The Portland test centre that ielts.org lists
This section follows ielts.org's page for the centre and the centre's own web page, both read in October 2026. Pages change, so confirm everything on the centre's ielts.org page and the centre's own page before you plan. Band Booster IELTS is a private online tutor with no link to the centre: it does not book IELTS tests, set exam fees or dates, or issue results, and describing the centre here is not a recommendation.
ielts.org prints the address as 1500 SW 1st Ave, Suite 100B, Portland, Oregon 97201, and lists IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training, each shown with Computer as the format. The centre's own page describes the centre as on the first floor of a building in downtown Portland, and says bus and MAX public transportation is near it. This page gives no distances or directions. If you sit the test there, prepare to answer on screen; computer-delivered IELTS in the United States covers what changes by section.
Office hours, as the centre's page gives them
The centre's own page lists the hours below as its IELTS test centre office hours. They are office hours, not exam dates: this page quotes no test date, so check your booking confirmation for when you sit the test.
| Office hours | On the centre's page |
|---|---|
| On IELTS test days | 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM |
| Tuesdays | 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM |
| Thursdays | 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM |
The page says you may email its Test Administrator for more details. These hours do not give your own time on the day: the page says your confirmation email includes your test day registration time.
What to bring: the ID and materials rules the centre's page states
These are the centre's own rules as its page words them, not rules for every US centre; follow your booking confirmation.
Identification
- When registering. The page says you need an accepted identification card and lists a valid passport, passport card, US permanent resident card or US employment authorization card. It says a driver's licence or a state ID is not valid identification for registering. It also says to have a photocopy or a photo of the document, because you upload it during booking.
- On test day. The page says you must present the same picture ID that you used to register, and that photocopies, electronic images (its example is a picture of your ID on your phone) and other forms of ID will not be accepted under any circumstances.
A point of our own, not the centre's: if a driver's licence or state ID is what you normally carry, check this before you register. Other US centres word their rules differently; see IELTS test day in the US.
What may go into the test room
The page says you may only bring these into the test room: the ID you used to register; a bottle of water in a transparent bottle with no label; a number 2 pencil (not mechanical); a pencil sharpener; synthetic gloves; a small bottle of sanitiser in a transparent bottle; and reading glasses with no case. It says all other personal items are held in a secure room until test takers finish. This page cannot say which items apply to the format you sit, so ask the centre if you are unsure.
Your confirmation email
The page says a Test Registration Confirmation email goes to the address you gave when registering, so check junk and spam folders. It includes your test day registration time, test location and type of test, and the page makes it the test taker's responsibility to tell the centre if it has not arrived 7 days before the test.
On the day and after: Speaking, arrival, parking and results
Plan to spend the whole day
The centre's page tells test takers to be prepared to spend the entire day at the test centre, because the Speaking interview is scheduled separately from the other test modules. It says Speaking interview appointments are scheduled when you register for the test that day, and that the centre may change the scheduled Speaking times to suit test day conditions; its registration section also mentions choosing a Speaking test slot on the registration site. This page gives no Speaking time, so ask the centre how it works for your date. Our suggestion: keep the whole day clear.
Do not arrive late
The page says a test taker who is not in the registration line before the entrance doors close will not be allowed to take the test, and will not receive a refund or be allowed to transfer to a future test date.
Parking
The page says a paid parking lot is across the street from the centre. It gives the lot's address, its price and a condition for the day rate; this page repeats none of them because they change, so read them there.
Results
ielts.org's page on getting and sharing results gives 1 to 5 days for IELTS on computer. These are typical timings, not promises, so leave a margin before any application deadline.
Preparing for IELTS on computer
These points are general teaching advice, not a rule from IELTS or the centre, and they promise no band. The public format is Listening about 30 minutes, Reading 60, Writing 60 and Speaking 11 to 14.
- Type your Writing practice to time. Task 1 asks for at least 150 words (about 20 minutes) and Task 2 for at least 250 words (about 40 minutes), and Task 2 counts twice as much as Task 1 in the Writing band. Because the listing shows computer, practise planning, typing and re-reading on a keyboard.
- Practise Listening and Reading on a screen. Listening has four parts and 40 questions, and Reading has 40 questions. Use a timer.
- Keep Speaking live. Practise Parts 1, 2 and 3 aloud. In Part 2 you get one minute to prepare and then speak for one to two minutes; the Speaking Part 2 timer helps with that long turn.
Questions to ask the centre before you book the test
Exam fees and dates are not set by Band Booster, so this page quotes no exam fee and no test date; the centre and your booking confirmation are the place to check both. Before you book, it is worth asking:
- Is the ID I plan to use on your list for registering, and is it the one I must show on test day?
- When and how is my Speaking interview set, and can it change on the day?
- Which items may I take into the test room, and does that list apply to the format I am sitting?
- Is the version I need, Academic or General Training, offered on my date, and is the format the one the listing shows?
- Does the centre offer One Skill Retake, if I might need it? See One Skill Retake or a full retake.
- What are the current details for the parking lot across the street?
Which test and score do you need?
The university, employer or authority that asks for your result decides which version and score it wants, and its own page says what it requires. This page states no score and gives no visa or immigration advice. See Academic or General Training, IELTS scores for study abroad and, for other centres, IELTS test centres in the USA.
Hanoi and Portland time: 15 hours apart on standard time, 14 on daylight time
Portland is on Pacific time. NIST lists Pacific as PST at UTC-8 and PDT at UTC-7. The IANA time zone database lists Vietnam on a plain UTC+7 with no daylight saving, so Hanoi is 15 hours ahead of Pacific standard time and 14 hours ahead of Pacific daylight time.
US clocks change twice a year and Hanoi's does not, so a lesson at a fixed Hanoi time moves by an hour on your clock. The table converts times and is not a list of open slots: Mike's calendar decides which times are open, and no particular hours are promised.
| Portland time | Hanoi time when Portland is on standard time (UTC-8) | Hanoi time when Portland is on daylight time (UTC-7) |
|---|---|---|
| 07:00 | 22:00, same day | 21:00, same day |
| 18:00 | 09:00, next day | 08:00, next day |
| 19:00 | 10:00, next day | 09:00, next day |
| 20:00 | 11:00, next day | 10:00, next day |
An evening in Portland is a morning in Hanoi. The booking page shows every slot in your own time zone, so check the time there before you confirm, especially around a clock change or your test day.
Online lessons with Mike: no centre or classroom in Portland
Mike is a Cambridge CELTA-certified teacher (July 2017) based in Hanoi, Vietnam, who has taught English and IELTS for more than 12 years in Vietnam, Turkey and Iran. In his own IELTS test he scored 8.5 in Speaking. He teaches every session himself, one-to-one, live on Google Meet and in English. Band Booster IELTS is independent of the organisations that own IELTS and has no classroom, group class or test centre in Portland or anywhere in Oregon. About Mike has more.
A lesson can cover Listening, Reading, Writing (Task 1 and Task 2, marked against the public band descriptors) or Speaking (Parts 1, 2 and 3 in the real test format), with feedback during the lesson rather than days later and written progress notes in your account afterwards. See IELTS Speaking coaching, IELTS Writing feedback and the Speaking tutor page for the USA.
Results that students have reported back include 6.0 → 7.5 overall, 5.5 → 7.0 in Writing and 6.5 → 8.0 in Speaking. These are individual outcomes, not averages or typical results. No band is promised; progress depends on the starting point and the work between sessions.
This is one-to-one teaching: one teacher, one student, not a class. A class may suit you better if you want a fixed timetable and classmates, because lessons depend on the slots Mike has open. How to choose an online IELTS tutor lists questions worth asking any tutor.
Price, booking and rescheduling
Your price appears in your own currency on the booking page before you pay. A regular session lasts 60 minutes, and your first booking can be a paid 30-minute trial, available once per student, with no subscription. You can pay with PayPal, using a card through PayPal guest checkout if you prefer. Rescheduling is at no charge up to 12 hours before the slot, and a cancellation inside 12 hours is not refunded. The booking steps are on the online IELTS tutor page for the USA.
Living near Seattle instead? Read the Seattle page. In the Bay Area? See the San Francisco Bay Area page.