Examination rules

How a paper is assembled

• Questions are drawn at random from the programme’s item bank, in the proportions set out in the published blueprint. No two candidates should see the same paper.
• Question count and time limit are stated on each programme page before you enrol. They and the pass mark are fixed for the examination cycle you sit in.
• The pass mark is set by a documented standard-setting panel and published on the programme page before any candidate sits the examination, so no candidate is examined against a figure that has not been settled. It is not adjusted afterwards to produce a particular pass rate.

Supervision

Each programme page states how its exam is supervised. CBA does not describe an examination as supervised or proctored where it is not.

What counts as malpractice

• Having someone else sit the exam for you, or sitting it for someone else.
• Copying, recording, reproducing or sharing exam questions in any form. Item banks are expensive to build and a leaked bank invalidates the credential for everyone who holds it.
• Using materials or assistance prohibited for that exam.
• Submitting falsified identity or eligibility documentation.

Where we find malpractice we may void the attempt, refuse future entry, and revoke any credential already awarded. You will be shown the evidence and given an opportunity to respond before a final decision, and you can appeal the outcome.

Attempts, vouchers and results

• One voucher permits one attempt. Vouchers are valid for twelve months from issue.
• Re-sits require a new voucher, at the re-sit fee shown on each programme page.
• Results are issued automatically on completion. At Certificate level a pass creates a credential record in the public register within one working day. At Practitioner and Professional level the examination is one component, and the credential is issued when the rest of the assessment for the level is recorded.
• We do not publish individual scores in the register — only that the credential exists and whether it is current.

Why the examination is unsupervised

CBA examinations are sat online without a proctor and without an identity check. That is a deliberate arrangement with real consequences, and it is set out in full — including what it does not stop — in examination integrity.

Reasonable adjustments

Adjustments change the conditions under which you sit — additional time, alternative formats, rest breaks — and never the standard: the pass mark and blueprint are identical for everyone. The reasonable adjustments policy sets out what is available, what evidence is needed, the deadline, who decides, how to appeal a refusal, and how your medical evidence is protected.