To register for any NCIDQ Examination section, you must first complete the application process and be approved for registration. If you have not completed the application process, click here. (Please review your state board’s policy regarding NCIDQ Examination application and registration, as some states have additional/separate requirements.)

Once your application is approved, we will send you an e-mail advising you that you are eligible to register for any or all of the exam sections during the next exam registration cycle. You may choose to take only one or two sections at a time or you may take all three during the same administration. Once your application has been approved, you do not have to reapply. However, in order to stay in our active database of approved candidates, you MUST either register for an exam section during the registration period or defer registering until the following administration by the deadline. Your registration or deferral is not complete until we receive your payment.

Failure to either register or defer following your application approval results in inactive status. Once you become inactive, you no longer receive NCIDQ notifications informing you of important information or updates. You are also required to pay the Exam Candidate Reactivation fee in order to become eligible to register for the exam.

Registration

Online registration begins approximately three months before the upcoming examination date (January for the spring examination and July for the fall examination). Once your application is approved, you will receive e-mail notifications explaining when and how to register and the deadline for completing your registration. In order to receive these important notifications, please ensure that your e-mail address is current in your MyNCIDQ Account. NCIDQ is not responsible for information misdirected or unopened e-mail.

When your registration form and payment are processed, you will receive an e-mail confirmation. Your registration is not complete until payment has been rendered. Therefore, if you pay by check, please allow enough time for NCIDQ to receive and process your payment. If you miss the initial registration deadline, you may register by the late registration deadline for a fee of $125 (US). After the late deadline, registrations cannot be added or changed. View the Exam Dates & Deadlines Schedule for the current registration deadlines.

Following registration, you will receive e-mail notifications providing additional exam information and instructions. You will also receive an e-mail from our examination partner, ACT, no later than two weeks before the examination date, containing instructions on how to retrieve your admission letter online. The electronic letter of admission will confirm your registration and provide the exam location and directions. You must present your letter of admission with a government-issued photo ID (driver’s license, passport, etc.) to be allowed entrance to the exam. You must retrieve this letter online, print it and bring it with you to the test center. You will not be allowed into the test center without your printed letter of admission.

Deferral

If you choose not to register for any exam sections for the upcoming administration, you must defer taking the exam until the following administration and pay the deferral fee. If you do not register or defer, your candidate status becomes inactive, and you must pay an additional fee to reactivate it. Keep in mind that you must take at least one section within five years of becoming eligible.

Cancellations

Registered candidates must give NCIDQ adequate notice of their wish to cancel their registration in order to receive any refund or credit for exam fees paid. Candidates who wish to cancel must do so in writing using the Exam Cancellation Form. The cancellation deadline is noted on the form.

The cancellation fee is $100 for one exam section, $125 for two sections and $150 for all three sections. This fee includes deferral to the next examination period. Candidates whose cancellation requests are approved will receive a refund in the form they paid, minus the applicable cancellation fee.

Candidates who initially registered for all three exam sections and cancel only one or two of them will be charged an additional partial cancellation fee. This fee will be deducted from the refund. This additional fee is charged because the discount for candidates who take all three exam sections in the same exam administration does not apply to candidates who take one or two sections only.

Cancellation requests made after the cancellation deadline must include documentation of a personal medical or family medical emergency that prevents the candidate from taking the examination. Scheduling conflicts, business engagements, STEP class cancellation, inadequate preparation and other personal reasons are not accepted. The deadline for emergency cancellation requests is noted on the Exam Cancellation Form.

NCIDQ processes all cancellation refunds within 30 days of the exam administration, regardless of the date we receive your cancellation request. Please allow time for your refund to be processed.

Candidates who do not meet NCIDQ’s cancellation requirements will not receive any refund or credit for exam sections not taken. They need to register and pay again for any exam sections they wish to take in the future.

Five-Year Exam Completion Time Limit

If you started taking the exam in 2009 or earlier, you must complete all sections by the end of 2014. At that time, any scores more than five years old will be voided, and you must retake those sections.

If you started taking the exam in 2010 or later, you must complete all sections within five years. Scores more than five years old will be voided, and you must retake those sections.