United Kingdom · QualificationsHow does CISI exam booking work?
- Register on CISI’s website, which gives you a MyCISI login.
- Choose your exam in the exam shop, or call +44 20 7645 0777 or email customersupport@cisi.org.
- In the UK, buy the current CISI workbook with the booking, as CISI requires.
- Pick a test centre, or remote invigilation if you’re 18 or over.
Under 18s are booked by their school, college, scholarship scheme or a parent or guardian. Under 16s also need a form completed at booking and an adult with them at the test centre. If you’ll sit outside the UK, ask CISI’s local office for prices.
Moving or cancelling a CISI exam booking
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| First MCQ transfer, more than 14 days ahead | Free |
| First MCQ transfer, 14 days to 96 hours ahead | £20 |
| First MCQ transfer, less than 96 hours ahead | £80 |
| Second or later transfer | Full fee |
| Passing an MCQ booking to another candidate | £20 |
That’s CISI’s transfers policy, dated May 2026. CISI’s price list shows a transfer fee of £24, so confirm the amount with CISI when you ask. If you withdraw, you don’t get the exam fee or the workbook cost back. A narrative exam moves free if you ask before its closing date; after that you pay the full fee.
Can you resit a CISI exam straight away?
Not straight away. After an MCQ exam you must wait 96 hours before you resit, so an exam taken on a Thursday at 10:00 can be retaken from 10:00 the following Monday. These limits also apply to the same MCQ exam:
- up to three attempts in any 12 months before a six-week rest starts, counted from the third sitting
- no more than six attempts in any 12 months
- a fourth attempt inside the rest period only if your firm’s CISI booking contact applies for a waiver and CISI grants it
In the UK every resit costs the full exam fee. Outside the UK you pay the international resit fee while your workbook edition is current. A narrative exam resit costs the full fee too.
Remote exam problems
You must pass CISI’s system check before every remote exam, on the same device and in the same place you’ll use. CISI sets these rules if something goes wrong:
- if a device problem CISI agrees you can’t fix stops you passing the check, a move to a test centre is free with more than 24 hours’ notice and £80 with less
- if a verifiable technical problem during the exam makes you fail, contact CISI within 10 working days
- if remote access software such as AnyDesk or TeamViewer is installed, you can’t sit, and the exam counts as a no-show
Written exam sessions
Narrative exams have fixed dates, booking windows and closing dates, which CISI lists on its exam dates page. For these exams:
- a late booking in the UK before the late booking closing date costs a £60 late entry fee on top of the exam fee
- after the late booking closing date, CISI can’t promise a place
- for a remote narrative exam, you download the application, run the system check and confirm your start time at least four days ahead
Sources: CISI and 5 more. Checked October 2026.
- CISI: Book a CISI exam (exam shop) ↗
- CISI: Transfers, Withdrawals, Re-Sits, Substitutions and Late Bookings Policy (Version 7, May 2026) ↗
- CISI: Multiple Sittings Policy (Version 9, March 2023) ↗
- CISI: Examination Regulations (Version 16, April 2025) ↗
- CISI: Price list 2026-2027 ↗
- CISI: Exam dates ↗
Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.
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