The short answer
There is a cap on how many certified tests you may sit in a rolling 30-day window — commonly three — and each attempt is paid for separately. A result is valid for two years. Crucially, you decide which results to send, and sending them is free and unlimited, so a bad attempt need never be seen.
Most people asking this are really asking something else: whether a second attempt will count against them. It will not. That changes how you should plan the first one.
The exact cap and the window are set by Duolingo and have been adjusted before. Confirm the current limit on the official site before you build a schedule around it — the principle below holds either way.
The limit, and what counts against it
- It is a rolling window, not a calendar month. Sitting one on the 28th does not reset anything on the 1st; you regain an attempt 30 days after you used it.
- Each attempt is a separate purchase. There is no bundle and no discount for a retake.
- A test that is not certified still costs you. If a result is withheld because of a setup or rules problem, you have spent the fee and the attempt. See what you need to take the test at home — this is the most avoidable way to lose one.
- Practice tests do not count. Only certified attempts do.
Not sure where you are starting from? Four questions, about two minutes, no sign-up — and you get an estimated score out of 160 to measure the rest of this against.
Who sees your earlier attempts
Only the institutions you choose to send a result to, and only the result you chose to send. Each certified attempt produces its own result, and you select which one goes where. An institution does not receive a history of everything you have ever sat.
That is a meaningful difference from how people assume this works, and it is why the first attempt is lower stakes than it feels. The sensible way to treat it: sit it early enough that a disappointing score is information rather than a disaster.
How long a result lasts
Two years. Which means a test sat now covers more than one application cycle for most people — worth knowing if you are deciding between sitting it this intake or waiting for the next.
When a retake is actually worth it
- 01When something specific went wrong. The connection dropped, a sibling walked in, you misread the format of one task. Fix the cause, sit it again.
- 02When you are within about 10 points of what you need. That gap usually closes with a few weeks of focused work on your weakest subscore rather than general practice.
- 03When one subscore is dragging the overall down. Institutions increasingly look at the subscores, not only the total. See how the test is scored.
And when it is not worth it: sitting again next week with nothing changed. The test is adaptive and consistent — an unprepared retake usually returns roughly the same score and costs another fee. If you are more than 20 points short, that is weeks of work, not a second attempt. The preparation timeline guide covers what those weeks look like.
The plan this all points to
Sit a full mock first, under real conditions. Use it to find the subscore that is holding you back. Work on that specifically for two to four weeks. Then book — with enough time before your deadline that a second attempt still fits inside the 30-day window if you need it.
A mock costs nothing and tells you which of the two situations you are in. 7 days of full access, no card needed.
Sit a mock free