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United States · English test

Duolingo English Test: how the DET works

The Duolingo English Test (DET) is an online English test you take on your own computer, at any time, with no test center to visit and no date to book. It takes about an hour. Your certified score, from 10 to 160, arrives within 48 hours, and you can send it to as many schools as you like at no extra cost. There’s no pass mark: each university sets the Duolingo English Test score it accepts.

  • 13Question types on one adaptive test
  • 10 to 160Score range, in steps of 5
  • About 1 hourFrom setup to the last sample
Where to studyHow the test works

Updated October 2026 · Written from the Duolingo English Test Official Guide for Test Takers (2026)

Key facts

At a glance

Skills tested
Reading, writing, listening and speaking, with some tasks mixing two skills
Where you take it
Anywhere private, on your own computer, with your phone as a second camera
Price
$70 for one test, Duolingo’s test comparison guide says
How long scores last
Certified scores are valid for two years

How it works

How the Duolingo English Test works, from setup to score

  1. You take the Duolingo English Test (DET) on your own computer, wherever you can be alone, at a time you pick.
  2. Before you start, you sign up at englishtest.duolingo.com, buy the test and install Duolingo’s desktop app.
  3. The first few minutes are setup. You check your camera, speakers and microphone, show your ID, and use your phone to scan the room and your ears before it starts filming your screen and keyboard.
  4. Then comes the adaptive part. Some questions get harder or easier depending on how you answer, and the test gives you more or fewer questions until it’s confident of your level.
  5. It ends with a Writing Sample and a Speaking Sample. They count toward your score, and every school you send your results to can read the writing and watch a video of the speaking.
  6. Proctors, helped by artificial intelligence (AI), review every session before your result is certified.
  7. A wrong answer costs you no more than a blank one, so it always pays to try.

Topics

What’s on the test

01

Reading and vocabulary tasks

Three quick, adaptive reading tasks at the start of the test: spotting real English words, finishing a word in a sentence and finishing words in a paragraph.

Key points (4)
  • Read and Select gives you 5 seconds a word, and a word you don’t answer in time is marked wrong (Duolingo, Scoring Guide for Teachers 2026).
  • Fill in the Blanks gives 20 seconds a sentence, and the word only counts if it’s spelled correctly.
  • Read and Complete gives 3 minutes for a whole paragraph, and every missing word is scored on its own.
  • All three are adaptive and count toward your Reading subscore.
02

Interactive Reading

Six questions on one passage, shown one at a time, with 7 or 8 minutes for the whole set.

Key points (4)
  • Each test has 2 or 3 passages, and at least one story and one passage that gives facts (Duolingo, Scoring Guide for Teachers 2026).
  • Every passage has the same six questions in the same order: Complete the Sentences, Complete the Passage, two Highlight the Answer questions, Identify the Idea and Title the Passage.
  • Highlight the Answer gives partial credit when your highlight is close. The other five are right or wrong.
  • The time is shared across all six questions, so watch the clock rather than stopping on one.
03

Listening tasks

Typing a sentence you hear, then a set of tasks built around one conversation on campus.

Key points (4)
  • In Listen and Type you have 1 minute and can play the sentence up to three times. The closer your typing is to the sentence, the higher the score.
  • Interactive Listening gives 6 minutes 30 seconds for Listen and Complete and Listen and Respond together, then 75 seconds to write a summary.
  • Each test has at least one conversation between two students and one between a student and a professor.
  • Summarize the Conversation counts toward both your Writing and your Listening subscores.
04

Writing tasks

Short timed writing about photos and questions, plus a longer Writing Sample that schools read.

Key points (4)
  • Write About the Photo comes three times, with 1 minute each (Duolingo, Scoring Guide for Teachers 2026).
  • Interactive Writing gives 30 seconds to plan, 5 minutes for a first answer and 3 minutes for a follow-up question on the same topic, and both answers are scored together.
  • The Writing Sample gives 30 seconds to plan and 5 minutes to write, and it goes to every school you send your results to.
  • Writing is scored on content, discourse coherence, grammar and lexis (vocabulary).
05

Speaking tasks

Recorded answers about a photo, a written question, a short conversation and a longer Speaking Sample.

Key points (4)
  • Speak About the Photo and Read, Then Speak each give 20 seconds to prepare and 90 seconds to speak, and you can’t record again (Duolingo, Scoring Guide for Teachers 2026).
  • In Interactive Speaking, a Duolingo character asks 6 to 8 questions on two topics, and you have 35 seconds for each answer.
  • The Speaking Sample gives 30 seconds to prepare and up to 3 minutes to speak, and schools get it as a video.
  • Speaking is scored on content, discourse coherence, fluency, grammar, lexis and pronunciation.
06

Scores and subscores

One overall score from 10 to 160, four skill subscores and four combined subscores, all on the same scale.

Key points (4)
  • Scores go up in steps of 5, from 10 to 160 (Duolingo, Official Guide for Test Takers 2026).
  • Your overall score is the average of your Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking subscores, rounded to a score ending in 0 or 5.
  • Each combined subscore is the average of two skill subscores. Literacy, for example, is Reading and Writing.
  • There’s no pass mark. Each school or employer sets the score it accepts.
07

Setup, security checks and rules

What happens in the first few minutes, and the rules proctors check so your result can be certified.

Key points (4)
  • Setup takes about 5 minutes: a camera, speaker and microphone check, a liveness check and a photo of your government-issued photo ID (Duolingo, Official Guide for Test Takers 2026).
  • Your phone scans your room and both ears, then films your screen and keyboard for the whole test.
  • You can’t take notes, wear headphones or earbuds, look away from the screen except to type, or have anyone else in the room.
  • If a rule is broken, Duolingo can refuse to certify the result without a refund, and can suspend you for a year or ban you.

Test day

What you need at home for the DET

  • Your physical government-issued photo ID, such as a passport. A copy or a photo of it isn’t accepted
  • A computer with a working camera at the top center of the screen, a microphone and speakers
  • A smartphone that’s charged or plugged in and on Wi-Fi, to act as your second camera
  • An internet connection of at least 2 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up. Duolingo recommends a wired connection and advises against a mobile hotspot
  • A quiet, bright, private room with nothing on the desk but your computer, phone and ID

Before you go

  1. Check that the schools or employers you’re applying to accept the DET, and note the score they ask for.
  2. Try Duolingo’s practice test in your full setup, phone camera included, so the checks feel familiar.
  3. Read Duolingo’s rules more than once. Its guide says some people lose their result because they break a rule without meaning to.
  4. Close every other program on your computer, including browsers, chat apps and remote desktop software.
  5. Put away paper, pens, headphones and other devices, and ask everyone nearby to leave you alone for an hour.
Duolingo English Test: sign upThere’s nothing to book. Make a free account with your email, buy a test and start it within 21 days, whenever you’re ready.

Study options

Where to study

Duolingo’s own practice test is free and you can take it as often as you like. Its Official Guide for Test Takers explains the setup and rules, and its 2026 Scoring Guide for Teachers describes every question type with real answers and their scores.

OptionPriceFree to useLinks
Official
Duolingo English Test practice test and Practice HubOfficial practice testDuolingo’s own practice test, on a computer or a phone. It’s adaptive and gives new questions each time, but it’s shorter than the certified test, isn’t proctored, and reports only an estimated score range. The Practice Hub lets you try one question type at a time.
FreeUnlimited practice tests, plus single question types with answer checking
Duolingo English Test: practice ↗
Official Guide for Test TakersOfficial guideDuolingo’s 2026 guide to the whole test: getting ready, the three parts and how often each question type appears, setting up your room and equipment, the rules, your scores and sharing them.
FreeThe whole guide, as a PDF
Duolingo: Official Guide for Test Takers (PDF) ↗
DET Scoring Guide for TeachersOfficial scoring guide with sample answersWritten for teachers but useful on your own. Duolingo’s 2026 edition explains every question type and how it’s scored, and has 21 real speaking and writing answers scored from 65 to 150, each with a comment.
FreeThe whole guide, as a PDF
Duolingo: DET Scoring Guide for Teachers (PDF) ↗
Duolingo English Test on YouTubeOfficial videosDuolingo’s own channel, which its Official Guide recommends for a feel of the test before you sit it, alongside its walkthrough video of a test taker going through setup, the test and upload.
FreeAll videos
YouTube: Duolingo English Test ↗Duolingo: test walkthrough video ↗
DET Trainer certificationOfficial teacher trainingDuolingo’s own course for teachers and tutors who prepare students for the test, in two parts, DET101 and DET102, leading to DET Trainer certification. Duolingo’s partner page doesn’t give a price.
Not publishedNot listed
Duolingo English Test: Become a DET Trainer ↗

Prices and ratings checked October 2026.

Explore

Everything else, in one place

Study optionsPriceScoresFormatTaking the testDET vs IELTS

FAQ

Common questions

What is the Duolingo English Test?

It’s an English proficiency test made by Duolingo, the language-learning company, which launched it in 2016. Universities and other institutions use it as proof of your English for admissions, placement, progress or exit requirements, and Duolingo says thousands of universities in over 100 countries recognize it. Duolingo updates the test every year, and its comparison research keeps scores from different versions meaning the same thing.

Is the Duolingo English Test the same as the Duolingo app?

No. The Duolingo app at duolingo.com is Duolingo’s language course, and Duolingo says it has a lot of English content and is free. The DET is a separate, paid test with its own account at englishtest.duolingo.com and its own desktop app, and it gives you a certified score that schools can check. The DET also has a phone app, but you use it only as a second camera: it scans your room during setup, then films your screen and keyboard for the whole test.

Is there a passing score on the Duolingo English Test?

No. You get a score, not a pass or fail. Each university or employer sets its own minimum, and some also set minimum subscores, such as a Writing score for a writing-heavy program. Check the requirement on each school’s own website before you test.

Is the Duolingo English Test free?

No. Duolingo lists the certified test at $70. Duolingo’s practice test is free and unlimited, and sending your certified results to schools costs nothing.

Can I retake the Duolingo English Test?

Yes, for any reason. You buy another test, and you can buy up to three tests in any 30-day period. Each certified result is shared separately, so you choose which one goes to which school, and a school sees the Writing and Speaking Samples only from the test you send it.

What happens if you break a rule during the test?

Proctors can refuse to certify your result, or cancel one that was already certified, and Duolingo doesn’t refund the test. Depending on how serious it was, you can also be suspended for one year or banned for good. Some invalid results can be appealed: if yours can, an Appeal This Result button appears beside it on your DET home page.

Can I get accommodations on the Duolingo English Test?

You can ask. Duolingo’s support team looks at each request case by case and works with you where it can. Log in to your DET account, fill in the accommodations form, and expect a reply within 3 days.

Sources: Duolingo · Duolingo English Test blog and 6 more. Checked October 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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