A calm exam day begins several days before the exam. Use this checklist for centre-based ACCA exams and adapt it to the instructions supplied with your own booking.
Your booking instructions and ACCA's current regulations take priority. Requirements can differ by exam type, country and centre. Check them again before every sitting.
One week before the exam
- Confirm the date, start time and venue. Use MyACCA and your exam attendance docket. Do not assume you are returning to the same venue as last time.
- Read the venue address carefully. Plan the route and allow for traffic, public-transport disruption and security checks.
- Check your identification. Take an accepted, current form of official photographic ID and make sure the name agrees with your ACCA record.
- Download your attendance docket when one is required for your exam and keep an accessible copy.
- Read the latest exam regulations and guidelines. Do not rely on advice remembered from a previous sitting.
- Check your calculator. It must comply with ACCA's rules and must not store or display text. Fit a fresh battery if necessary.
The day before
- Prepare your photographic ID, docket or booking confirmation, permitted calculator and any other item specifically authorised in your instructions.
- Know the time by which ACCA or the centre requires you to arrive. Aim to be early rather than merely on time.
- Stop heavy study at a sensible time. A rested student retrieves and applies knowledge better than an exhausted one.
- Do not experiment with new topics late at night. Review a short formula, standard or technique list and then finish.
What not to take to the workstation
Unauthorised notes, books, electronic devices, smart watches, cameras and communication equipment can lead to disciplinary action. A mobile phone is not an ordinary calculator and must only be handled as permitted by the current exam guidance. Follow the invigilator's storage instructions exactly.
When you arrive
- Report to the correct venue and registration area.
- Listen to the invigilator and follow every instruction promptly.
- Check that your name, exam and variant are correct on screen.
- Report missing equipment, login problems or other technical issues immediately. Do not wait and hope they resolve themselves.
- Use the instruction screens to confirm the available CBE tools before starting.
During the exam
- Work to a time plan based on the marks and requirements.
- Keep your workings clear enough for a marker to follow.
- If the system, equipment or exam environment causes a problem, alert the invigilator at once and ensure the incident is recorded.
- Do not communicate with another candidate or attempt to access unauthorised material.
Different exam formats
On-demand CBEs are booked directly with licensed centres, so follow both ACCA's regulations and the centre's arrival instructions. Session exams are booked through ACCA. From March 2026, remote session exams are generally withdrawn and remain available only where ACCA does not provide centre capacity; rely on your booking confirmation rather than assuming a remote option is available.
Official checks
OpenTuition tutor tip: make the administrative checklist early, then keep the final evening for light review and rest. Avoidable exam-day stress should never be allowed to consume marks.