The oral exam is the final assessment of competency before issue of:
- International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978 (STCW)
- Marine Order 505 certificates of competency.
By accepting the meeting invite for the oral exam you are agreeing to the policy and rules of conduct. If you do not agree to the policy and rules, do not accept the meeting invite and contact us.
Conduct of oral exams
Online exams - We conduct most oral exams online using Microsoft Teams.
Face-to-face exams – We offer face-to-face oral exams at request, subject to examiner availability. We also insist on face-to-face exams after 3 repeated exam failures.
You must tell us if you wish to attend a face-to-face oral exam when you book.
Candidate integrity
We expect you to approach the exam with honesty and integrity. We also train our examiners to look for signs of dishonesty.
Our examiners may decide you are not complying with the agreed conditions of the exam if:
- your eyes concentrate on a specific place on the screen, desk, or background
- you type or move your mouse when the examiner hasn’t asked you to
- you repeatedly lose connection, video or microphone
- you frequently move your arms or hands
- the examiner hears the sound of moving paper
- the examiner hears prompting sounds in the background.
If the examiner thinks you are not complying, they may stop the exam and record it as a failure. The examiner’s decision is final.
How to prepare for your exam
We strongly encourage you to fully prepare before booking and attending your exam.
Make sure you:
- download the exam syllabus
- revise and study
- ask colleagues to coach you, or get formal coaching from a registered training organisation.
This can be time consuming and stressful but it’s worth the effort. If you don't prepare well enough, you'll need to resit your exam. This means:
- a delay in the issue of your certificate of competency
- paying the exam fee again.
If you need to rebook, you may not be able resit the exam within the timeframe you want. Exam spots are limited due to high demand at certain times of the year, and a high number of resits.
Examiners’ decisions
The examiner’s decision on whether you are competent in your exam is final. If the examiner deems you ‘not yet competent’ we will send feedback on areas for improvement.
What happens if you fail your exam
If you fail an oral exam, you can book another exam but there's a minimum wait time before you can resit. This wait time gives you time to review your results and prepare.
Minimum wait times for exam resits
| Exam failure | No resit before |
|---|---|
| 1 | 2 weeks |
| 2 | 2 weeks |
| 3 | 4 weeks |
| 4 | 2 months |
| 5 | 3 months |
| 6 | 3 months or more (at examiner's discretion) |
| 7 or more | No less than 4 months |
These wait times are a 'minimum'. You may need to wait longer before attending a resit. Exam availability is limited due to high demand.
Repeated failures
If you fail the oral exam 3 or more times, you will need to attend your next exam attempt in person, face-to-face.
Complaints and grievances
If you have complaints or concerns with the conduct of your exam, you can lodge a complaint. See our service charter for information on making a complaint.