IELTS is accepted by educational institutions, employers, professional registration bodies and government immigration agencies, which often require proof of English language skills as part of their recruitment or admission process.

IELTS test four communication skills: Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. There are two different modules of the IELTS exam: General module, which is opted by candidates who wish to migrate to English speaking countries, and Academic module, which is opted by candidates who wish to study undergraduate or postgraduate levels.

Results from the four parts then produce an overall score, which ranges from 1-9 band. All parts of the test and the overall band score can be reported in whole and half bands, e.g. 8.0, 8.5, 9.0.