The majority of people take the TOEFL test as a requirement for admission into colleges and universities where English is used or required. Additionally, a lot of government, licensing, and certification agencies and exchange and scholarship programs make use of TOEFL scores to assess the English proficiency of people for whom English is not their native language.

Foreign English speakers at the 11th-grade level or above should take the TOEFL test to give proof of their English ability previous to beginning academic work. The test content is considered to be too complicated for students below 11th grade.

Many institutions report that they repeatedly do not require TOEFL test scores of confident types of international applicants. These comprise:

foreign speakers who hold degrees or diplomas from postsecondary institutions in English-speaking countries (for example the United States, Canada, England, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand),

 foreign speakers who have productively finished at least a two-year course of study in which English was the language of instruction,

 transfer students from institutions in the United States or Canada whose academic course work was positively evaluated in relation to its demands and duration,

 foreign speakers who have taken the TOEFL test within the past two years,

 foreign speakers who have productively followed academic work at schools where English was the language of instruction in an English-speaking country for a specified period, in general two years.

Students should contact their potential institutions in a straight line regarding their definite admission requirements.