PCATP Town Planner exam-day guide
PCATP Town Planner · Prepare for the day ahead.
Your checklist
Confirm exact venue, reporting time and session duration with the provider
PCATP exam logistics are set by the administering body and can change between sessions. Re-check the admission letter or official notice the week before the exam rather than relying on what a colleague told you. If anything on the notice is unclear, contact the provider directly and keep the written reply.
Acceptable photo ID matching your registration name
Bring the original document (typically national ID or passport) with the name spelled exactly as in your application. A mismatch is the most common reason candidates are turned away. Carry a second form of ID as backup. Confirm with the provider which ID types they accept and whether photocopies are refused.
Printed admission letter / hall ticket and confirmation of payment
Print at least two copies and keep a digital copy on your phone. Verify your roll number, seat details and any candidate instructions printed on it. If the provider issues the slip only electronically, confirm whether a printout is required at the gate.
Permitted stationery only
Carry several black or blue ballpoint pens, a pencil, eraser and sharpener. Do not bring loose notes, textbooks, or annotated drawings. Confirm with the provider whether drawing instruments (scale, set square, calculator type) are allowed for your paper, since planning exams sometimes permit a basic non-programmable calculator and sometimes prohibit all electronic aids.
Watch (non-smart) and nothing else electronic
A simple analog or digital wristwatch helps you pace sections if the hall clock is not visible. Phones, smartwatches and any wearable with storage or communication must stay outside the hall or switched off and surrendered as instructed.
Review the current syllabus and weightings
Skim the official syllabus one last time to confirm which topics carry marks. Use this to set your time allocation per section rather than reading new material in the final days.
Revise your own summary sheets, not new sources
In the last 72 hours, work only from condensed notes you made yourself: planning law provisions, development control procedures, standards and definitions, and case examples. New textbooks at this stage create anxiety without retention.
Practise one timed mock under exam conditions
Sit a full-length or sectional mock with no interruptions, using only permitted materials. Mark it against a rubric, then list your three biggest time sinks and fix them before the real paper.
Plan the journey and a backup route
Do a dry run or check traffic and public transport timings for the reporting hour. Aim to arrive well before the gate closes; late entry is often refused and there is no re-sit for the same session.
Arrange sleep, meals and medication
Shift your sleep schedule earlier for three nights before the exam. Prepare a light, familiar breakfast and carry water if the hall permits it. Bring any prescribed medication and confirm with the provider whether it can be taken into the hall.
Prepare a one-page pre-exam cue card
Write a single sheet of key definitions, statutory time limits and procedural steps to read in the final hour outside the hall, then leave it with your bag. Do not carry it inside.
Know the scoring and negative-marking rule
Confirm with the provider whether objective sections carry negative marking and whether descriptive answers are marked on structure, statutory accuracy and presentation. This determines whether you guess or leave blanks.
Plan the day
Stop collecting new material. Re-read the official syllabus and your own summary sheets, and list the ten topics you are weakest on. Spend the day closing only those gaps using notes you already have. Confirm venue, reporting time and permitted items with the provider in writing.
Sit one full timed mock or a set of sectional mocks under exam conditions. Mark honestly and record where you lost time: over-writing one answer, calculating too slowly, or hesitating on definitions. Write a time budget per section on a card and keep it with your stationery.
Do a light revision pass over planning law, development control procedure, standards and your case examples. Prepare your bag: ID, printed admission letter, pens, pencil, eraser, watch, water if allowed. Check the journey and set two alarms. Eat a normal meal and sleep at your usual time; do not stay up revising.
Eat a proper breakfast, leave earlier than the dry run suggested, and arrive with time to spare. Read only your one-page cue card outside the hall. Switch off your phone and surrender it as instructed before entering. Locate your seat, check the question paper for printing errors, and fill in your details carefully.
Read the instructions and the full paper before writing. Note the marks per question and mark the ones you will answer first. Fill in objective answer sheets as you go rather than in a rush at the end, and check that roll number and booklet series are correctly entered.
Follow your time budget. Answer the questions you know first, then return to harder ones. For descriptive answers, state the provision or standard, apply it to the facts, and conclude; keep diagrams labelled and to scale where asked. Leave a short buffer at the end to verify you have attempted every required question and transferred all answers correctly.
Stop writing new content. Confirm every answer is numbered and legible, check the objective sheet for skipped or double-marked rows, and ensure your name and roll number appear where required. Hand over the paper and answer sheet only when instructed.
Rules to check
Carry the original photo ID that matches your registration name exactly; candidates whose documents do not match are commonly refused entry, and the accepted ID types should be confirmed with the provider before exam day.
Bring only permitted items into the hall. Phones, smartwatches and notes must be left outside or surrendered as directed; possession of unauthorised material during the exam is treated as misconduct regardless of intent.
Arrive before the gate closes. Late entry and early exit rules vary by session, so confirm the cut-off times with the provider and plan to be seated early rather than testing the limit.
Follow the invigilator's instructions on filling the answer sheet, booklet series and roll number. Errors in these fields can invalidate an otherwise correct paper and are usually not corrected after the session.
Do not communicate with other candidates once the paper is distributed, and do not remove question papers, answer sheets or rough work unless explicitly permitted.
Breaks are usually not allowed during the paper; if you need to leave the hall for a medical or personal reason, raise your hand and expect to be escorted, with the time not extended. Confirm the provider's policy on water, medication and toilet breaks in advance.
Confirm the scoring rules before the exam: whether objective questions carry negative marking, whether all questions are compulsory, and how descriptive answers are weighted. Decide in advance whether to guess or leave a blank.
If you believe there is a printing error or a question is out of syllabus, note it and continue; raise it with the invigilator after the exam rather than losing time during the paper. Any appeal process should be confirmed with the provider.