ICAEW Access Arrangement Guidance

The details on this page assume you have had your access arrangements approved by the Access Arrangement (AA) Team. If you have not had your confirmation letter, please contact the AA team via the enquiry line - my.icaew.com/examsonline. Email and postal applications will no longer be accepted. Note, sometimes you will have different access arrangements for on demand exams compared to session-based exams (e.g ACA Professional or Advanced Level) due to system capabilities. Please refer to your confirmation letter for details of the arrangements approved.

If you have previously had an exam booking which was cancelled, a No Show, or have booked an exam before your access arrangement was awarded, you will need to cancel any existing exam bookings and contact the student support team at ICAEW to send a new exam authorisation to ensure your arrangements are reflected in your exam booking(s).

We recommend waiting until the ICAEW AA Team confirms your access arrangements are in place before booking your exams.

Note:

  • If your Tuition Provider manages your exam bookings, please contact them before making any changes. If you are in a training agreement, please check with your employer first.
  • You will receive an exam booking confirmation email to your registered e-mail address at the time of booking. Please check this thoroughly in advance of your exam to ensure the time allocated is as expected and all details are correct. It is your responsibility to ensure your arrangements are reflected in your booking.
  • Some access arrangements prevent exam booking online. As on demand exams are running every day of the year and can be booked for the same day, we need time to implement some arrangements (e.g inform the centre that you are permitted to bring in items that are usually prohibited, book a separate room, or install required software).

Access arrangements are divided into the following four categories. Please click on a category in the table below for more details:

  Category Description
1. Extra time
  • Extra time (up to 100%)
  • Stop the clock (Pause the clock) (Centre Only)
  • A combination of 17% extra time + 17% Pause the clock (Centre only)
  • A combination of 25% extra time + 8% Pause the clock (Centre only)
2. Comfort Aids

Standard permitted items where pre-approval is not required:

  • Medicine & Medical Devices
  • Mobility Devices
  • Other Approved Items
3. Pre-approved
  • Reader and/or scribe
  • ZoomText/Visual Impairments
  • Sole Occupancy (A Separate Room)
  • Food
  • Drink
  • Glucose monitoring equipment (e.g mobile testing)
4. Other Accommodation(s) Anything not listed above.

Extra-time

If you are awarded with any of the access arrangements below, the relevant information is submitted automatically to Pearson VUE’s booking system in your exam authorisation(s) and you should be able to book your exam via the exam booking portal or through your Tuition Provider/ employer (if they manage your exam bookings).

  • Extra time (up to 100%)
  • Stop the clock/ Pause the clock (Centre Only)
  • A combination of 17% extra time + 17% Pause the clock (Centre only)
  • A combination of 25% extra time + 8% Pause the clock (Centre only)
For anything not on this list, refer to the Other Accommodation(s) process. If in doubt, contact the ICAEW student support team.

Comfort Aids

The Pearson VUE Comfort Aid List shows what you are permitted to have with you during your exam without an approved access arrangement – Pearson VUE Comfort Aid List. For anything not on this list, refer to the Other Accommodation(s) process. If in doubt, contact the ICAEW student support team.

Pre-approved

Although these access arrangements have been approved by ICAEW and Pearson VUE have been sent an automated notification, you are not able to schedule your exam online to ensure that all your requirements can be met (eg. organise for a reader and/ or scribe, book a separate room or install specific software). You or your Tuition Provider (if they manage your bookings) will need to contact Pearson VUE to schedule your exams on your behalf. If you have a hearing impediment, please contact the ICAEW student support team to do this on your behalf.

Preapproved accommodations are stated as follows:

Make sure you read the details carefully for any these accommodations on this website below as there are restrictions you will need to consider to avoid issues on the day of your exam, eg. food needs to be in a zip-lock, water in a sport-type spill proof (preferably transparent) bottle, etc.

Other Accommodation(s)

ICAEW endeavour to ensure all accommodations are pre-approved, but there are always some requirements that are difficult to foresee and implement in advance, eg. a combination of accommodations or something quite specific to a student.

On demand exams provide the flexibility for our students to choose when and where their exam is delivered. As Pearson VUE delivers thousands of exams each day, it is not possible for each centre/ online invigilator to check all students records in advance to see which accommodations have been granted. To ensure that your accommodations are in place, we need time to implement (eg. inform the centre that you are permitted to bring in items that are usually prohibited). This is required for each exam booking (not a one-off request that covers all bookings).

If you have been awarded with any of the below access arrangements, it will not be possible to book your exam(s) online or via contacting Pearson VUE directly:

  • More than 100% extra time
  • Combinations of AAs for remote sittings
  • Anything not specified on the other lists.

Please complete the table below and send it to contact ICAEW student support They will contact the relevant team to make your exam booking on your behalf. Although this should only take a few days, please allow up to 10 working days for your exam(s) to be scheduled. Note that more complex arrangements may take longer, and we will inform you if this is the case when you send in your request.

If you haven’t been able to book your exam and there are additional accommodations outstanding complete the following form:

My exam is already booked: Y/N
Preferred contact method (specify with details)  
Exam module  
Date / time of exam  
(Preferred) test centre  
Payment method (eg. credit/ debit card or voucher supplied by tuition provider/ employer)  
List of your accommodations – We will check this against your ICAEW record to ensure that you have the accommodations you are expecting approved.  

Reader and/or scribe

If you have been approved a Reader and/or Scribe but you do not think you will use them, please contact the Access Arrangement team and they will remove the pre-approved authorisation, and allow you to book online.

To go ahead with booking a Reader and/or Scribe, please follow these steps:

  1. Contact the Access Arrangement team at ICAEW to confirm you are going to use a Reader and/or a Scribe and for which module(s) at least 21 working days in advance of your proposed exam date. This will only be required for your first attempt using a Reader and/or Scribe. Skip to step 3 if this was done previously.
  2. ICAEW will add additional time to your authorisation to accommodate communication time and inform you this has been completed.
  3. Contact Pearson VUE to book your exam with the Reader and/or Scribe. Do not contact Pearson VUE until you have been notified by the AA team that your additional time is in place.

In certain circumstances, you may want to request approval from ICAEW to use your own appointed reader and/or scribe. Personally sourced Readers and/or Scribes are required to sign a consent to video and audio recording and a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) upon arrival at a test centre or at least two weeks before your scheduled remote invigilated exam. Contact the AA team to enquire about this process allowing plenty of time, at least 21 working days, for authorising and processing your request.

Visual Impairments

All ICAEW exams are web based and you can zoom in and out of the screen by clicking on Ctrl + or –. No access arrangements will be required.

If you have been granted the use of ZoomText for colour contrast, please test this out prior to your exam booking to ensure it is suitable for your needs:

Using ZoomText at a Centre

You will need to contact Pearson VUE before giving at least ten days’ notice for every booking to arrange for an assigned computer that has the ZoomText software installed on it before your exam.

Using ZoomText via Remote Invigilation

You will need to Contact Pearson VUE to make your exam booking(s) on your behalf and will not be able to schedule your exam online. Pearson VUE need time to allocate a computer to you at your chosen exam centre which has the software installed or add the software to a ‘White’ list if you are sitting remotely for each exam attempt.

You need to download ZoomText onto your device if you want to use it via remote invigilation.

When using ZoomText on your device, it will be your responsibility to ensure the software is installed correctly and that you are familiar with how to use if for adjusting the colour contrast.

Food

If you have had this accommodation approved, please note the following:

  • Any food (snack) on the day must be in a zip-lock type transparent sandwich bag and it should be food that is not too messy, noisy or strong-smelling, and will be visually inspected during check-in.
  • The exam will be delivered in a separate room, therefore the booking will need to be completed by contacting the Pearson VUE customer service team and requesting a booking with accommodation(s).

Drink

If a drink has been approved as an accommodation for you, please note that it must be in a transparent spill-proof sport-type bottle with a spout, and will be visually inspected during check-in.

Glucose monitoring equipment

Some glucose monitoring equipment will fall under the comfort aid list – Pearson VUE Comfort Aid List – and will not require an access arrangement.

If the equipment you require is not in the comfort aid list, you need to apply for access arrangements. You will need to apply for sole occupancy (a separate room) if any of the following apply:

  • Your device makes a noise.
  • The device is not attached to your body.
  • The device needs to be plugged into the computer.
  • The device has an external remote control.
  • The device requires a mobile phone to control it.

Sole Occupancy (Separate Room)

If you have been approved to sit in a separate room, please note that most test centres will only have one separate room and choices for availability might be limited. Please ensure you book as far ahead as possible. Note that you will be unable to book online, so please Contact Pearson VUE or your Tuition Provider to make a booking.

Wheelchair accessible centres

Please see individual test centre access details here: Pearson VUE - Find a test center

Contact ICAEW Student Support

Contact ICAEW Student Support on +44 (0)1908 248 250, email studentsupport@icaew.com, or visit the ACA or ICAEW CFAB student areas of the ICAEW website.

Contact Pearson VUE

You can schedule your exams via the Pearson VUE website https://access.icaew.com/pearsonvue or by phoning the ICAEW exam booking line on +44 161 855 7444.

Contact the ICAEW Access Arrangement Team

Apply for Access Arrangements or make an enquiry for an active application via your single sign on – my.icaew.com/examsonline. Further guidance is available here Access arrangements guidance for exams | Apply for exams | ICAEW

Last updated 2024-02-08