GOV.UK Refreshes Approved SELT Test Centre Lists Again
13 Aug 2026
If you still need to sit a Secure English Language Test (SELT), check your test centre again before you book or attend. GOV.UK updated its guidance on proving your English language abilities with a SELT on 12 August 2026. The change note on the page confirms it "updated the lists of approved test centres in and outside the UK."
This matters for more routes than you might expect. A full test covering reading, writing, speaking and listening is needed for Health and Care Worker, Skilled Worker, Scale-up Worker, Student, Start-up, Innovator Founder, High Potential Individual, Minister of Religion, and Temporary Work International Agreement visas. If you're applying for settlement (indefinite leave to remain) or citizenship, or for a parent, partner, International Sportsperson or Representative of an Overseas Business visa, you only need the speaking and listening assessment. Approved providers are Trinity College London, the IELTS SELT Consortium, LANGUAGECERT and Pearson inside the UK, and PSI Services, the IELTS SELT Consortium, LANGUAGECERT and Pearson outside the UK.
These lists change often, sometimes more than once a month, and a centre that was approved a few weeks ago is not guaranteed to still be on the list today. If your test isn't taken with an approved provider at an approved location, it won't count towards your application, no matter how well you do.
Before you book, check the current approved test centre list on GOV.UK. If you already have a test booked, it's worth confirming your centre is still on the current list rather than relying on what it said when you first booked.
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