FET exam-day guide
FET · Prepare for the day ahead.
Your checklist
Government-issued photo ID
Bring the original physical document, not a photocopy or a photo on your phone. The name must match your registration record exactly, including middle names and hyphens. Acceptable document types (passport, national ID card, driver's licence) differ by provider and by country, so confirm the accepted list with your test provider before travelling - do not assume your usual ID will be accepted.
Appointment confirmation or admission ticket
Save a copy offline on your phone and carry one printed page. It gives the centre address, your candidate number and your reporting time, which you will be asked for at check-in if the desk cannot find your record quickly.
Confirmed arrival time and route
Check-in windows and late-arrival cut-offs are set by the provider and are not negotiable at the desk. Confirm your exact reporting time, the building entrance (large centres often have several), and whether you must arrive earlier than the time printed on your ticket. Do a dry run or check the transit and parking situation the day before.
Approved calculator (if the exam permits one)
Many technical exams restrict calculators to specific non-programmable models and ban graphing or symbolic-capable devices. Check the current approved-model list on the provider's site, put fresh batteries in, and leave the manual, case and cable at home. If the list is unclear, confirm with the provider rather than risk confiscation at the desk.
Writing instrument and scratch material
Find out in advance whether the centre supplies a laminated note booklet and marker (common at computer-based centres) or whether you must bring pencils. Bringing a pen you are not allowed to use is a minor inconvenience; bringing paper you are not allowed to use can be treated as prohibited material.
Water and a snack for the break
Rules on drinks at the desk vary widely - a clear bottle with the label removed is often allowed, but not always. Plan to keep any snack in your locker for a scheduled break, since eating at the workstation is commonly prohibited.
Layered clothing and a plan for personal items
Test rooms are frequently cold, and you cannot leave to fetch a jacket once seated. Wear layers without large pockets or a hood. Decide in advance what goes in the locker: phone powered fully off, smartwatch left at home, keys and wallet stored away.
Accommodations approval letter (only if applicable)
If you have an approved accommodation such as extra time or a separate room, bring the approval document. Staff who are not expecting you cannot grant it at the desk on the day.
A one-page personal summary - for the night before, not the exam room
Write your own sheet of the highest-yield formulas, definitions or frameworks organised by the exam blueprint's domain weightings. Read it the evening before, then leave it at home; it is a memory-refresh tool, not something you carry in.
A written logistics plan for the morning
Decide now: alarm time, what you will eat, how you will travel, and a fallback if transport fails. An exam morning should contain no decisions other than which answer to pick.
Plan the day
Re-read the official exam blueprint and write down the domain weightings and the number of questions. Then plan your remaining study time by weighting: if one domain is worth a third of the marks, it deserves a third of your remaining hours. Stop starting new topics; convert notes into short recall lists instead.
Take one full timed practice set under exam conditions - same duration, no phone, no pausing, single sitting. Mark it, but spend more time on the pattern of errors (misread question? unit slip? knowledge gap?) than on the score. Fix only recurring, cheap errors from here on.
Verify logistics: exact centre address, reporting time, accepted ID types, calculator model, and whether scratch material is supplied. Confirm anything you cannot verify directly on the provider's site with the provider by phone or email now, while there is still time for a reply.
Do a short, light review of your highest-yield sheet and your error log - two hours maximum. Then stop. Late-night cramming trades a marginal recall gain for a real deficit in working memory and attention the next morning.
Pack your bag: ID, confirmation, approved calculator, pens, water, layers, accommodation letter if applicable. Put it by the door. Charge your phone and set two alarms. Check the weather and the travel advisories for the route.
Confirm the reporting time once more and set your departure so you arrive with a comfortable buffer, typically well before check-in closes; late arrivals may be refused entry and lose the fee. Eat a normal dinner, avoid alcohol, and go to bed at your usual time.
Eat a normal breakfast with slow-release carbohydrates and moderate caffeine - the same amount you normally drink, not more. Arrive early, use the restroom before check-in, and switch your phone off and store it before you enter the secure area.
At check-in, keep your ID in your hand, follow staff instructions exactly, and empty your pockets into the locker as directed. If you are told the centre has no record of your booking, stay calm and polite, show your confirmation, and ask for a supervisor - but understand that the provider's decision on admission is final.
Read the instructions and any interface tutorial fully, confirm the question count and time remaining on screen, and check whether a formula sheet or reference table is available in the test interface. Write nothing until you have confirmed how to flag, review and submit.
Compute your average allowance per question (total time divided by question count) and check your position against the clock at roughly the quarter, half and three-quarter marks. Answer every question you can reach; if negative marking applies, adjust your guessing - confirm this with the provider beforehand. Flag anything that needs a second look and move on rather than sinking minutes into one item.
For calculation items, note the units and the required precision before you compute, and sanity-check the magnitude of the answer. For long word problems, identify what is actually being asked before reading the options, so that plausible distractors do not anchor you.
Take only the breaks the provider allows. The clock normally keeps running for unscheduled breaks, and you will be re-checked on re-entry, so leave yourself time. If the computer freezes, the screen blanks, or another candidate disturbs you, raise your hand immediately and get the invigilator to log it - do not attempt to fix equipment yourself.
Stop at the warning and use the remaining time to confirm no question is unanswered and that flagged items were revisited. Submit deliberately rather than letting the timer expire, and confirm you have seen a submission confirmation before leaving.
Rules to check
Bring only permitted items into the testing room. Anything else - notes, phone, smartwatch, second calculator, bag - must be stored as directed. If you are unsure whether an item is allowed, ask before you sit down or confirm with the provider in advance; possession of prohibited material is usually treated as misconduct regardless of intent.
Your ID must match the name on your registration exactly. If your name has changed or your documents are damaged, expired or in a different script from your booking, contact the provider in advance rather than arriving and hoping the desk will resolve it.
Electronic devices must be switched off - not merely silenced or on airplane mode - and stored away. Touching a device during a break, even in the locker area if the provider forbids it, can lead to your result being voided; confirm the provider's specific rule on device access during breaks.
Do not communicate with other candidates once you enter the secure area, and do not share scratch material, calculators, earplugs or anything else with another candidate. Even a brief exchange of words during a break can be recorded as a conduct violation.
Take only the scheduled and permitted unscheduled breaks, and expect an ID check and a security scan each time you re-enter. Timing rules for breaks differ between providers - the clock may or may not stop - so confirm the policy for your specific exam.
Know the scoring rule before you start: whether unanswered questions score zero, and whether incorrect answers carry a penalty. That single fact determines whether you should guess on every remaining item or leave blanks. It is published in the provider's handbook; do not rely on what other candidates tell you.
Report any technical fault, distraction or irregularity to the invigilator immediately and ask for it to be recorded in the session log. Complaints raised after you leave the centre are much harder to substantiate.
Results, score reports and retake rules are set by the provider. Confirm the release date, whether a scaled or raw score is reported, and the retake waiting period through official channels rather than third-party forums.