III IC-102 exam-day guide
III IC-102 · Prepare for the day ahead.
Your checklist
Government-issued photo ID
Bring the exact ID type and name spelling your registration requires. If your registration name differs from your ID (for example, a shortened first name), contact the provider before test day to correct it; confirm with the provider whether a secondary ID is accepted.
Appointment confirmation and test-taker ID number
Save the confirmation email offline on your phone and write the candidate/registration number on paper. You may need it at check-in or if the test center has trouble locating your booking.
Know your delivery format and location
Confirm whether you are testing at a center or proctored online, plus the exact address or software link, parking, and arrival window. Re-confirm the start time 24 hours ahead because slots can shift.
Review the current exam guide and topic weighting
Download the latest official outline for IC-102 and check that your study materials match the current version. If the outline lists domains or weighting percentages you cannot verify, confirm with the provider rather than relying on secondhand summaries.
Allowed accessories only
Most providers restrict items at the desk. Confirm with the provider whether scratch paper, a pen, a calculator, or a basic keyboard are permitted, and whether the test center supplies them. Do not assume.
Leave prohibited items at home or in the car
Phones, smartwatches, notes, and bags are typically banned from the testing room. Confirm the provider's storage policy; some centers provide lockers, others do not.
Practice the question interface
If the provider offers a sample test or tutorial, run it once so you know how to flag items, move between questions, and submit. Interface familiarity saves minutes on test day.
Plan timing per question
Divide total test time by question count to get a rough per-question budget, then decide how much slack to keep for flagged items and review. Write the target checkpoint times on your scratch plan.
Sleep, food, and travel buffer
Schedule a full night's sleep and a normal meal; avoid trying a new energy drink on test day. Arrive with buffer time for traffic, security screening, and check-in.
Backup plan for technical failure
For online proctoring, test your camera, microphone, and connection in advance and know the provider's support number. For a test center, know what to do if you are delayed; confirm with the provider whether late arrival forfeits the seat.
Plan the day
Stop learning new topics and switch to consolidation. Re-read your own summary notes, redo missed practice questions, and write a one-page sheet of formulas, definitions, and decision rules you keep forgetting. Confirm your appointment time, location or link, and ID requirements.
Take one timed practice set under realistic conditions: no pauses, no notes, same time of day as your real slot. Review every wrong answer and classify the cause as knowledge gap, misread question, or time pressure. Fix knowledge gaps only; do not rebuild your whole plan.
Do a light review of your one-page sheet and the official topic outline, checking that every listed domain has at least a passing familiarity. Prepare your ID, confirmation, and clothing layers. Confirm travel route and parking, or run the proctoring system check. Set two alarms and go to bed at a normal hour.
Eat a normal meal, avoid cramming new material, and arrive with buffer time. At the center, follow check-in and security instructions; online, close other applications, clear your desk, and start the proctor session early so technical issues do not eat test time.
Read the instructions and note the total time and question count. Write your checkpoint times on scratch paper if allowed. If a tutorial is offered, use it to confirm navigation, flagging, and how to review marked items.
Work in passes: answer confident questions first, flag anything that needs more than your budgeted time, and return to flags after the first pass. Read the stem fully before the options, eliminate clearly wrong choices, and be wary of absolute wording. If a break is allowed, confirm with the provider how the clock behaves during it before you stand up.
Use remaining time to revisit flagged items, confirm you have answered every question, and check for accidental misclicks. Submit deliberately and confirm the on-screen submission message before leaving.
Rules to check
Bring the ID type your registration specifies, with names matching exactly. If you are unsure whether a secondary ID or a name variant is accepted, confirm with the provider before test day; arriving without acceptable ID can mean being turned away without a refund.
Follow all proctor and test-center instructions, including desk clearance, phone storage, and rules on leaving the room. Unauthorized materials or devices at the desk are typically treated as misconduct regardless of intent.
Do not communicate with other candidates during the test and do not share, photograph, or reconstruct exam content afterward. Most providers treat content disclosure as a violation of the candidate agreement.
Confirm the break policy in advance: whether breaks are offered, whether the clock keeps running, and whether you may leave the testing area. Do not assume a scheduled break exists.
Understand the scoring model before you sit: whether the exam is pass/fail with a scaled cut score, whether wrong answers are penalized, and when results are released. If any of this is unclear, confirm with the provider rather than guessing.
Know the rescheduling, cancellation, and retake rules and their deadlines before test day, so a last-minute problem does not cost you the fee. These policies vary, so confirm with the provider.
If a technical failure or interruption occurs, stop and notify the proctor or support line immediately and note the time; do not attempt to fix proctoring software yourself mid-exam. Ask what accommodation or incident report process applies.
Report any irregularity, such as a distracting environment or a faulty workstation, to staff at the time it happens. Requests made only after the exam are harder to resolve, and the provider's complaint process should be confirmed in advance.