What Is a Good TOEIC Score? Passing & Minimum Explained
What is a good or passing TOEIC® score? The target score by goal: jobs, engineering school, CEFR B2 (785+). Why there is no official pass mark.
The TOEIC® Listening and Reading has no official passing score. It is scored from 10 to 990, and a good score is simply whatever meets your goal: roughly 785+ for an engineering school, 800-900+ for international jobs, and 600-700 for internal-communication roles.
Is there a passing score for the TOEIC®?
No. The TOEIC® has no pass/fail and no cut-off: it is an English proficiency scale from 10 to 990. So many people search for a passing score because one is imposed on them in a specific context (a degree, a hiring process).
The threshold is therefore not set by ETS, the organization that designs the test, but by your school or employer. An engineering school may require 785, a company may target 800, a junior role may accept 600. A good score is whatever clears that specific bar.
Worth knowing: a TOEIC® score stays valid for 2 years. To understand the mechanics of the calculation, see our guide on how TOEIC® scoring works.
What counts as a good TOEIC® score?
Here is a quick benchmark to place a score, with the matching CEFR level and the typical profile:
| Score | Verdict | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| 945-990 | Excellent (C1) | Language professions, top profiles |
| 785-940 | Good, strong (B2) | Engineering schools, international roles |
| 550-780 | Intermediate (B1) | Customer-facing roles |
| 225-545 | Limited (A2) | Internal communication, junior roles |
| Below 225 | Beginner (A1) | Starting point |
The average test-taker sits around 600, so a score of 800+ already puts you ahead of most candidates. For the full breakdown, see the full TOEIC® score levels.
Good TOEIC® score for a job application
For jobs there is no pass mark: recruiters compare your score against the bar for the role, not a fixed threshold. In practice:
- 600-700: internal communication, operational roles.
- 750-850: international or customer-facing roles.
- 900+: leadership roles, English-heavy professions.
The same score is not worth the same everywhere: 750 is excellent for a junior role, but only just enough for an international one.
TOEIC® score for engineering and business schools
This is the most common use case. Most accredited engineering schools require the B2 level, which is 785+ on the TOEIC®, to graduate, sometimes raised to 800 or 850 depending on the institution. Business schools generally target 785-850.
Each institution sets its own bar, so always check the rules of your program. To understand what this level actually represents, see our guide on the B2 threshold (785+).
TOEIC® and CEFR: what level is a good score?
To quickly place a score on the European scale:
| CEFR level | Indicative TOEIC® score |
|---|---|
| B1 | around 550+ |
| B2 | 785+ |
| C1 | 945+ |
For the detailed A1 to C1 mapping, see the full TOEIC® / CEFR equivalence table.
Is 785, 880, 900 or 990 a good TOEIC® score?
- 785: a good score, this is the B2 threshold and the engineering-school target.
- 880: a very good score, comfortably within B2.
- 900: an excellent score, near the top tier and C1.
- 990: a perfect score, the maximum, reached by around 1% of test-takers.
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Frequently asked questions
Related Guides
See what your TOEIC score level means: full A2/B1/B2/C1 CEFR chart, the 6 proficiency bands, what counts as a good score, and the score you need.
CEFR B2 on the TOEIC starts at 785 (out of 990). See the exact B2 score range, the Listening/Reading split, and how 750 vs 785 maps to B1 vs B2.
The official TOEIC to CEFR equivalence explained: what A1, A2, B1, B2 and C1 mean in practice, the score you need for B2, and how to state your level on a CV.