EA Part 1 exam-day guide
EA Part 1 · Prepare for the day ahead.
Your checklist
Government-issued photo ID with signature
Bring an unexpired driver's license, state ID, passport, or military ID that has both your photo and your signature. The name must match your registration exactly - if your registration shows a middle initial and your ID shows a full middle name, resolve it before test day. Expired IDs are not accepted.
Appointment confirmation
Bring the confirmation number, date, time, and street address of your testing appointment (print it or keep it accessible on your phone before you enter the building). Verify the location the day before - test centers are sometimes in office parks or on the second floor of a building with no signage.
Eligibility/authorization-to-test documentation
Bring whatever notice the provider issues once your application is approved and your appointment is scheduled. The exact name and format of this document varies - confirm with the provider whether a printed copy is required or whether your record in their system is sufficient.
Second form of identification
Some testing programs require a second ID (e.g., a credit card or signed document) in addition to the primary photo ID. Confirm with the provider whether one form or two are required at check-in.
Arrival plan with buffer
Plan to arrive at least 30 minutes before your appointment to allow for parking, security screening, and check-in. Have a backup route or backup transportation in mind; a late arrival can cost you the appointment.
Leave-at-home / leave-in-locker list
Do not carry into the testing room: phone, smartwatch or any watch, fitness band, notes, textbooks, loose paper, personal calculator, earbuds, bag, hat, or outerwear with pockets full of items. Plan where these will sit - a vehicle or a provided locker.
Snack and water for the break
Keep a light snack and a drink outside the testing room (locker or vehicle). Long multiple-choice sessions are mentally taxing, and a short refuel helps more than a last-minute cram.
Last-minute review material kept outside the room
Notes, flashcards, and outlines are for the parking lot only. Do not expect to review them in the waiting area or at the workstation.
Calculator and scratch-paper expectations
Assume a personal calculator is not permitted and that you will use the on-screen or provided calculator plus scratch material issued by the test center that must be returned. Confirm the specific policy (including whether scratch material is paper or laminated) with the provider in advance.
Accommodation approval, if applicable
If you need extra time, a separate room, or a medical accommodation, it must be arranged well before test day - it cannot be granted at the door. Bring your approval documentation if the provider instructs you to.
Completed a full-length timed practice set
In the final days, sit one 100-question set under real conditions: no phone, no pausing, roughly 2 hours and 10 minutes per question-budget of 2.1 minutes. This calibrates your pacing more than any additional content review.
A one-page personal weak-spot list
Write your own short list of the Part 1 areas you miss most (for example basis and property transactions, dependency and filing status, adjustments vs. deductions, credit phaseouts, retirement plan distributions, and qualified business income). Review that list, not a fresh textbook chapter, on the last day.
Plan the day
Log into your scheduling account and re-confirm the date, time, and exact address of the appointment. Save the test center phone number and a screenshot of the confirmation in case your phone is stored away.
Check your photo ID: unexpired, signature present, name matching the registration character for character. If anything is off, contact the provider immediately to correct the registration.
Call or check the provider's published test-center rules on calculator use, scratch paper, breaks, and what must be left outside the room. Do not rely on what a colleague told you.
Take one full-length timed practice set with no interruptions. Score it, then spend the remaining time only on the three or four topics responsible for most of your misses.
Shift your sleep schedule so you are awake and functional at your appointment start time - an early slot punishes a candidate who studied until 2 a.m.
Stop learning new topics. Review only your one-page weak-spot list, your formula sheet (amount realized, adjusted basis, gain recognized, capital loss limits, phaseout mechanics), and process reminders such as reading for 'except' and 'best'.
Pack the night before: ID, confirmation, and anything the provider told you to bring. Put them in the same pocket or folder you will carry in.
Do a dry run of the trip at the same time of day if the center is unfamiliar, or at minimum confirm parking availability, building entrance, and expected traffic.
Eat a normal dinner, avoid alcohol, and get a full night's sleep. Cramming past midnight reliably costs more points than it earns.
Eat a real breakfast and hydrate, but do not overload on caffeine if you are not used to it. Arrive at the center about 30 minutes early.
At check-in, confirm your name as it appears on the workstation screen, ask about scratch material and the break policy, and store all devices before entering the testing room.
Work through the on-screen tutorial to locate the calculator, the flag/mark-for-review button, and the question navigator. Ask the administrator whether the tutorial is timed - if it is not, use all of it.
Answer in order and aim for about 90 to 100 seconds per question. If a computation will take more than roughly two minutes, make your best selection, flag it, and move on. Never leave a question blank - there is no penalty for a wrong answer.
If you take a break, know before you stand up that unscheduled breaks typically count against your remaining test time. Keep it short and check the clock on return.
Return to flagged items. Re-read the call of the question first (many misses are 'which is NOT' or 'best' errors), then the facts. Confirm the navigator shows zero unanswered questions before you submit.
Collect any score report the center gives you and verify your name is correct. Treat any on-screen result as preliminary and wait for the official result from the issuing authority before you plan a retake.
Rules to check
Bring one unexpired government-issued photo ID with your signature, and make sure the name matches your registration exactly. If the provider requires a second form of ID, confirm that in advance.
Arrive at least 30 minutes early. Candidates who arrive after the appointment time may be refused admission and may forfeit their fee - the exact late-arrival cutoff is set by the provider, so confirm it rather than assume.
Nothing personal goes into the testing room: no phone, no watch of any kind, no notes, no personal calculator, no bag. Assume you will use only the on-screen or provided calculator and scratch material issued and collected by the test center.
Answer every question. There is no penalty for an incorrect response, so an educated guess on a flagged item is always better than a blank - especially near the end of the clock when time pressure builds.
Breaks are usually unscheduled and usually count against your testing time. Confirm the specific policy at check-in so you do not lose ten minutes you were planning to spend on flagged questions.
Testing accommodations cannot be arranged on test day; they must be requested and approved in advance through the provider. Bring any approval documentation you were told to carry.
Any misconduct - using unauthorized materials, communicating with another person, or attempting to remove scratch material or exam content - can result in cancellation of your score and further action by the issuing authority.
Your official result is the one issued through the authority's own reporting process, not a verbal or on-screen indication. The passing standard, retake waiting period, and testing-window rules are set by the authority and change over time - confirm the current policy with the provider rather than relying on secondhand information.
Budget your time as if the clock, not the difficulty, is the real opponent: roughly 2.1 minutes per question across a 100-question, three-and-a-half-hour part, with a reserve of 20 to 30 minutes for flagged items and a final submission check.