How to Book the OET, Step by Step

Booking the OET goes wrong in three predictable places: the wrong portal, an identity document that does not match, and a payment window that closes while you look for your card. This page walks the sequence in order, using OET’s own booking instructions, support articles and Test Regulations, and flags the rule behind each step.

Have these four things open before you start

The identity document you will carry on test day, unexpired, with your full name, photograph and date of birth on it.

A Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB or UnionPay card that works for international payments.

Your regulator’s requirement, so you book the right profession version and an accepted delivery mode.

A test date you can still prepare for, since bookings close 24 days ahead on paper and seven days ahead on computer.

Step 1: check what your regulator accepts before you open the booking page

The booking form asks for a profession version and a delivery mode, and both are decisions your regulator has already made for you. The profession you select sets your Writing and Speaking material, and the mode decides whether any part of the test happens at home. Our comparison of which OET format to book sets out which bodies accept each mode, and what the OET is covers the test itself if you are new to it.

Two rules in OET’s Test Regulations belong here rather than later. All four sub-tests must be taken the first time you sit the test, and you may hold only one booking per test administration across all delivery modes. OET adds that candidates holding more than one booking in the same administration may not be eligible for a full refund.

Step 2: open the portal that matches your delivery mode, because OET runs two

OET’s own booking instructions put paper bookings in one system and computer or home bookings in another.

Sources: OET support: how do I book the OET Test? and OET support: how do I know which portal to access?, read 24 September 2026.

OET’s test FAQs ask you to use a current personal email address rather than a university or workplace one, and applicants for ECFMG certification must register with the same email they used for ECFMG. You accept the Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy and Collection Notice at this point, and you upload either a current photo meeting OET’s requirements, for OET on Paper, or an image of your identity document, for OET on Computer and OET@Home. Fees are paid at the time of booking, and bookings are subject to availability.

If you cannot find an old booking, OET’s login guidance points at the two likely reasons: a different email address, or the other booking system. Start from OET’s booking search, enter your city and country to see the nearest test venue, and let the Book now button send you to the right system. OET also recommends booking on a laptop or desktop rather than a phone.

Access arrangements are part of this step, not a later one. OET’s Test Regulations require you to notify OET of special testing arrangements during the booking process, where you tick the testing accommodation box and then receive a link for supporting documents. The arrangements themselves cover extra time, supervised breaks, assistance with reading or writing, modified materials, enlarged print or Braille papers, and lip-reading versions for paper Listening. Requests for OET on Computer and OET@Home close 18 business days before the test date, which is earlier than the seven-day booking deadline, while paper requests close on the published test closing date.

Step 3: enter your name exactly as your identity document prints it

OET’s identification article states the rule in one line: the ID in your account for the booking must match the ID you present on test day. A passport qualifies if it shows your full name, date of birth, photograph and expiry date. A national government ID qualifies only when it was issued by the national government of the country where you are sitting the test and the name, photograph and date of birth all appear on that one document. A driving licence is not accepted outside the United States, and inside it only REAL ID-compliant licences are.

For OET on Computer and OET@Home, a national ID that is not in English needs a certified translation presented with the original on test day. Some details can be edited later from your account, which OET documents in its article on updating details. The ones that matter here cannot: OET states that given name, family name, date of birth and profile photo cannot be changed in myOET at all, and need a support request, so it is far faster to enter the name correctly than to correct it later.

OET’s Test Regulations set out what happens when the booking and the document do not match. A discrepancy can still let you into the venue, but you must then supply supplemental identity documentation showing your full name, photograph and date of birth, within the deadline OET gives you when it contacts you, and OET states you may not be entitled to a transfer or refund. Results can be withheld or cancelled where the requirement is not met.

Identity details surface in public forums too. Across 824 Reddit threads about the exam posted between 1 February and 18 September 2026, most of them from a subreddit for doctors on the US pathway, seven had titles about names or identity documents, including a name that did not match, an ID changed after booking, and one candidate who reported sitting the test under the wrong name.

Step 4: choose a date that leaves preparation time, not just the nearest open slot

Availability differs sharply by mode, and it changes what booking early means. OET’s booking page carried 99 OET on Computer dates between 12 January and 3 June 2026 against nine global OET on Paper dates in the same window, Paper runs on Saturdays a fortnight apart, with three three-week gaps in 2026, and 12 of the 24 global paper dates are open to Nursing and Medicine only.

In Google Trends for India, checked on 23 September 2026, the fastest-rising query related to oet exam over the previous twelve months was oet exam dates 2026, up 2,950 per cent, ahead of oet exam booking, up 50 per cent.

The same Trends view shows where the demand sits, which matters if you are choosing between venues rather than dates.

Source: Google Trends, interest by subregion for oet exam, India, past 12 months, checked 23 September 2026. Trends reports a relative index of search interest, not absolute searches or bookings, and Trends listed 17 subregions.

Kerala’s index is double Punjab’s and close to four times Tamil Nadu’s. Searches are not bookings, and Trends says nothing about venue capacity, so use this only as a signal of where interest is concentrated and check live availability for your own city.

Readers in Chennai and Bangalore can see what a venue day looks like in our guide to sitting OET in Bangalore, and anyone booking with a month to prepare can follow a 30-day OET plan.

If a registration deadline is driving the booking, plan the sequence backwards from it. The table below uses OET’s published windows, with the two buffer rows as our own recommendation rather than an OET rule.

Sources: OET: book a test, for closing dates and result windows. The buffer and start-looking rows are our recommendation, not OET policy.

Candidates applying to a regulator that will not accept a result assembled from two sittings have a second reason to leave room, because a single weak sub-test then means booking the whole test again rather than one sub-test, and single sub-test bookings exist only on OET on Paper.

Step 5: finish payment inside fifteen minutes, with a card that clears internationally

OET gives you fifteen minutes from selecting your date to completing payment, and the booking is not held after that. Its payment article lists Visa, Mastercard and American Express debit, credit and prepaid cards, plus JCB and UnionPay credit and debit cards, with payments processed through Stripe. The same article tells candidates to disregard any on-screen mention of credit cards only.

Two practical points for Indian cards. The charge is in Australian dollars, so your bank adds its own conversion markup on top of the published fee, which our breakdown of the current fee converts at a reference rate. Cards blocked for international transactions fail at this step, and the fifteen-minute window is usually not long enough to call your bank, so enable international use before you start.

Employers and recruiters can pay instead through OET’s third-party payment route, which sets its own deadline: the completed application, candidate details sheet and payment must reach OET 14 calendar days before the advertised test closing date.

Step 6: check the confirmation email, then watch for the reminders your mode sends

What arrives after payment depends on the mode. Paper candidates receive an invoice and a confirmation email naming the test date and venue, then a separate timetable from the venue itself, up to 48 hours before test day. Computer and OET@Home candidates receive a booking confirmation email, an email reminder 48 hours before the Listening, Reading and Writing sitting, and, for the Speaking sub-test, a reminder carrying the booking confirmation number and password no later than 24 hours before it.

For computer and OET@Home bookings, OET asks you to contact support if no confirmation arrives within 24 hours. Check the junk folder first, and resist rebooking, because a second booking in the same administration runs into the one-booking rule above.

Step 7: know the change deadlines before you need them

Every booking carries two deadlines, one for moving the date and one for getting money back. On paper they fall about a week apart, and on computer and at home they coincide.

Sources: OET: manage your booking, OET support: rescheduling and OET support: cancelling and refunds, read 24 September 2026.

Three conditions in those articles matter in practice. A test booked with a discount code cannot be rescheduled at all, so you cancel and rebook instead. A deferral cannot be reversed once confirmed. And for computer bookings, moving the written sub-tests means moving the Speaking session too.

OET’s two published fee lists disagree on one point worth checking at the payment screen. Its manage-your-booking page prices a Speaking-only reschedule at AU$30 up to seven days before the test, while the Test Regulations set AU$30 for moving Speaking within the same test administration and AU$100 for moving it up to 48 hours before the start time.

Rescheduling threads are few but uniform. Of the nine threads in our sample whose titles were about rescheduling, deferring or cancelling, eight were about the Speaking sub-test, usually after a technical problem at home rather than a change of plan.

Missing the test costs more than rescheduling it, and one rule catches computer candidates

A missed test is not the end of the matter. OET states that a candidate who completes only the Speaking sub-test and does not attend the Listening, Reading and Writing sitting forfeits the test, receives no statement of results and is not eligible for a refund. That combination is possible only on computer and at home, where Speaking sits on its own day. Missing a single sub-test is recorded as absent, scored zero and shown as a blank on the statement of results.

Two routes exist afterwards, and both are time-bound. A candidate who does not show up has five business days to contact OET Support with evidence, and OET assesses each case individually. Where something outside your control intervenes, special consideration can be requested before the test or within two calendar days after the test date, and never once results are released.

Booking a date sets your preparation deadline, so plan the weeks before you pay

Check what the test asks of you in the four sub-tests and be honest about the gap before you commit to a date. Anyone who wants structure through those weeks can follow our OET preparation course online or at the Egmore centre in Chennai, and candidates preparing alone should still fix the date only once the plan is real.

Five booking problems, and what to do about each

Sources: OET Test Regulations, OET support: identification, portal guidance and rescheduling article.

Frequently asked questions

How do I book the OET exam online?

Start at OET’s booking search, enter your city and country, and choose a test. Paper bookings send you to registration.myoet.com and computer or home bookings to booking.oet-global.com. Register or log in, select your profession version and date, then complete payment within fifteen minutes.

Which ID can I use to book the OET?

A valid passport showing your full name, date of birth, photograph and expiry date, or an ID issued by the national government of the country where you sit the test, carrying your name, photograph and date of birth on one document. A driving licence is not accepted outside the United States, and inside it only REAL ID-compliant licences are. The ID on the booking must match the one you bring on test day.

How far in advance should I book the OET?

Paper bookings close 24 days before the test date and computer or OET@Home bookings close seven days before. Paper dates run on Saturdays roughly every two weeks, and half the 2026 paper dates are open only to Nursing and Medicine, so the practical lead time for paper is longer than the closing date suggests.

What payment methods does OET accept?

Visa, Mastercard and American Express debit, credit and prepaid cards, plus JCB and UnionPay credit and debit cards, processed through Stripe. The charge is in Australian dollars for candidates in India, so your bank’s conversion fee is added on top.

Can I change my OET test date after booking?

Yes, within the deadlines. Paper bookings can be deferred until 23:59 the day before the test; computer and OET@Home bookings can be rescheduled up to two days before the first sub-test. Fees apply, a deferral cannot be reversed, and a booking made with a discount code cannot be rescheduled at all.

Can I cancel my OET booking and get a refund?

Paper bookings can be cancelled for a refund up to one week before test day, and computer or home bookings up to two days before. OET keeps a cancellation fee of AU$120 before bookings close or AU$200 after. For OET on Paper the AU$7 booking fee is also non-refundable, and tests taken in the United States are quoted in US dollars.

Can I book two OET tests as a backup?

No. OET’s Test Regulations allow only one booking per test administration across all delivery modes, and holding more than one may cost you a full refund.

What happens if I miss my OET test?

There is no automatic refund, but you have five business days to contact OET Support with evidence of your situation, and each case is assessed individually. For computer and home bookings there is a further rule: if you complete only the Speaking sub-test and skip Listening, Reading and Writing, no result is published and no refund is given. Where the reason was outside your control, apply for special consideration before the test or within two calendar days after it.

I have not received my test timetable. Is something wrong?

For OET on Paper, the timetable comes separately from the venue, up to 48 hours before test day. On computer and at home OET does not list a venue timetable: you receive a reminder 48 hours before the written sub-tests and, for Speaking, one carrying your booking confirmation number and password no later than 24 hours before. If no booking confirmation arrives within 24 hours of paying, contact OET Support rather than booking again.

Can my employer or recruiter pay for my OET booking?

Yes. OET publishes a third-party payment route for employers, recruiters and institutions. The completed application, candidate details sheet and payment must reach OET 14 calendar days before the advertised test closing date.