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Examinations Policies & Procedures

Examinations Policies & Procedures

Authorization to Test (ATT)
Upon approval of a registration, candidates are sent, via email, an Authorization to Test (ATT) notification which will include your 1-day eligibility. The ATT provides instructions and details for scheduling your exam time and location. You must bring two (2) forms of unexpired, government-issued form of identification (such as a driver’s license or passport) that includes both your photograph and signature to the testing center on your examination day. Click here to view Pearson Vue’s ID policy. If your identification contains your photograph and not your signature, you can use another form of unexpired identification that contains your signature, such as an employee identification card or a credit card, to supplement your photo-bearing, government-issued identification. The first and last names on your identification must exactly match the names on your ATT. The only acceptable difference would be the presence of a middle name, middle initial or suffix on one document and its absence on the other. Please contact the NBE® immediately at (919) 861-5582 if you have not received a ATT within six (6) weeks prior to test date or if the name on your ATT is misspelled or differs from your names as it appears on your identification. Name changes or corrections cannot be made within 7 business days of your scheduled examination appointment. 

Scheduling Your Test
You must have your Scheduling Permit before you can contact Pearson Vue to schedule a testing appointment. You should contact Pearson Vue as soon as you receive the permit. Pearson Vue schedules testing appointments on a first-come, first-served basis. The sooner you schedule your appointment, the more likely you will receive your preferred test time and location.

When you call to schedule your examination appointment, you will be asked to provide the program code, exam code and scheduling number which will be located at the top of the permit. Pearson Vue will provide you with an appointment confirmation, the test center location and telephone number. Please call the test center for directions.

Confirm your testing center location one week before your appointment via Pearson Vue’s website or by contacting Pearson Vue at the telephone number listed on your permit.

Test Center and Testing Conditions

Pearson VUE provides computer-based testing services for academic assessment, professional licensure, and certification. Pearson VUE testing centers are set up similarly. This not only helps enhance security, but also provides the same standards for comfort and uniformity for all examinees. Pearson VUE testing centers provide the resources necessary for secure administration of the examination, including video and audio monitoring and recording, and use of digital cameras to record the identity of examinees.

Admission to the Test

You should arrive at the Pearson VUE test center 30 minutes before your scheduled testing time on your testing date. If you arrive late, you may not be admitted. If you arrive more than 30 minutes after your scheduled testing time, you will not be admitted.

On arrival, you are required to sign in on the test center log and to present your two (2) forms of unexpired, government-issued identification (such as a driver’s license or passport) that includes both your photograph and signature, after which, a digital photograph will be taken. All of your personal belongings, food and beverages must be placed in a small, designated locker outside the testing room. ALL electronic devices (smart watches, mobile phones, Bluetooth headphones, etc.) must be turned off before placing them in the locker. You will be asked to empty and turn your pockets inside out prior to entry into the testing room to confirm that you have not prohibited items.  You will be asked to repeat this process prior to every entry into the testing room after a break.

Test center staff will provide detailed instructions prior to beginning your exam. Test center staff will escort you to your assigned testing station and provide brief instructions on the use of the computer equipment. You will be provided with a laminated note board, dry erase markers, and eraser.

View a video of what to expect at a Pearson VUE testing center.

Testing Regulations and Rules of Conduct

Test center staff monitors all testing sessions for the examination. You must follow instructions of test center staff throughout the examination. Failure to do so may result in a determination of irregular behavior.

Test center staff is not authorized to answer questions from candidates regarding examination content, testing software, or scoring.

If staff observes you violating test administration rules or engaging in other forms of irregular behavior during the examination, the center staff will not necessarily tell you of the observation at the time of the examination. You may not bring any personal belongings in to the testing area. If you bring any personal belongings to the test center, you must store them in a designated locker outside the testing area. Personal items and their contents may be subject to inspection.

Any materials that reasonably appear to be reproductions of any NBE examination materials will be confiscated. Making notes of any kind during the examination, except on the materials provided by the test center for this purpose is not permitted. Removal of those materials from the secure testing area is prohibited.

For your examination, you may bring soft-foam earplugs into the testing room.  However, they must be out of the packaging and ready for inspection by test center staff during check-in.  Earplugs must be left at the workstation during all breaks.

Exam Administration

Occasionally issues arise in the creation, administration and scoring of examinations. For example, power failures, hardware and software problems, human error, or weather problems may interfere with some part of the examination process or delay the reporting of scores. When such problems arise, NBE® may provide the affected candidates with an opportunity to take the examination at the next scheduled examination date. This shall be the candidate’s sole remedy. NBE® shall not be liable to any candidate for inconvenience, expense, or other damage, including administration, or scoring of an examination, including delays in score reporting. In no circumstance will NBE® reduce its standards or overturn the candidate’s score as a means of correcting a problem in examination administration. Issues or problems arising during the administration of the examination must be reported to Pearson VUE test center staff by the candidate experiencing the issue or problem at the time the exam is being administered and prior the candidate departing the test center site on the day the examination is scheduled. Candidates must also notify NBE® of any issues or problems with the administration of the examination within 72 hours of candidate’s schedule examination time.

In the rare event of a technical problem, testing software is designed to allow the test to restart at the point it was interrupted. In most cases, the test can be restarted at the point of interruption with no loss of testing time.

Special Accommodations

NBE® will provide, upon approved request, reasonable accommodations necessary to afford an individual with a documented disability an equal opportunity to participate in the NBE® examinations. To support a request for special accommodations, please provide an original letter signed by applicant and an evaluator, qualified psychologist, physician, or other health care professional who specializes in the stated disability. The documentation must:

  • Be current (completed within the last five years)
  • Clearly state the diagnosed disability or disabilities
  • Describe the functional limitations resulting from the disability
  • Describe the specific accommodations requested and the rationale for such accommodations
  • Be typed or printed on official letterhead and signed by the evaluator qualified to make the diagnosis
  • Examples, when possible, of where special accommodations have been requested and granted. If no prior accommodations have been provided, the evaluator, psychologist, physician, or health care professional should include a detailed explanation as to why no accommodations were given in the past and why the accommodations are needed now.

The purpose of the documentation is to validate that the candidate is covered under the ADA as a disabled individual. Additional documentation may be required to support the request. All documentation submitted in support of a request for special accommodation will be kept confidential.