FE-1 Criminal Law exam-day guide
FE-1 Criminal Law · Prepare for the day ahead.
Your checklist
Government-issued photo ID
Bring the original, unexpired ID matching the name on your registration. Confirm with the provider which ID types are accepted and whether a secondary ID is required; do not assume a photocopy or digital copy will be accepted.
Admission or scheduling confirmation
Print or save the confirmation email showing your test date, time, and location (or remote-testing link). Confirm with the provider whether a printed copy is mandatory or a digital copy is acceptable.
Know your exact reporting time and arrival buffer
Note the reporting time, not just the start time. Arrive early enough to complete check-in; confirm with the provider how late arrivals are handled, since cutoff rules vary and are not something to guess.
Review the current candidate handbook or rules page
Policies on calculators, notes, scratch paper, personal items, and prohibited devices change. Read the version posted for your exam cycle and confirm with the provider if anything is ambiguous.
Confirm permitted items for your test format
Find out in advance whether scratch paper, a pen or pencil, a basic calculator, or an on-screen notepad is provided or prohibited. Do not bring these unless the provider explicitly allows them.
Plan your travel and a backup route
Check transit schedules, parking, and traffic patterns for the reporting time. For remote testing, test your internet connection, webcam, microphone, and power supply the day before.
Remote-testing environment check (if applicable)
Confirm with the provider the room requirements, camera pan rules, and whether food, water, or tissues are allowed. Clear your desk the night before and remove prohibited devices from the room.
Know the scoring and result timeline
Understand that FE-1 is scored against a passing standard set by the provider and that results are typically released after the administration. Confirm with the provider the exact score scale, pass mark, and release date rather than relying on secondhand reports.
Prepare a one-page rule sheet for last-minute review
Condense the highest-yield doctrines into a single page you can skim in the final hour. Keep it short enough to read in 15 minutes; this is a memory cue, not new learning.
Sleep and nutrition plan
Protect sleep for the two nights before the exam and plan a normal meal. Avoid trying new caffeine levels on exam morning.
Confirm break and timing rules
Ask the provider whether breaks are scheduled, whether the clock stops during breaks, and what happens if you leave the testing room. Do not assume unscheduled breaks are permitted.
Backup plan for unexpected disruption
Save the provider's contact number and know the procedure for a technical failure or emergency. Confirm with the provider how incidents are documented and whether they affect scoring.
Plan the day
Stop introducing new material. Rework your error log: list the doctrines you have missed most often and write a two-line correction for each. For criminal law, prioritize the elements of the core offences, the fault elements, and the difference between attempt, conspiracy, and completed offences.
Do one timed mixed set under exam conditions to calibrate pacing. Record how many minutes per question you can afford, then decide your personal cutoff for abandoning a question and moving on.
Re-read the provider's candidate rules and confirm the logistics: ID type, arrival time, permitted items, break policy, and result release. Resolve any ambiguity with the provider now, not on exam day.
Drill the highest-frequency distinctions: act versus omission liability, intention versus recklessness, transferred malice, the correspondence principle, and the difference between justification and excuse. Build short hypotheticals and state the outcome plus the reason in one sentence each.
Light review only. Read your one-page rule sheet and error log once. Prepare your bag or testing space: ID, confirmation, permitted items only, and remove prohibited devices.
Confirm the reporting time and route one final time, set two alarms, and go to bed at a normal hour. Do not study past the point where fatigue will cost you accuracy.
Eat a normal meal, arrive with buffer, and complete check-in without rushing. Do not attempt to learn a new doctrine; skim only your one-page sheet.
Read the call of the question first, then the facts, and identify the precise issue before scanning the options. Answer easy questions first, flag uncertain ones, and return to them only after clearing the section.
For each option, state why it is wrong, not just why the chosen answer is right. Watch for distractors that are correct statements of law but do not answer the question asked.
Guard against time sink questions. If you are stuck beyond your cutoff, mark your best answer, flag it, and move on. Reserve the final minutes to confirm no question is left blank if the format penalizes blanks.
Note which topics you found hardest while memory is fresh, then stop. Do not attempt to reconstruct answers with other candidates, since that adds stress without changing your score.
Rules to check
Bring the original government-issued photo ID that matches your registration name exactly. If your name differs slightly, confirm with the provider in advance how to resolve it; do not rely on staff discretion at the door.
Follow the provider's rules on prohibited items, including phones, smart watches, notes, and study materials. If the provider allows storage, confirm where items must be placed and whether you can access them during breaks.
Do not communicate with other candidates during the test, and do not attempt to record or share exam content. Content-sharing rules and their consequences are set by the provider; confirm the specifics in the candidate rules.
Breaks are governed by provider policy. Confirm in advance whether breaks are scheduled, whether the clock runs during them, and what identification or re-check is required to re-enter the testing room.
Scoring is against a passing standard set by the provider, not a fixed percentage of correct answers. Confirm the score scale, pass mark, and reporting timeline with the provider rather than assuming a curve or a raw-score cutoff.
If you believe a question is defective or your session is disrupted, follow the provider's incident procedure immediately and document what happened. Confirm the appeal or incident process in advance.
For remote testing, comply with the room and camera rules set by the provider. Confirm whether food, water, or tissues are permitted and clear your workspace of prohibited items before the session begins.
Do not guess at policies you have not verified. When in doubt about ID, permitted items, timing, or scoring, contact the provider directly and keep a record of the answer.