FAQs

There are some personal items that Pearson will permit into your test room without prior approval. They refer to these as ‘Comfort Aids’. They are listed here.

If you require an item in the testing room that is not listed, you will need to apply for approval from UAT-UK. You will need to submit an access arrangements request before booking your test. You can do this via your online account. There are different deadlines that apply to tests with access arrangements so make yourself aware of these as early as possible. They can be found on our key dates page.

You will need to provide supporting evidence that specifically outlines why you need continuous and immediate access to the item. If continuous access is not required, we might instead approve you to have rest breaks in which the timer is stopped and you can go to your locker to get what you need.

If you are in education, when you apply for access arrangements you will need to provide a letter from your school which states your usual way of working in public exams. If you require extra time, it must state the amount of time you are entitled to, or, if you are requesting to sit in a separate room, it must state that you are entitled to 1:1 invigilation.

This should be written by an appropriate member of staff or SENCo and should be on school headed paper.

If you are sitting in October, you can request your arrangements before test booking is open. We recommend doing this before your school closes for the summer holidays.

If your school is closed at the time of your request, submit it anyway, and you can upload your letter later, provided you do so before the deadline. If you do not come back and provide your letter, your test may be cancelled and you will have to re-book.

If you are not in education we can except a letter from an appropriate medical practitioner. You should refer to our Access Arrangements Policy for more information.

You will be prompted to upload your document as part of your application for access arrangements. If you need to come back and do it later, you can do so via the secure messaging function in your account. This will come directly to a member of the UAT-UK team.

Please refer to our Access Arrangements Policy for full details on what evidence will be accepted. If you are no longer in education and have a learning difference such as dyslexia, we require a full, post-16 diagnostic assessment report, signed by an appropriate professional. If you have a physical disability, sensory impairment or any other medical or health condition, we will accept a recent letter (dated 2025) from your usual GP Practice or a specialist (e.g. a consultant or psychiatrist).

If you have any questions, contact us directly through the secure messaging function on your account.

Yes, if you are entitled to access arrangements during school exams, such as extra time, then you should be able to get this approved by UAT-UK. You will need to provide supporting evidence when applying for any access arrangements.

UAT-UK are unable to reimburse you if you have paid for a test and subsequently apply for a bursary. You will need to cancel and re-book if you want to use your bursary. If you do this more than 48 hours prior to your booking, your original test fee will be refunded.

To do so:

• Apply for a bursary via your online account and wait for UAT-UK to approve it
• Go to your existing booking on your dashboard and click  ‘Manage Appointment’
• Cancel your test
• You will also need to remove the existing test card from your dashboard, so click on ‘withdraw’ under the relevant test
• Re-apply to sit the relevant test. You will be automatically authorised and a new test card will appear.
• Re-book using the link. When you reach the payment screen, your eligible bursary will be used and you will not be prompted to make a payment.

Please note: Any re-booking is subject to Test Centre availability and there is no guarantee you will be able to re-book for the same time in the same Test Centre after cancellation.

UAT-UK does not share information on your access arrangements and we do not pass on details of any disability.

No, our tests are taken on computers in Pearson VUE Test Centres, and as such, water is not permitted into the test room.

If you need access to water for medical reasons, please let us know by completing an access arrangements request via your online account. Deadlines apply, so make sure you are aware of these.

No, UAT-UK will not approve this access arrangement request.

If your school/college is closed, you should still apply for access arrangements as soon as possible. UAT-UK will review your application and provisionally approve it, where appropriate. When your school is open, come back and upload your letter using the secure message function in your online account.

You must do this before the deadline otherwise your test will be cancelled. For the October 2025 sitting, the deadline is the 8th September at 6pm BST.

This is done via your UAT-UK online account. Please set this up here.

Once you have one, you will see the access arrangements request form on your dashboard when you log in. You will need to upload supporting evidence, so make sure you have this to hand.

All the information you need is found on our Access Arrangements page.

Make sure you are aware of the relevant deadlines. It can take up to ten working days for a request for access arrangements to be confirmed. You should apply for access arrangements in advance of the booking deadline to ensure you still have time to book your test.

If you were approved for a bursary for the October sitting and did not use it OR, booked a test and cancelled more than 48 hours in advance of your test, but wish to re-book in January, you will need to reapply for a bursary.

Bursaries are approved for the upcoming sitting only. We do not roll these forward if they are not used.

If you booked a test using a bursary, did not cancel, but were absent from your appointment, we will not be able to reissue a bursary for the same test.

This is done via your UAT-UK online account. Please set this up here.

Once you have one, you will see the bursary request form on your dashboard when you log in. You will need to upload supporting evidence, so make sure you have this to hand.

All the information you need is found on our bursary page.

It can take up to five working days for a request for a bursary to be reviewed. You should apply in advance of the booking deadline to ensure you still have time to book your test.

No, you (or your parent/guardian) only need to be in receipt of one of the listed awards and provide one piece of supporting evidence that meets the outlined requirements.

Although we can offer bursaries for the full cost of the test, we are unable to support students with other expenses.

If you are applying to courses that require conflicting compulsory ESAT modules, you might need to sit four modules instead of three.

If one of your courses allows for a free choice of modules, you should sit the compulsory modules required for your other application.

If they both have three compulsory modules, and they do not align, you will need to request permission from UAT-UK to sit four. When you apply to sit the test on your dashboard, it will ask you for your module selection. Select all four modules that you need. This will trigger a review by UAT-UK. You will be asked to let us know which courses you are applying to so that we can confirm you are selecting correctly.

For ESAT specific course requirements, please refer to the course pages on the websites of the institutions to which you are applying. If you have any questions about admission requirements, you should contact the institution directly.

The TUMA overview page lists the universities signed up to use the TMUA and the ESAT page lists those using the ESAT. For specific course requirements, please refer to the course pages on the websites of the institutions to which you are applying and ensure you understand which test you need to sit, if any, and which parts you need to register for if you need to sit the ESAT. If you have any questions about admission requirements, you should contact the institution directly.

You will be provided with an erasable sheets/whiteboard and a pen at the Pearson VUE Test Centre. For reasons of test security, students will not be allowed to take their own materials into the test.

Calculators are not permitted in either test.

If you are sitting in the UK, and do not have a valid passport, you can apply for an ID exemption. This will allow you to sit without one of the listed forms of accepted ID in our policy.

If an exemption is granted, you will be able to present a Citizen Card OR a letter, with a photograph, from your school.

To apply for this, you should contact UAT-UK as soon as possible via your online account. If you apply with less than five working days until your test, we cannot guarantee this will be approved in time.

You must get approval before you present one of these exceptional forms of ID at your Test Centre. If your exemption is not marked on your booking by UAT-UK, you will not be permitted to test. 

Once approved, you must take the Citizen Card or a printed copy of your letter with you to your test booking.

ID exemptions may also be granted if you are seeking asylum in the UK, have refugee status, or are applying to stay in the UK as a stateless person. Please contact UAT-UK via your online account and you will be advised accordingly.

Candidates in the rest of the world, must present their government-issued ID card, or another form of ID that complies with our policy.

We would strongly discourage candidates from paying to sit the test early and there is no benefit in doing so. UAT-UK provides practice tests, free of charge, in the Pearson VUE system, which replicate the test system that candidates will see on the day. One of these has the additional benefit of including explained answers, which can be used for revision purposes, and the other is offered under timed conditions. Booking a test in a Pearson VUE test centre takes a seat away from a candidate that needs to take the test that year.

If you are sitting in the UK, and do not have a valid passport, you can apply for an ID exemption. If an exemption is granted, you will be able to present a Citizen Card OR a letter, with a photograph, from your school.

To apply for this, you should contact UAT-UK as soon as possible via your online account. If you apply with less than five working days until your test, we cannot guarantee this will be approved in time.

You must get approval before you present one of these exceptional forms of ID at your Test Centre. If your exemption is not marked on your booking by UAT-UK, you will not be permitted to test. 

Once approved, you must take the Citizen Card or a printed copy of your letter with you to your test booking.

ID exemptions may also be granted if you are seeking asylum in the UK, have refugee status, or are applying to stay in the UK as a stateless person. Please contact UAT-UK via your online account and you will be advised accordingly.

Candidates in the rest of the world, must present their government-issued ID card, or another form of ID that complies with our policy.

If you have forgotten your username and/or password you should initially try and retrieve these by following the ‘forgotten username/password’ link on the login page.

Please do not set up a new account as multiple accounts are not permitted. If you continue to have issues, please contact Pearson VUE Customer Services for further assistance.

No. You must register and take the test at a Pearson VUE Test Centre. A list of Test Centres will be available to you via your UAT-UK account when test booking opens, or you can find a link to the Test Centre Locator on the Pearson VUE site.

No, you can only take the test once in any given application cycle. If you are applying to Cambridge, you must take the test in October. If you are not applying to Cambridge, you can choose to sit the test in either October or January.

Each test costs £75 for candidates in the UK and Republic of Ireland and £130 for candidates elsewhere.

We have a Bursary scheme for UK candidates in financial hardship. A bursary will cover the full test fee. Please refer to our bursary information for eligibility criteria.

 If you are still undecided about your choice of university or course, please still register for the relevant test as appropriate.

If you then choose not to apply to University of Cambridge, Imperial, or one of the other universities that uses the test, you can withdraw from it. You will be entitled to a full refund provided you cancel at least 48 hours prior to your test booking.

No, you must sit the test in the cycle in which you apply. Previous test scores will not be available to the institutions to which you are applying.

No, the October deadline applies to all Cambridge applicants

You must sit your test in the same admissions cycle in which you submit your application. An admission cycle would include both the October and January test sittings for entry onto a course the following October.

We would strongly discourage candidates from paying to sit the test early and there is no benefit in doing so. UAT-UK provides practice tests, free of charge, in the Pearson VUE system, which replicate the test system that candidates will see on the day. One of these has the additional benefit of including explained answers, which can be used for revision purposes, and the other is offered under timed conditions. Booking a test in a Pearson VUE test centre takes a seat away from a candidate that needs to take the test that year.

Preparatory materials can be found on our prepare page.

If Pearson VUE cancel your booking within 48 hours of your test, owing to a site closure, they will work with UAT-UK to find an appropriate solution. They will contact you in due course to arrange for you to take the test. You do not need to worry or take any action yourself.

If you are sitting in the UK, and do not have a valid passport, you can apply for an ID exemption. This will allow you to sit without one of the listed forms of accepted ID in our policy.

If an exemption is granted, you will be able to present a Citizen Card OR a letter, with a photograph, from your school.

To apply for this, you should contact UAT-UK as soon as possible via your online account. If you apply with less than five working days until your test, we cannot guarantee this will be approved in time.

You must get approval before you present one of these exceptional forms of ID at your Test Centre. If your exemption is not marked on your booking by UAT-UK, you will not be permitted to test. 

Once approved, you must take the Citizen Card or a printed copy of your letter with you to your test booking.

ID exemptions may also be granted if you are seeking asylum in the UK, have refugee status, or are applying to stay in the UK as a stateless person. Please contact UAT-UK via your online account and you will be advised accordingly.

Candidates in the rest of the world, must present their government-issued ID card, or another form of ID that complies with our policy.

We can’t guarantee a candidate’s first choice of Test Centre in all cases, however we are working hard to make sure there is enough capacity so that candidates can sit within a reasonable distance from their home or school address. Outside of the UK, candidates may need to travel further within their country.

For UK candidates, If there is a Test Centre that you can travel to, within 40 miles, we advise that you book and pay for your slot. If you check back regularly on the Pearson VUE site, new slots might become available due to cancellations, and you can reschedule your test free of charge until 48 hours before your scheduled test time.

If you are sitting in the UK and are unable to book a test within 40 miles of your home postcode (please note that this will not be possible in some remote locations), please contact Pearson VUE Customer Cervices and they will work with you to find the closest available appointment.

If your school or college exams clash with the October UAT-UK testing window, and you are not applying to the University of Cambridge, you should sit your test in the January window instead. This will not disadvantage you in any way.

Candidates applying to Cambridge with a clash should contact UAT-UK via the secure messaging function in your online account. You will need to provide details of the dates and times of your relevant school exams, which test you need to sit and your preferred test location.

Our tests are offered at a range of times, so we may require you to travel to a Test Centre after your school exam.

Please check the key test dates here to see if the booking window is open. You will only be able to book your test if our booking window is open. If the booking window is open, and you are still unable to book your test, please contact Pearson VUE Customer Services.

You should be able to amend your personal details from your dashboard on your UAT-UK account. If you are unable to do so, please contact Pearson VUE Customer Services.

Please refer to our Key Dates and Deadlines to know when test booking opens for each test sitting. You are only permitted to register once for a test in either October or January. If you are applying to Cambridge, you must sit in October.

You can do this via your UAT-UK online account or by calling Pearson VUE Customer Service, up to 48 hours prior to your test. A test reschedule will be subject to test centre availability and there is no guarantee you will be able to rebook for the same time or in the same test centre after cancellation.
You cannot reschedule less than 48 hours prior to your test. Failure to cancel or reschedule in time, or failure to appear for your test will result in the forfeiture of your test fee

No, you are responsible for registering and paying for your own test.

Yes, you can cancel your test booking and get a full refund as long as you do so at least 48 hours before your scheduled test booking.

UAT-UK does ask for your UCAS PID at the point of setting up your account. However, you can leave this blank if you don’t know it or don’t have one yet, and return later to add it. Please do not guess.

When matching to your UCAS application, we generally use various other data points you supplied at the point of booking. This is a more accurate way for us to do this. Please be assured your test scores will be passed to the relevant institutions automatically.

Scores are reported on a scale of 1.0 to 9.0.

For the TMUA you will get one overall score. For the ESAT you will get a score per module. For the TARA you will get two scores, one for Critical Thinking and one for Problem Solving. The Writing Task is not scored.

An explanation of the meaning of your scaled score will be provided when your results are released.

You will be notified by email that your results are available via your UAT-UK account. This will be approximately four weeks after your test date.

Only universities on your UCAS application, that are official users of the ESAT, TARA or TMUA will have access to your results. Results are released automatically to each participating university. You cannot choose which institutions see your score.

We match your scores to your UCAS application on a course-by-course basis. If you sit a test and are applying to a UAT-UK institution, but your chosen course that does not use the test, your score will not be passed on.

If Pearson VUE cancel your booking within 48 hours of your test, owing to a site closure, they will work with UAT-UK to find an appropriate solution. They will contact you in due course to arrange for you to take the test. You do not need to worry or take any action yourself.

If you are sitting in the UK, and do not have a valid passport, you can apply for an ID exemption. This will allow you to sit without one of the listed forms of accepted ID in our policy.

If an exemption is granted, you will be able to present a Citizen Card OR a letter, with a photograph, from your school.

To apply for this, you should contact UAT-UK as soon as possible via your online account. If you apply with less than five working days until your test, we cannot guarantee this will be approved in time.

You must get approval before you present one of these exceptional forms of ID at your Test Centre. If your exemption is not marked on your booking by UAT-UK, you will not be permitted to test. 

Once approved, you must take the Citizen Card or a printed copy of your letter with you to your test booking.

ID exemptions may also be granted if you are seeking asylum in the UK, have refugee status, or are applying to stay in the UK as a stateless person. Please contact UAT-UK via your online account and you will be advised accordingly.

Candidates in the rest of the world, must present their government-issued ID card, or another form of ID that complies with our policy.

You must provide photo ID bearing the same name used when registering for the test. Please ensure your ID complies will all the requirements outlined in our policy. If you fail to present the required ID you will not be allowed to test and will forfeit your test fee.

The name on your ID must exactly match all names used to register for the test.

The ID must be in date, original and include your photo and signature.

Valid forms of ID:

• Passport – accepted at any test centre.
• Photo-card driver’s licence (full or provisional) – accepted in the country of issue.
• EU ID card – accepted in EU test centres (not the UK).
• Government issued ID card – accepted in the country of issue.

If you are in the UK and do not have a valid passport, please see our FAQs relating to ID exemptions.

Please refer to our Special Consideration policy for full details.

You will need to notify UAT-UK before your test booking. You can do so via your online account. If you do not contact us before, and choose to sit your test, you are declaring yourself fit to sit.

Please do not contact Pearson VUE to report illness as they will be unable to take the appropriate action. Only reports sent to UAT-UK will be accepted.

If you are unable to sit at all, and have the option to re-book in January, you must do so.

If you can’t re-book, or you still attend your test but you feel your performance has been impacted, you may be eligible for special consideration.

Please refer to our Test Incident Policy for full details.

If something goes wrong during your test, please report it to an invigilator and get a Case ID Number. Follow up with Pearson VUE Customer Services within 24 hours of your test.

They will investigate your report and decide what action to take. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, you can appeal to UAT-UK via your online account. Please do this within two days of receiving a response from Pearson VUE otherwise we will not be able to take further action.

If you fell ill and notified an invigilator, this will be recorded, and you should raise it with Pearson VUE Customer Services under our Test Incident Policy. This applies regardless of whether or not you completed the test.