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PTCE test day: where you test, what to bring, and when you find out

Plan on about two hours at a Pearson VUE test center: a 5-minute tutorial, the 110-minute exam and a 5-minute survey. Bring one valid government photo ID with a signature, arrive 30 minutes early, and expect a preliminary pass or fail on screen at the end.

Published September 19, 2026

The PTCE is 90 multiple-choice questions in 110 minutes, delivered at Pearson VUE test centers. PTCB's CPhT page asks you to commit two hours in total, because a 5-minute tutorial comes before the exam and a 5-minute survey after it. The rules below are from PTCB's help center and credential pages.

Test center only, for now

PTCB's help center states that online testing is available for all of its credential exams except the PTCE. Pearson VUE's page for PTCB still describes live remote proctoring as an option, which conflicts with that. PTCB is the body that sets the rules, so we'd plan on a test center and check PTCB's current policy when you schedule.

The ID rule

You need a valid, unexpired, original government-issued ID with both a photograph and a signature, and the name on it has to match the name on your PTCB account. Without an acceptable ID you can't test and you lose your fees, so compare the two names when you book, not on the morning of the exam.

Arriving and during the exam

PTCB asks you to arrive at the test center 30 minutes before your appointment. There are no scheduled breaks during the PTCE. You may take an unscheduled one, but PTCB says the exam clock does not stop while you are away, so a break comes straight out of your 110 minutes.

A calculator is built into the exam, and PTCB says a personal calculator may not be used under any circumstance. Pearson's own test center rules govern everything else in the room, including what scratch materials are provided, and we have not read those rules closely enough to summarize them, so ask the test center when you check in.

The 10 unscored questions are mixed in with the scored ones and aren't marked, so the practical approach is to answer every question as if it counts. How the scored ones turn into a result is in how the PTCE is scored.

Results

A preliminary pass or fail appears on screen when you finish. PTCB is clear that this is not the final result: the official score report typically reaches your PTCB account within three weeks. The passing score is 1,400 on a scale that runs from 1,000 to 1,600.

Rehearsing the conditions

The most useful rehearsal is sitting 90 questions in 110 minutes once before the real thing, so pacing isn't a surprise. Our free PTCB practice test is that length and time limit, scored on the same scale, and the formula sheet covers the calculations you'll use the built-in calculator for.

Related

• How the PTCE is scored, and what the number means
• Who can take the PTCE, what it costs, and what keeping the CPhT takes