How Long Does Turnitin Take? What Every Student Should Know
From typical wait times to common causes of delays — here's everything you need to know about Turnitin report processing.
You've submitted your paper, the deadline is approaching, and your Turnitin report still hasn't appeared. Sound familiar? Report processing times can vary significantly, and understanding why can save you a lot of stress.
How Long Does a Turnitin Report Take to Generate?
- First submission: Most reports arrive within 15 to 30 minutes
- Peak periods: During midterms and finals, delays can extend to several hours or even a full day
- Resubmissions: There's a 24-hour delay between similarity reports for resubmitted papers
- AI reports: Typically appear alongside the similarity score, but may be unavailable if your institution hasn't enabled AI detection
Why Hasn't My Similarity Report Generated?
If your report is taking longer than expected, here are the most common reasons:
1. Instructor Settings May Limit Access
Your instructor may have configured the assignment to delay report generation until after the due date, or to block student access to reports entirely. If you can't see your report, check with your instructor before assuming there's a problem.
2. Your File Format Isn't Compatible
Turnitin doesn't support all file types. These formats will cause issues:
- Password-protected documents
- Microsoft Works (.wps) files
- Macro-enabled Word documents (.docm)
- Apple Pages documents
- Scanned PDFs without selectable text
- PowerPoint files with heavy visual effects (shadows, 3D text)
Safe formats: .docx, .pdf (with selectable text), .txt, and .rtf
3. You've Resubmitted the Same Paper
Classic assignments allow three instant uploads; any additional submissions trigger a 24-hour delay before the next report generates. Newer Turnitin systems permit three daily resubmissions before requiring a next-day wait.
4. Your File Doesn't Meet AI Detection Requirements
The AI detection report has specific technical requirements:
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Languages | English, Spanish, Japanese only |
| Minimum length | 300 words of continuous prose |
| Maximum length | 30,000 words |
| File size | Under 100 MB |
| Formats | .docx, .pdf (selectable text), .txt, .rtf |
5. System Downtime
Turnitin's servers occasionally experience outages or maintenance windows that delay processing. If nothing seems wrong on your end, check Turnitin's service status page to see if there's a system-wide issue.
Turnitin Queued or Stuck in Moodle?
If you're using Moodle and your submission shows as "queued," it means the file hasn't reached Turnitin yet. Moodle uses a background process called a "cron job" to send submissions to Turnitin, and sometimes this process gets backed up.
If you're a student, contact your instructor or IT help desk. If you're an administrator, check the cron task status under Site Administration and test Turnitin connectivity via the plugin settings.
10 Tips for Submitting to Turnitin
- 1. Use supported file types (.docx, .pdf, .txt, .rtf)
- 2. Make sure text is selectable in PDFs (not scanned images)
- 3. Keep file size under 100 MB
- 4. Include at least 300 words of continuous prose for AI detection
- 5. Submit early — reports can take up to 24 hours during peak times
- 6. Avoid heavy visual text effects in your document
- 7. Review your paper before uploading
- 8. Know your resubmission limits (3 immediate, then 24-hour wait)
- 9. Check language support if you expect an AI detection report
- 10. Contact your instructor if your report doesn't generate
Submitted the Wrong File?
If you've accidentally uploaded the wrong paper, contact your instructor immediately. Depending on the assignment settings, you may be able to resubmit before the due date. After the deadline, resubmission is typically blocked.
Can you delete a submission? No — students cannot delete their own submissions. Only instructors can handle deletion requests, and they may need to forward the request to the institution's Turnitin administrator.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Turnitin take to generate a report?
Most reports generate within 15 to 30 minutes. During peak periods like midterms and finals, it can take several hours or up to a full day. Resubmissions have a mandatory 24-hour delay between reports.
Why is my Turnitin report not showing?
Common causes include instructor settings that delay or hide reports, incompatible file formats, exceeding the resubmission limit, or system downtime. Check with your instructor if the report doesn't appear within 24 hours.
Can I resubmit my paper to Turnitin?
If your instructor has enabled resubmissions, you can submit multiple times before the deadline. The first three submissions generate instant reports; after that, there's a 24-hour wait between reports.
Why is my AI report not appearing?
AI detection requires at least 300 words of continuous prose, a supported language (English, Spanish, or Japanese), and a compatible file format. Your institution may also need to have AI detection enabled for the assignment.
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