What One Skill Retake is
IDP's Irish One Skill Retake page describes it as a way to retake any one component of the test (Listening, Reading, Writing or Speaking) after you have completed a full IELTS on computer. You do not sit the other three skills again. For the general process and the limits, read IELTS One Skill Retake or a full retake; this page is about Ireland.
The rules IDP states
- Time limit. IDP says you must book the retake within 60 days of your original test date. Its FAQ words it slightly differently, as sitting the retake within 60 days, so confirm the exact deadline with the provider.
- Passport. Use the same valid passport you used to book the original test.
- Once only. You can complete a retake once per full test.
- Same company. The centre you choose must be run through the same company that delivered your original test.
- Result. You receive a new Test Report Form with the new result for the retaken skill, alongside the other three scores from the original test.
- Remarks. If you lodged an Enquiry on Results, IDP says to wait for its outcome before registering for a retake of the same test.
Fees and dates are set by the providers and change, so this page states none: use the booking pages named below.
Where it is listed in Ireland
ielts.org's Irish test-centre list shows its nine physical centre listings as computer-based and tagged One Skill Retake; its separate IELTS Online listing does not carry that tag. IDP's own session list for the Exam Centre of Ireland also marks its computer sessions "One Skill Retake available". Because the retake must be with the same company as the original, check the provider page of the company that ran your first test.
| Area | Listed address (ielts.org) |
|---|---|
| Dublin 2 | 15/16 Dame Court (also tagged UKVI Approved) |
| Dublin 1 | The Steelworks, Foley Street |
| Dublin 9 | Mcnulty Building, DCU Glasnevin campus |
| Dublin 7 | Whitworth Building, Morning Star Avenue, North Brunswick Street (IDP's own page for Exam Centre of Ireland gives a different address, Tom Darby House, 54 Parnell Square West, Dublin 1, so confirm it before travelling) |
| Galway | Fairgreen House, Fairgreen Road; and The Bridge Mills |
| Cork | St. Patrick's Bridge |
Listings change and some venues appear twice in the directory, so confirm the venue and the provider that runs it on the provider's booking page. For the full venue picture see IELTS test centres in Ireland.
Who says no
The retake result is only useful if the reader of your score accepts it. These Irish bodies say, on their own pages, that they do not:
- NMBI (nurses and midwives): its English language requirements page says it does not accept IELTS One Skill Retake. See IELTS for NMBI.
- CORU (health and social care professions): its language requirements page says it does not accept IELTS One Skill retakes (or OET individual sub-tests). See IELTS for CORU.
- PSI (pharmacists): its language requirements page says it does not accept one-skill retakes, and that if you miss a minimum in one component you re-sit all components, all at the same sitting. See IELTS for PSI.
Universities differ
UCC's postgraduate English requirements page shows "IELTS One Skill Retake accepted" in its IELTS entry. The same page gives a general postgraduate minimum, and some programmes need higher scores. That is the postgraduate page only; check the undergraduate page and your programme. See the UCC IELTS requirement.
Other Irish universities set their own rules on retake scores, and their pages change. For UCD, see the UCD IELTS requirement and then check the university's own English language requirements page for the current rule. Rules also differ abroad: Canada's immigration department, for example, says on its Express Entry language page that it does not accept One Skill Retake.
Before you book a retake: write to the body that will read your score and ask whether a Test Report Form that includes a retaken skill is acceptable. Rules change, and this page is general information, not personal advice.
A sensible order of steps
- Find the exact requirement on the body's own page.
- Ask whether a retake result is accepted for your application.
- If it is not, plan a full retake instead; see where to check dates and fees in Ireland.
- If it is, book within the 60-day window with the same provider and the same passport.
How lessons with Mike can help with this
Band Booster IELTS is a private tutor, not a test centre: it does not register candidates or set fees, and a lesson is practice, not the test. Mike is a Cambridge CELTA-certified teacher (July 2017) based in Hanoi, Vietnam, with 12+ years teaching English and IELTS in Vietnam, Turkey and Iran, and an IELTS result of 8.5 in Speaking. He teaches every session himself, one-to-one, live on Google Meet, in English.
If the skill you want to retake is Writing or Speaking, he marks Writing Task 1 and Task 2 against the public band descriptors, and runs Speaking Parts 1 to 3 in the real format with feedback in the moment. Progress notes are left in your account. No band is promised. The booking page shows each time in your own time zone, and the price before you pay. Ireland is on GMT or IST and Hanoi is 7 or 6 hours ahead.
