"David Recine"},"description":"David is a Test Prep Expert for Magoosh TOEFL and IELTS. Additionally, he's helped students with TOEIC, PET, FCE, BULATS, Eiken, SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT. David has a BS and MA from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and an MA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshEnglishLearning","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/david-recine\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCra3KQoJlOP7RYwaCyH2qew"],"knowsAbout":["TOEFL","IELTS","TOEIC","PET","FCE","BULATS","Eiken","SAT","ACT","GRE","GMAT"],"knowsLanguage":["English","Italian"],"jobTitle":"Content Creator","worksFor":"Magoosh","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/author\/davidr\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":13630,"user_id":80,"is_guest":0,"slug":"davidr","display_name":"David Recine","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b70c17ee6f3ef87dc4cc5dbdebda911d6dd30dfe15845e4b1d459a3e1b33ef98?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"Recine","first_name":"David","description":"David is a Test Prep Expert for Magoosh TOEFL and IELTS. Additionally, he's helped students with TOEIC, PET, FCE, BULATS, Eiken, SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT.\r\n\r\nDavid has a BS from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and an MA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. His work at Magoosh has been cited in<a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/scholar?hl=en&amp;as_sdt=0%2C50&amp;q=Recine+magoosh&amp;btnG=\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> many scholarly articles<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/minds.wisconsin.edu\/handle\/1793\/65479\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> his Master's Thesis<\/a> is featured on the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.readingwithpictures.org\/2013\/09\/research-highlight-teaching-english-language-learners-with-comics\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Reading with Pictures<\/a> website, and he's presented at the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.witesol.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/2014-WITESOL-Program-FINAL-10-28-14.pdf\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> WITESOL (link to PDF)<\/a> and<a href=\"https:\/\/issuu.com\/interoff\/docs\/nafsaregionv_2014conference\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> NAFSA<\/a> conferences. David has taught K-12 ESL in South Korea as well as undergraduate English and MBA-level business English at American universities. He has also trained English teachers in America, Italy, and Peru.\r\n\r\nCome join David and the Magoosh team on<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCra3KQoJlOP7RYwaCyH2qew\"> Youtube<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshEnglishLearning\"> Facebook<\/a>, and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/magooshenglish\/?hl=en\"> Instagram<\/a>, or connect with him via<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/david-recine\/\"> LinkedIn<\/a>!"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/80"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2879"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2879\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2879"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=2879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}