What the finder, IDP and the British Council showed for Riyadh
Everything below was read on 24 October 2026. Venue lists, labels and hours change, so open the linked page before you plan a journey or book a test. This page is a guide to reading those lists, not a list of open sessions, and it quotes no exam fee or test date, because the providers set and change them.
| Source | What it showed for Riyadh |
|---|---|
| ielts.org test centre finder, Saudi Arabia, filtered to Riyadh | 21 listings (11 different centre names by our own count). By our own count 7 of the 21 listings carry a UKVI Approved tag, among them the British Council C13 - Computer Lab and the IDP Education Riyadh Tahlia Street test room; not every listing of the same venue carries it. |
| ielts.org test centre finder, Saudi Arabia, all cities | Riyadh entries, among them a British Council entry at Princess Nourah Bint Abdul Rahman University (labelled Females only) and an IDP test room on Tahlia Street (labelled Male & females). |
| IDP, Riyadh venue page | A page headed IDP IELTS Riyadh, with opening hours, the test types it lists and its delivery formats. |
| IDP, Saudi Arabia test dates page | A list of IDP venues that includes, among others in Riyadh, the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties and Princess Nourah Bint Abdul Rahman University. |
| British Council, Saudi Arabia UKVI page | A statement that it offers IELTS for UKVI in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Al-Ahsa. |
These are separate pages from separate organisations, and this page does not try to match their entries one by one.
How to read “21 listings”
The finder returned 21 listings for Riyadh. By our own count there were 11 different centre names among them, so some names appear on more than one listing. The 11 is our hand count of the listings, not a figure the finder gives, and neither number is a final count of the places where IELTS can be taken in Riyadh.
- A listing is one card in the finder.
- A venue can appear as several listings, and not every listing of one venue carries the same tags. For example, the finder showed the British Council C13 - Computer Lab four times, and two of those four listings carry the UKVI Approved tag.
- A session is a test on a particular date at a venue. Only the provider's booking page shows which sessions are open, so a listing is not a session.
Other Saudi cities are covered in IELTS test centres in Saudi Arabia, city by city, including Jeddah.
The Riyadh venues named in the lists
The table gives each venue as the source names it, with the street or area the entry gives. It is not a complete list, and a venue appearing here does not mean it has a session on your date.
| Venue | Source | What the entry showed |
|---|---|---|
| IDP Education Riyadh (Male & females) Tahlia Street (Test Room) | ielts.org finder | Tagged UKVI Approved, Computer, Computer (Writing on Paper) and One Skill Retake. The address names Tahlia Street, Prince Muhammad Bin Abdelaziz Road and Olaya. |
| British Council, Princess Nourah Bint Abdul Rahman University (Females only) | ielts.org finder | On Airport Road. Tagged Computer and One Skill Retake. It appears as two listings in the Riyadh view. |
| IDP Riyadh - Princess Nourah Bint Abdul Rahman University | IDP's Saudi Arabia list | A Riyadh address at the university, with One Skill Retake available. |
| Saudi Commission for Health Specialties | IDP's Saudi Arabia list | Listed as an exam centre, at the 3rd Akaria Mall on Olaya Street, with One Skill Retake available. |
| British Council C13 - Computer Lab | ielts.org finder, Riyadh filter | Office C-13 at Al-Fazary Square. Four listings, two of them tagged UKVI Approved. |
One university, two providers. Princess Nourah Bint Abdul Rahman University appears under the British Council in the finder and under IDP in IDP's list. The pages give different details for each, and neither says whether the two entries are the same room or building, so treat them as two entries. Do not assume the label on one applies to the other: read the label and the address on the session you book.
The Saudi Commission for Health Specialties entry. IDP's list names this body as an exam centre, at the 3rd Akaria Mall on Olaya Street. This page says nothing about the body's own registration or exam rules; for those, go to the body itself.
IDP's Riyadh venue page: hours, tests and formats
IDP's own Riyadh venue page, headed IDP IELTS Riyadh, gives these opening hours:
| Days | Hours given |
|---|---|
| Sunday to Thursday | 08:00 to 19:00 |
| Saturday | 09:00 to 17:00 |
These are the venue's opening hours as the page states them. They are not test times: a session has its own date and start time, which only the booking page shows. The venue page gives a Tahlia Street address and lists its sessions under the name IDP Education Riyadh (Male & females) Tahlia Street (Test Room), the same name as the finder entry; even so, rely on the address shown on your session.
The same page lists these test types:
- IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training
- Academic for UKVI and General Training for UKVI
- Life Skills A1 and Life Skills B1
Under delivery format it lists IELTS on Computer, Writing on Computer and Writing on Paper. The finder's Computer (Writing on Paper) tag on the Tahlia Street entry points the same way, though the two are separate sources and neither tells you which format a given date uses. A page that lists a type or format is not a promise of a session in it, so check the session you book. For the difference between the two main versions, see Academic or General Training; for how the providers describe computer and paper formats across the Gulf, see computer-delivered IELTS in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.
The labels on Riyadh entries
- Females only and Male & females. The finder gave the British Council entry at Princess Nourah Bint Abdul Rahman University the label Females only, and the IDP Tahlia Street test room the label Male & females. In both cases the label is part of the entry's name in the finder. This page does not say who may sit where, so read the label on your own session and ask the provider if it is unclear. Labels in other Saudi cities are set out in women's and men's IELTS test centres in Saudi Arabia.
- Computer and Computer (Writing on Paper). The finder used both tags on the Tahlia Street entry and Computer on the British Council university entry. On its face the second tag suggests a computer test with the Writing done on paper; the provider decides which format your date uses.
- One Skill Retake. By our own count the finder tags 20 of the 21 Riyadh listings with it, including the Tahlia Street test room and the British Council university entry, and IDP's list shows One Skill Retake available at the Riyadh venues it names, including its university venue. Because nearly every listing carries it, it does not tell venues apart. Whether it suits you is a separate question; see One Skill Retake or a full retake.
- UKVI Approved. Covered in the next section.
IELTS for UKVI in Riyadh
The British Council's Saudi Arabia UKVI page says it offers IELTS for UKVI in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Al-Ahsa. In the finder, by our own count, 7 of the 21 Riyadh listings carry a UKVI Approved tag, among them the British Council C13 - Computer Lab and the IDP Education Riyadh Tahlia Street test room; one venue can have several listings, and not every listing of it carries that tag. IDP's Riyadh venue page also lists Academic for UKVI and General Training for UKVI.
Whether you need an IELTS for UKVI test is for the organisation or visa route asking for your result to say, and the requirements change, so check that organisation's own page. This page gives no visa advice. IELTS for UKVI in Saudi Arabia compares what the providers say.
Before you book: a short checklist
General advice, not guidance from IDP, the British Council or ielts.org:
- Start from the provider you will book with and open its booking page, rather than relying on a list copied elsewhere, this one included.
- Match the address, not just the name. A university name can appear under more than one provider.
- Read the labels on the session itself: who the venue is labelled for, the format tags, UKVI Approved and One Skill Retake.
- Check the test type: Academic, General Training, or a UKVI or Life Skills version.
- Compare opening hours with the session's start time and with how long your journey takes.
- If the session and the listing disagree, ask the provider before you travel.
Where online lessons with Mike fit
Band Booster IELTS is a private online tutoring service. It is not a test centre, it has no centre in Riyadh, it is independent of IDP, the British Council and Cambridge University Press & Assessment, and it does not register you, hold a place, set test fees or dates, or issue results.
Lessons are one-to-one on Google Meet in English with Mike, who holds the Cambridge CELTA, teaches from Hanoi and scored 8.5 in Speaking in his own IELTS (about Mike). They cover Listening, Reading, Writing Task 1 and Task 2, marked against the public band descriptors, and Speaking Parts 1, 2 and 3 in the real test format, with feedback during the lesson. Because lessons are online, the venue you choose does not change where you study. The booking page shows each slot in your own time zone and your price in your own currency before you pay, and a paid 30-minute trial can be taken once, on your first booking. No band is guaranteed: progress depends on your starting point and the work you do between sessions.
For the time difference, booking steps and lesson details, see online IELTS tutoring for Riyadh and the page for Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman.