IELTS is specified as fulfilling English language requirements for entry to academic courses by the majority of institutions of Further and Higher Education in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and over 2,000 institutes in the USA.  It is also used by a number of professional bodies and governments worldwide, including:

The Ministry of Defence and the General Medical Council in the UK

The Australian Medical Council and the Australian Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs

The Medical Council of Ireland

The New Zealand Immigration Service

The Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools in the USA

Citizenship and Immigration Canada 

In addition it is used for screening and recruitment purposes in-country by universities, business schools and professional bodies in the private sector in a number of overseas countries including Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Columbia, Cyprus, Denmark, Italy, Lithuania, Malaysian, Myanmar, Poland, Turkey and Vietnam.

In 2006 IELTS introduced an electronic bulk download facility to enable receiving organisations to download results for candidates who want the organisation to recognise their result.  Further details of this scheme can be found on www.ielts.org