How Long Does a Turnitin Similarity Report Take?
Turnitin says similarity reports are usually generated within minutes. In practice, a short essay often returns in under five minutes, while a long dissertation during a deadline rush can take longer. One rule catches many students out: some resubmissions are delayed by a full 24 hours.
Typical Turnitin similarity report times
| Situation | Typical wait |
|---|---|
| Short essay, first submission | A few minutes |
| Long dissertation or thesis | Longer than a short essay; still usually minutes |
| Deadline-night submissions | Slower than usual because of queue volume |
| Resubmission after more than three attempts | 24 hours |
| Stuck for more than 24 hours | Not normal; needs support |
Why resubmissions take 24 hours
When an assignment allows resubmission, Turnitin regenerates reports immediately for the first few attempts. Once you have submitted more than three times, it delays the new report by 24 hours. This stops students from repeatedly editing and resubmitting to game the score. If your deadline is close, do not rely on a fourth or fifth resubmission to see an updated percentage.
What slows a report down
- Document length. More text means more comparisons.
- Peak periods. End-of-semester deadlines across many countries load the system at the same time.
- File problems. Image-only PDFs, password protection or unusual formats can fail rather than finish.
- Instructor settings. Some assignments only release the report after the due date, which looks like a delay but is a setting.
- AI report processing. The AI writing report is generated separately and can appear after the similarity report.
My Turnitin report is still pending. What should I do?
- Refresh the assignment page after 15 to 30 minutes.
- Check whether this is a resubmission past the third attempt. If so, expect 24 hours.
- Check whether reports release on the due date.
- If more than 24 hours have passed, contact your instructor or your institution's Turnitin support team.
Using Microsoft Teams? See Turnitin report pending in Teams.
Avoid the wait entirely
Waiting on Turnitin late at night before a deadline is stressful, and you still might not see the AI score. A pre-submission check gives you both reports, usually within minutes, without using any of your assignment's resubmission attempts and without adding your paper to the student repository.
What arrives when your report is ready
Both screenshots below come from the same 24-page, 6,364-word paper. The similarity report found 1% overall similarity. The AI writing report flagged 51% of the qualifying text as likely AI-generated. Tap either one to see it full size.
Screenshots shown for illustration. Your own reports arrive as full PDFs in your dashboard.
Once your report arrives, see how to view it, how to download it and how to read it.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a Turnitin similarity report normally take?
Turnitin says reports are usually generated within minutes. Long documents and busy deadline periods can stretch that.
Why is my resubmission taking 24 hours?
When an assignment allows resubmissions and you have already submitted more than three times, Turnitin delays the new report by 24 hours.
What if my report has been pending for more than a day?
Contact your instructor or your institution's Turnitin support. A report pending for over 24 hours usually needs someone to reprocess it.