LEK exam-day guide
LEK · Prepare for the day ahead.
Your checklist
Government-issued photo ID in the exact name used on your registration
Bring the original document, not a photocopy or a photo on your phone. Names must match your registration record exactly, including middle names and hyphenation. Accepted ID types vary by provider and country, so confirm the accepted list with the provider before test day.
Appointment confirmation / admission letter
Print or save offline a copy showing your test date, start time, centre address (or online proctoring link), and registration or candidate number. If you have not received it within the expected window, contact the provider rather than assuming your slot is confirmed.
Login credentials for the test platform
For remotely proctored delivery, verify your username and password at least 48 hours ahead and complete any required system or identity check in advance. Keep the credentials somewhere you can reach without unlocking your phone if the phone is a prohibited item during the session.
Approved calculator and its permitted status
Confirm with the provider whether a calculator is allowed, which models are permitted, and whether an on-screen calculator is supplied instead. Do not assume a model you use in study is accepted.
Scratch paper, pen, and permitted accessories
Many providers supply these at the desk or forbid bringing them; some online sessions require you to show blank paper to the camera before starting. Confirm the rule with the provider and do not bring your own unless it is explicitly permitted.
Knowledge of the prohibited-items list
Typical bans include phones, smartwatches, fitness trackers, earphones, notes, bags, and food or drink at the desk. Plan where these will stay: a locker at the centre, or a different room if you are testing remotely.
Route and travel plan with a backup
Confirm the exact building and entrance, check the journey time at the hour you will actually travel, and identify a second route or a later train. Aim to be at the site well before the reporting time rather than exactly on it.
A short, high-value review sheet you have written yourself
Limit this to the formulas, definitions, and decision rules you most often get wrong. It is for the final hours only; do not attempt new topics and do not bring it into the test room unless permitted.
Sleep, food, and hydration plan for the 24 hours before
A long multiple-choice paper rewards steady attention more than last-minute cramming. Set a firm stop time for study the night before and eat a normal meal before the session rather than a heavy or unfamiliar one.
Approved accommodations or language-version arrangements
Extra time, separate room, or a specific exam language must normally be requested and approved before the test date; it usually cannot be arranged on the day. Confirm your approval is recorded against your registration with the provider.
A read-through of the provider's candidate handbook or exam regulations
This is where the binding rules on ID, conduct, breaks, and misconduct live. Read it once in the final week so nothing on test day is a surprise, and note any point you want to clarify with the provider.
Plan the day
Stop expanding your syllabus. Re-read the exam regulations and your appointment confirmation, and resolve every open question with the provider now: ID type, calculator policy, permitted items, arrival time, and any accommodation. Confirm your travel plan and, for online delivery, run the platform's system check on the machine you will actually use.
Do two or three timed sections under real conditions: no pauses, no notes, same question mix as the exam. Score them and write down the two or three error patterns that cost you the most marks, for example misreading a negative stem or running out of time on long calculations. Those patterns, not new content, are what you rehearse in the remaining days.
Do a light pass only: skim your own summary sheet, the syllabus outline, and the instructions page so the format feels familiar. Prepare everything physical - ID, confirmation, calculator, clothes, transport ticket, cash - and put it in one place by the door. Check the venue address or proctoring link one last time. Set two alarms. Stop studying early enough to get a normal night's sleep.
Eat something you normally eat. Leave earlier than the journey planner suggests, with a margin for delays. Arrive at the reporting time rather than the start time, since check-in and ID verification take time. Do not attempt a new topic in the waiting area; if you review anything, review your own summary sheet only. Switch the phone off and stow it before you enter the check-in area.
Read the instruction screen in full before answering: number of questions, time limit, whether questions can be flagged and revisited, whether there is negative marking, and how to submit. Breathe, then start. If the interface behaves unexpectedly, raise your hand or use the proctor chat immediately rather than trying to work around it.
Work in passes. Answer the questions you can settle quickly, flag the rest, and return to them - no single item should absorb minutes on a first pass. For each flagged item, commit to a best answer rather than leaving blanks unless wrong answers are penalised, in which case confirm the rule first. Watch the clock at set points, for example a quarter of the time at a quarter of the questions.
Stop solving new items. Confirm that every question carries an answer if the scoring penalises unanswered items, check that your flagged answers were actually changed where intended, and submit deliberately - then confirm the submission was accepted and note any reference number the system gives you.
Rules to check
Bring the original photo ID required by the provider and be ready for it to be checked at check-in and possibly again at the desk. If your ID is expired, damaged, or in a different name from your registration, contact the provider before test day; do not expect an exception at the door.
Phones, smartwatches, earphones, notes, and bags are normally not allowed in the test room, and possession of a device during the session can lead to voiding of your result regardless of whether you used it. Confirm the exact prohibited-items list and locker arrangements with the provider.
Breaks are typically limited and, at many centres, taken only at fixed points with the clock running or with strict supervision. Confirm with the provider whether unscheduled breaks are permitted, whether the timer stops, and whether you can leave the room at all.
Do not communicate with other candidates during the session, do not attempt to photograph or transcribe questions, and do not share or discuss question content afterwards. Providers treat content reproduction as misconduct and it can invalidate your result and affect future eligibility.
If you are testing remotely, keep your face, hands, and workspace in view as instructed, keep the room clear of notes and other people, and follow the proctor's directions immediately. A proctor may pause or terminate a session for environment or identity issues that would be trivial in person.
Understand the scoring rule before you start: confirm with the provider whether unanswered questions score as incorrect, whether any items are unscored, and what the pass mark is. Do not carry an assumption from another exam into this one.
If something goes wrong - illness, transport failure, a technical failure, or a rule you did not know - tell the provider as soon as possible and ask what evidence they require. Outcomes depend on their published policy, so request it in writing rather than relying on what you were told informally.