Everything You Need to Know about GMAT Test Day

Arriving Prepared on Test Day

Being prepared for GMAT test day can alleviate a great deal of stress and help facilitate an optimal testing experience. Students should first and foremost make sure they know how to get to the test center. It is advisable to visit the location in advance of the actual test, in order to become familiar with the transportation routine (traffic, directions, parking, etc.). Test-takers should plan on arriving at the test center at least half an hour before the test begins. Test centers generally have waiting areas where students can relax or do some last-minute studying. In order to be admitted to the test center, students must have valid identification that includes the test-taker's name (exactly as it appears on registration), date of birth, a recent and recognizable photograph, and signature. Documents that meet these criteria include passports, driver's licenses, military IDs, or government-issued national identification cards. All forms of identification must be current as expired documents are not allowed. Although showing the email or letter from Pearson VUE confirming your test date, time, and location isn't required, you might want to have it with you in case there's any question about your correct appointment. Snacks and drinks are permitted only during breaks and cannot be taken into the test room. They must be stored in lockers outside of the testing area. Test-takers are advised to pack all their materials the night before the exam.

Items Allowed in the Test Center and the Online Set Up

Nearly all personal items are prohibited in the test center during the exam. The only exceptions are identification, locker key, a light sweater, and prescription eyeglasses. Any other possessions must be stored in lockers while taking the test. Items specifically prohibited include cell phones, watches, calculators, all other types of electronic devices, books, pens, rulers, and paper. Weapons of any kind are not permitted in any area of the test center. When taking the exam online, you can choose to use a physical whiteboard, an online whiteboard, or both for scratch work and note taking. As you prepare for your exam, determine which option or combination works best for your test-taking strategy. If you plan on testing with a physical whiteboard, you will need to get one before your appointment. During the exam, you will be asked to completely erase your whiteboard and show the front and back of it to the camera at three points: before the exam begins, before the optional break begins (if you choose to take the break), and before the exam ends. During your exam you will have access to an online whiteboard that can be opened and closed using the whiteboard icon in the exam navigation bar at the top of your screen. With the online whiteboard, you'll have an almost endless canvas to work on, so there's no need to erase your work as you move through the exam.

Test Center Rules and Regulations

All testing aids are expressly forbidden while taking the GMAT, including electronic devices, books, or any other item that could assist a test-taker. Students are subject to video and audio monitoring while undergoing the exam, and students may not communicate with each other in any way or otherwise disrupt the testing session. Leaving the test room during the exam without the permission of the test administrator is not allowed, and students must stay in the designated areas during breaks. Access to cell phones, laptops, or any other communication device will not be permitted during break periods. Test materials cannot be removed from the test center and cannot be reproduced in any form.

Test Day Chronology

After arriving at the test center, the first step is checking in. This begins with showing valid identification and signing the GMAT Examination & Testing Rules Agreement. Administrators then digitally record the test-taker's signature, photograph, and palm vein pattern. Before being assigned a computer workstation, students must sign the non-disclosure agreement. Students who do not complete all steps of this process will not be allowed to take the test. 

You may complete the three sections of the exam—Verbal, Quantitative, and Data Insights—in any order, and you have 45 minutes for each section. (If you wish to take the GMAC Business Writing Assessment test, it cannot be scheduled with the GMAT. It is a separate assessment taken independently that you have to register for and schedule on its own.) The GMAT is 2 hours and 15 minutes long with one optional 10-minute break and consists of 64 total questions. You can take the optional break either after the first section or after the second section of the test. After finishing the exam, students are shown their unofficial total scores and section scores for Verbal, Quantitative, and Data Insights. Before leaving the test center, students are asked a series of questions about their demographics, background, graduate school plans, and willingness to participate in surveys.

Penalties for Violations

Test-takers who fail to follow all of the above policies will receive sanctions that range from cancellation of scores all the way up to lifetime testing bans, depending on the nature of the violation. Policy violations (accessing electronic devices, accessing study guides, improper storage of items, or accessing other unauthorized items) result in score cancellation, indication of a violation on official score reports, and testing bans of up to five years. Serious policy violations (falsifying score reports, taking the test for others, disclosing test content, or providing fraudulent payment) can lead to testing bans of one year to life as well as revocation of scores and school notification.