Short answer: Acceptance of the IELTS One Skill Retake is decided by each receiving organisation, not by IELTS, so there is no universal list. Many universities accept it and Australia's immigration authority accepts it for English requirements, but the UK does not accept it for UKVI. Always confirm with your specific organisation before you book.
The One Skill Retake (OSR) lets eligible candidates resit a single skill and keep the other three scores. The most important question about it is not how it works but who will accept the result — and that is the question this guide answers.
For the eligibility rules and the 60-day window, see our full One Skill Retake guide.
How acceptance actually works
When you take a One Skill Retake, you receive a new Test Report Form (TRF) showing the retaken skill's new score alongside your three original scores, with the overall band recalculated.
That TRF is transparent about its origin — an organisation looking at it can see it came from a retake — so each university, professional body, or immigration authority is free to decide whether to accept it. IELTS provides the product; the receiving organisation sets the policy.
Which universities and countries commonly accept it
Because acceptance is set organisation by organisation, we deliberately avoid publishing a fixed "list" that would quickly go out of date or mislead.
What can be said accurately is this: a large and growing number of universities across major study destinations accept One Skill Retake results, and on the immigration side, Australia's Department of Home Affairs accepts the One Skill Retake for its English-language requirements — you can confirm the current position on the official Home Affairs English language page.
Acceptance has broadened as the retake itself has rolled out to more countries, but it remains a per-organisation decision.
The clear exception: UK visas
The one unambiguous exclusion is the United Kingdom.
The One Skill Retake is not available for IELTS for UKVI purposes, so if your score is feeding a UK visa application that requires a Secure English Language Test, a single-skill result cannot be used — you would need to sit a new full IELTS for UKVI test.
If a UK visa is your goal, plan for a full retake from the outset.
How to confirm acceptance for your case
The reliable process takes minutes and protects your money. Find the English-requirements page of the specific university programme or the immigration route you are applying to, and look for whether it mentions the One Skill Retake.
If it is not stated, email the admissions office or check with your case officer and ask directly, in writing, whether a One Skill Retake TRF is accepted.
Do this before you book, because the retake is only worth taking if the organisation that matters to you will accept the result.
If your organisation does not accept it
If the body you are applying to will not take a One Skill Retake TRF, a full retake is the answer. That is not a bad outcome — if your English has improved across the board, a fresh full test can lift every section.
Use the band score calculator to model exactly which sections need to move, then prepare accordingly.