CELPIP test price: fees, refunds, and retake costs

CELPIP sets its fee per sitting, and the price shown beside the date you choose is the price you pay. In Canada, CELPIP-General sittings were listed at $299 CAD when this guide was last checked, and CELPIP-General LS costs less because it is a shorter test. Fees differ by country and they change, so this guide gives the figures we checked on the date at the bottom of the page, then covers the part that a price tag does not tell you: what the fee includes, and the rules that decide how much of it comes back if your plans change.

#How much does the CELPIP test cost?

In Canada, $299 CAD for CELPIP-General. CELPIP prices each sitting in the local currency of the country you test in, and its own help pages send fee questions to the test locations listings, so those listings are the figure of record.

The Canada, United States and India figures above are the prices attached to real sittings in CELPIP's booking listings on the date at the foot of this page. The CELPIP-General LS figure is the one CELPIP publishes on its test format page, because LS sittings are far less common and did not appear in the listings we checked.

Payment is taken at registration and the booking is not confirmed until it is paid. CELPIP takes cards through Stripe in most countries, which covers Visa, Mastercard, American Express and wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay, and uses CCAvenue in India, which adds UPI, net banking, RuPay cards and bank EMI options. A registration left without payment sits in pending status rather than holding your seat.

#What does the CELPIP fee include?

One complete sitting and the official result that comes out of it. The single fee covers everything from check-in to score report.

What it does not include is preparation. CELPIP sells its own study packs and practice tests separately, and its free online sample test and free information sessions are the parts that cost nothing. Re-evaluations, transfers after the first one, and retakes are all charged on top.

Booking the wrong version of the test is worth naming here, because the fee follows the test type: a transfer moves you to another sitting of the same type you registered for. If you book CELPIP-General LS and need CELPIP-General, that is a cancellation and a new registration rather than a swap. Which CELPIP test you need for PR settles that question before you pay, and the CELPIP exam format guide sets out what each version contains.

#Can you get a refund on a CELPIP test?

Partly, and only if you act at least 7 calendar days ahead. CELPIP's cancellation policy is short and it is strict.

Note the asymmetry. Half your money back is the best outcome available when you cancel, and it disappears entirely inside the last week. If your plans are unsettled, moving the test is almost always the better financial move than cancelling it.

#What does it cost to change your CELPIP test date?

The first transfer is free, and CELPIP's policy puts subsequent transfers at $50 CAD plus applicable taxes. Transfers have the same 7-day deadline as cancellations, and you can only move to another sitting of the same test type.

Compared against a cancellation, the arithmetic is not close. Cancelling a week out costs you half the fee whatever the fee is. Moving the test costs nothing the first time, and $50 after that.

#What can cost you the entire fee?

Three things, and all of them happen on test day rather than in your account. These are the expensive mistakes, because there is no refund and no transfer once any of them occurs.

The identification rule catches more people than the other two together, and usually for an innocent reason: a passport sent away for renewal, or a name typed slightly differently at registration than it appears on the document. Check the spelling on your booking against your passport the day you register, not the week of the test.

#How much does it cost to retake CELPIP?

The full fee again. There is no discounted retake and no partial resit, so a second attempt at CELPIP-General in Canada is another $299. You also cannot retake a single section: if only your Writing was short, you sit all four again.

One scheduling rule to know before you book two dates. CELPIP's retake policy allows no more than one test sitting within any five calendar days, and registrations that break the rule can be cancelled. Booking a backup sitting two days after the first does not work.

#What does a CELPIP re-evaluation cost?

A fee charged when you apply, which CELPIP does not publish as a fixed amount. It depends on how many components you ask it to re-examine, and the figure is shown to you in your CELPIP Account at the point of application rather than on a public price list.

The detail that should decide it: CELPIP itself says that re-evaluating Listening and Reading is unlikely to change your scores, because those two are computer rated. There is no rater judgement to revisit. Writing and Speaking are rated by people, which is also why the refund condition is written around those two components specifically.

So a re-evaluation is a reasonable spend when a rated skill came back well below what your practice was showing. When you are simply one level short on Reading, the same money is better put toward preparing properly and retaking once. CELPIP results covers the results side in full: when scores arrive, what the report shows, and how long it stays valid.

#How to spend less on CELPIP overall

By needing the test once. Every avoidable cost on this page follows from the same two situations: booking before you were ready, or booking before you were sure which test you needed.

Use the Score to CLB calculator to see what your four levels would mean for the programme you are applying to.

#CELPIP cost FAQ

Official sources:

• CELPIP Test Locations and Fees
• CELPIP Policies and Forms
• CELPIP Test Format
• CELPIP FAQs

Last updated: July 28, 2026