Things You Need to Know About Exam Day

After months of preparation—studying textbooks, joining review sessions, and ensuring plenty of rest—the moment has arrived: It’s exam day for the CMA® (Certified Management Accountant) certification. Before you head into the testing center, take a few minutes to go over these essential reminders. You can also find these details in the CMA Handbook:

Arrival

  • Arriving 30 minutes before the time of your appointment will prevent incurring the additional full cost re-registration fees associated with arriving 15 minutes late for your scheduled appointment.
  • Remember the pre-test admittance protocols, including signing into the Prometric logbook, providing a valid form of identification (see below), and only bringing an IMA-approved type of calculator with you into the testing center.

Candidates are scanned prior to each entry into the test room to ensure you do not have any prohibited electronic devices or notes. Declining the scanning process will result in denial of test access and submission of noncompliance reporting to Prometric and ICMA.

Identification Requirements

All candidates must present proof of their identity to be permitted to take the CMA exams. The name on your ID(s) must match exactly with the name on your authorization letter. Any changes must be made at least one week (seven days) prior to your first scheduled appointment.

Please note that your name will be displayed on your CMA certificate as it appears on your IMA Profile. No changes can be made to your name once you have completed the exams.

Below is a list of acceptable forms of identification. You must present one primary ID or two secondary IDs to be permitted to take the exams.

All identification must be original. Photocopies and/or electronic downloads are not acceptable.

PRIMARY (one form of ID needed) – Must be original, unexpired, and include a photograph and your signature

  • Passport
  • U.S. Passport Card
  • Government issued National Country ID
  • EU Identity Card
  • Government issued driver’s license

OR

SECONDARY (two forms of ID needed) – Must be original and unexpired – one with a photograph and one with your signature

  • Military ID Card
  • PAN Card (India)
  • Aadhar Card (India)
  • Voter ID (India)
  • Postal ID (Philippines)
  • Bank ATM, debit, or credit card with signature

Photo must look like the candidate. Signature on ID must match the Daily Test Taker Roster.

You will not be permitted into the examination without proper identification. If you are not granted access to the exam, you will be required to register again for the exam and pay the full fee. Without the above listed identification, you will not be able to test.

Calculator Policy

Small battery- or solar-powered electronic calculators restricted to a maximum of six functions—addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, square root, and percentage—are allowed. The calculator must not be programmable and must not use any type of tape. Candidates can also use Texas Instruments’ BA II Plus, HP 10bII+, HP 12c, or HP 12c Platinum calculators when taking the exams. The Hewlett-Packard 10BII is valid, but no longer available for purchase.

Candidates will not be allowed to use calculators that do not comply with these restrictions, and only one calculator will be permitted per candidate. Please note it is up to Prometric to make the final determination to accept a calculator.

If for any reason the candidate’s calculator is not allowed at the testing center, the test site personnel can provide a calculator to the candidate, or the candidate can use the calculator application within the exam software.

More Resources

Visit the Prometric website to learn more about what to expect on exam day.

You can also find information about all policies related to the exam in the CMA Handbook.