Pearson VUE halts exams for Iran residents — ADC written affected

Pearson VUE published a suspension notice stating that from 12:00 a.m. EDT on 8 September 2026, following the U.S. Treasury OFAC suspension of General License G, it is "unable to schedule or deliver exams for candidates who are residents of Iran unless they can provide proof of primary residency outside of Iran," until further notice. Exams already scheduled for impacted candidates will be cancelled, the notice says. Unlike the pause ETS announced for TOEFL and GRE, which applies to testing inside Iran, Pearson's bar is residency-based: it follows the candidate, and travelling outside Iran does not restore access unless primary residency outside the country can be shown.

Pearson's own ADC examination page, last updated 2 September 2026, carries a banner reading "Important notice for candidates who are residents of Iran" linked to the suspension notice — placing the ADC written examination inside the bar directly rather than by inference from the general notice. Booking for that examination runs through Pearson: candidates authorised by the ADC receive an Authorisation to Test email, then have roughly two weeks to book both consecutive days at a single venue, with limited-capacity venues allocated first come, first served. For Iran-based candidates those venues have meant cities such as Dubai and Istanbul, and the next sitting is 16–17 September 2026, the first after the cut-off. PTE Academic, a Pearson test on Ahpra's accepted English list, falls under the same notice; it has not operated inside Iran, and from 8 September it is closed to Iran residents at overseas centres as well. The ADAT, delivered at Pearson test centres in North America, is likewise affected. The ADC practical examination is administered by the ADC in Australia and is not part of Pearson's network.

ETS's public update states its own restriction "applies to TOEFL and GRE testing services within Iran, not to Iranian nationals testing in other countries." An ETS spokesperson, quoted by the Test Resources blog on 3 September, added a qualification: ETS "is unable to process registrations or payments associated with a resident of Iran, including for a test appointment outside the country," and said these restrictions continue after 8 September. Neither Pearson nor ETS has given a timeline; OFAC's announcement says providers may apply for specific authorization to continue previously licensed activities. Pearson's ADC page sets out a procedure for residents of Syria, who are told to contact the ADC before applying, but publishes no equivalent instruction for residents of Iran, and neither Pearson nor the ADC has said what becomes of candidates already authorised to sit the September examination.