How to Check Turnitin Score After Submission
Table of Contents
- What Happens to Your File Right After You Submit
- Where to Find Your Turnitin Score in Your LMS
- How to Read Your Similarity and AI Scores After They Appear
- Can You Check Turnitin Score With a Submission ID?
- What If Your Turnitin Score Does Not Show Up After Submission?
- What to Do Once You Can See Your Turnitin Score
- FAQ
- Sources
- Related articles
What Happens to Your File Right After You Submit
When your instructor enables Turnitin on an assignment, your uploaded file travels from the LMS into Turnitin's servers. Turnitin then compares your text against its database—billions of web pages, journals, and prior student submissions—and, if enabled for your course, runs the AI writing detection model on qualifying sentences.
Processing time varies:
- Most submissions: similarity results appear within 5–15 minutes during normal server load.
- Long papers, peak deadline windows, or first-time course setup: processing can stretch to several hours or, in rare cases, 24 hours.
- AI writing report: may appear at the same time as similarity or slightly later, depending on institutional settings.
Turnitin does not email most students a standalone score automatically. The percentage lives inside your course assignment view unless your instructor shares it separately. If you submitted five minutes ago and see only a timestamp, wait and refresh—the report is still building.
Important distinction: The headline percentage is a review indicator, not an automatic plagiarism or AI misconduct ruling. Instructors are trained to read highlighted passages in context, apply quote and bibliography exclusions, and compare your writing to syllabus policy.
Where to Find Your Turnitin Score in Your LMS
Every LMS skins Turnitin slightly differently, but the access pattern is the same: return to the assignment where you uploaded, not the general Turnitin website.
Canvas
- Open Courses → select your class → Assignments.
- Click the assignment you submitted.
- Under Submission Details, look for a color icon (green, yellow, orange, or red) next to your file name—that is your similarity score at a glance.
- Click the icon or View Feedback / Submission Details to open the full Similarity Report in Feedback Studio.
- If your institution enabled it, an AI Writing Report tab or link appears inside the same viewer. Some courses hide AI results from students until after grading—check your syllabus.
Blackboard (Original and Ultra)
Blackboard Original with Turnitin Direct:
- Open the assignment → View / Complete → find your submission row.
- A similarity percentage and colored flag appear in the Turnitin column.
- Select the percentage to launch the originality viewer.
Blackboard Ultra:
- Navigate to the assignment → Submission area.
- Turnitin scores display inline with your uploaded file; click through for the detailed report.
Moodle (with Turnitin plugin)
- Go to the assignment activity.
- Open Submission status.
- Look for Similarity or a Turnitin logo link beside your file.
- Click to open the report in a new tab.
Brightspace (D2L)
- Open Assignments → select the relevant task.
- Under Feedback, find the Turnitin similarity indicator.
- Launch the report viewer from the linked score.
General troubleshooting tip for all platforms
If you submitted through a group assignment, the score may attach to the group submission record, not your personal dashboard tile. If you used draft mode vs final submission, only the final upload triggers the official score your instructor grades.
If you want to see how these patterns show up on your writing before the real deadline, preview your Turnitin reports while you can still edit.
Preview your Turnitin reports before you submit →
How to Read Your Similarity and AI Scores After They Appear
Turnitin gives instructors two separate reports. After submission, confirm which one you are looking at before you panic about a single number.
| Report | What the % measures | Where students usually see it |
|---|---|---|
| Similarity Report | Share of your document matching Turnitin's database | Color icon + percentage on the assignment submission page |
| AI Writing Report | Share of qualifying sentences flagged as likely AI-generated | Separate tab or panel inside the report viewer (if enabled) |
Similarity report basics
Turnitin color-codes similarity bands:
- Green / Blue: 0–24% matching text
- Yellow: 25–49%
- Orange: 50–74%
- Red: 75–100%
A yellow or orange score means your instructor will likely review highlighted passages—not that you automatically failed. Turnitin's own guidance stresses that the similarity score is the percentage of matching text, a starting point for human review (Understanding the similarity score).
What to click after submission:
1. Open the full report—not just the inbox percentage.
2. Review each highlighted match on the right panel.
3. Check whether matches are properly quoted and cited, common discipline phrases, bibliography entries, or uncited copying.
AI writing report basics
If your course enables the AI report, open it separately from similarity. When you read the AI writing report, scores below 20% display as *% (not as single-digit percentages such as 4% or 11%); 0% is the usual explicit low numeric outcome students screenshot. Anything at or above 20% shows as a real number (e.g., 24%, 40%).
Turnitin positions AI detection as one signal in a broader review—instructors should read flagged sentences in context, not treat the percentage as standalone proof (Using the AI Writing Report).
Practical rule: Identify which detector your course actually uses. Most universities in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand route final submissions through Turnitin, so the official similarity and AI writing reports from that workflow—not unrelated third-party checkers—are the relevant results after you submit.
Can You Check Turnitin Score With a Submission ID?
Search forums and you will see students ask for a submission ID checker—a field on turnitin.com where you paste an ID and instantly see your percentage. For most undergraduate workflows, that does not exist for students.
Here is what the submission ID actually is:
- A unique identifier Turnitin assigns to your uploaded file for support and instructor tracking.
- Visible to instructors and administrators inside the institutional Turnitin account.
- Not a student self-service lookup key on the public Turnitin website.
What students mistakenly try
| Method | Typical result |
|---|---|
| Logging into turnitin.com with a personal email | Fails unless your school issued you a dedicated account—most students never receive one |
| Pasting submission ID into a search engine | Leads to third-party checker ads, not your official report |
| Emailing Turnitin support with an ID | Support routes you back to your university IT or instructor |
| Using a classmate's instructor login | Academic integrity violation; never do this |
When an ID-adjacent workflow does work
Some universities run a separate student originality portal (occasionally branded with Turnitin) where you upload a draft before the LMS deadline. That is a pre-submission check tied to your student account—not a post-submission ID lookup.
After the real LMS upload, the authoritative score is the one attached to that submission record in your course. If your LMS shows "processing" for more than 24 hours, contact your instructor with your assignment name and submission timestamp—not because the ID alone unlocks a hidden page, but because they can see processing errors on the backend.
What If Your Turnitin Score Does Not Show Up After Submission?
Missing scores stress students out during deadline week. Work through this list in order before assuming something is wrong with your essay.
1. Confirm the submission actually finalized
Draft saves and "upload complete" progress bars are not the same as Submit assignment. Reopen the assignment and verify status reads Submitted with a date stamp.
2. Wait through normal processing windows
During peak periods—Sunday nights before Monday deadlines, end of term—Turnitin queues grow. Give it at least 30–60 minutes before escalating.
3. Check the correct course and assignment slot
Students in multi-section courses sometimes submit to Section A but check Section B's assignment list. Verify course code and term.
4. Look for instructor-held release settings
Some faculty disable student visibility of similarity or AI reports until after grading to discourage score-chasing. Your syllabus or LMS announcement may say "reports released upon feedback."
5. File format and size failures
Corrupted .docx files, password-protected PDFs, or scanned image-only PDFs without OCR text can stall or break processing. If you receive an error banner, re-export a clean .docx and resubmit if the assignment allows multiple attempts.
6. Browser and popup blockers
Turnitin's report viewer opens in a new tab or overlay. Disable popup blockers for your LMS domain and try an incognito window if the viewer spins indefinitely.
7. Contact support in the right order
- Instructor or teaching assistant (fastest for course-specific settings)
- University IT / LMS help desk (integration issues)
- Do not pay random websites promising "instant submission ID lookup"—they are not connected to your official institutional report
What to Do Once You Can See Your Turnitin Score
After the report loads, treat the percentage as a map, not a verdict. Use this post-submission checklist:
- Note both numbers if available—similarity and AI writing—not just the color icon.
- Open every highlighted passage in the similarity viewer; confirm citations and quotation marks.
- Read AI-flagged sentences in context; compare them to your voice in prior assignments.
- Check whether your instructor allows resubmission if the score reveals fixable citation gaps.
- Review syllabus AI rules before requesting an extension or rewrite—policy matters more than the headline %.
- Save screenshots for your records if your course allows resubmission and you need to document improvements.
- Avoid panic edits that introduce new errors; targeted fixes on flagged sections beat wholesale regeneration.
Before you upload
Step 7 is easier when you have already previewed the file you plan to submit: many post-submission surprises are citation gaps or AI flags you could have caught on the exact final draft. If your next assignment is still open, run your draft once while you can still edit.
Check your draft for similarity and AI detection →
FAQ
How long does Turnitin take to show a score after submission?
Most LMS submissions display a similarity score within 5–15 minutes. Large files, high-traffic deadline windows, or backend delays can extend processing to several hours, occasionally up to 24 hours. If nothing appears after a full day, contact your instructor.
Can students check Turnitin scores without instructor access?
Students check scores through the LMS assignment submission page where they uploaded—not through a standalone student portal on turnitin.com in most university setups. You do not need instructor permissions to see your own report if the course settings allow student viewing.
Why can my friend see their score but I cannot?
Common reasons include different assignment sections, group vs individual submission types, instructor release settings that hide reports until grading, or your file still processing. Less commonly, a failed upload looks submitted locally but never reached Turnitin.
Does Turnitin show the same score to students and professors?
Generally yes for the same submission version, though instructors may apply exclusion filters (quotes, bibliographies, small matches) that change the number they discuss in feedback. Instructors may also see cohort comparison tools students cannot access.
What is a Turnitin submission ID used for?
It is an internal tracking reference for instructors, administrators, and support staff—not a student self-check code. After submission, rely on your LMS submission record for the official score.
Can I check my Turnitin score after submission on my phone?
Yes, if your LMS mobile app or browser displays the Turnitin similarity icon and opens the report viewer. Complex highlighting is easier on desktop, but reading the headline percentage works on mobile.
Where can I preview official Turnitin reports before submitting?
Turnitin0 delivers official Turnitin similarity and AI writing reports—the same report types instructors see in institutional systems. Upload your .docx, .pdf, or .txt draft and results typically arrive within 5–10 minutes, so you can review flagged passages before the real LMS deadline.
Will rewriting my essay after submission change the score?
If your instructor allows resubmission, a new upload generates a new report on the revised file. Similarity changes when you fix matched or uncited text. AI labels reflect sentence patterns in the submitted version. This article does not promise specific score outcomes—follow your course AI policy and aim for accurate, defensible work.
Sources
- Turnitin. (n.d.). Understanding the similarity score. Turnitin Guides. https://guides.turnitin.com/hc/en-us/articles/23435833938701-Understanding-the-similarity-score
- Turnitin. (n.d.). Using the AI Writing Report. Turnitin Guides. https://guides.turnitin.com/hc/en-us/articles/22774058814093-Using-the-AI-Writing-Report
- Turnitin. (n.d.). Feedback Studio for students. Turnitin Guides. https://guides.turnitin.com/hc/en-us/categories/360002567353-Students
Conclusion: How to check Turnitin score after submission comes down to one workflow: return to your LMS assignment, confirm the upload finalized, wait for processing, then open the similarity icon and—if enabled—the AI writing report inside the viewer. Submission IDs do not unlock a secret student checker; your course submission page does. If a report never appears, escalate through your instructor or campus IT. For your next assignment, previewing both reports on the exact file you plan to upload remains the simplest way to avoid post-submission surprises.