Taking the CSCA at Home — Equipment, Setup and Rules

Two Ways to Sit the CSCA

The CSCA is delivered primarily as a home-based online test with remote proctoring, with a number of authorised offline test centres available as an alternative. You choose your format when you register at csca.cn.

Sitting it from home removes travel and cost, but it puts the burden of a working exam setup on you. A candidate who discovers on exam morning that their laptop cannot run the exam client has no fallback. This guide covers what you need, how to set the room up, and the rules that catch people out.

The One Requirement That Disqualifies Most Laptops

The CSCA exam client runs on Windows only — Windows 10 or 11 (with legacy support for 64-bit Windows 7). That has consequences that surprise a lot of candidates:

• Apple computers cannot be used. MacBook, iMac and Mac mini are all out.
• Tablets cannot be used as the main device — not an iPad, not an Android tablet.
• Virtual machines do not work. Parallels, VMware and VirtualBox are detected by the client's anti-cheat as a hypervisor and will lock you out.
• Boot Camp does not work either, even though it is a real Windows installation.

If you own a Mac, the only route is to borrow or buy a Windows machine — and to test it well before exam day, not the night before. This is the single most important thing to check the moment you register.

Hardware You Need

Main computer

• Windows 10 or 11
• Screen resolution of at least 1366 by 768
• At least 4 GB of memory
• At least 2 GB free on the installation drive
• One monitor only. External and second displays are prohibited — unplug them.
• A webcam of at least 720p, 1080p recommended, positioned above the screen
• If you are using a desktop, external speakers and a microphone. Wireless headphones are prohibited.

Second device for room monitoring

The home-based format uses two devices: your computer for answering, and a phone or tablet placed to one side so the proctor can see you and your room. Put the second device on a stable stand and keep it plugged in — the session is longer than most phone batteries enjoy.

Network

A stable connection matters more than a fast one. Prepare a mobile hotspot as a backup before exam day and know how to switch to it quickly.

Software to Install in Advance

Two pieces of software are needed, and both must be installed before exam day:

• The CSCA exam client on your main Windows computer.
• The monitoring app on your phone or tablet.

Download links and installation instructions are released through the official CSCA registration system and sent to the email address you registered with. Install them as soon as they arrive, run any equipment check the CSCA provides, and fix problems while there is still time to fix them.

Setting Up the Room

• Use a quiet, enclosed, well-lit room that nobody else will enter for the duration of the session.
• Clear the desk of everything not explicitly permitted — notes, books, spare devices, smart watches.
• Position the second device so the proctor can see both you and the wider working area, not just your face.
• Make sure your face is well lit and not backlit by a window behind you.

Treat the room as part of the identity check. The proctor has to be satisfied about the whole environment, not just that you are who you say you are.

Identity Documents

A passport is the only accepted identification, and it must be the original and currently valid document. Photocopies are refused. Expired passports are refused. In either case you will not be permitted to sit the exam, and the fee is not refundable.

Your admission ticket carries the login credentials for the exam client, so keep it accessible — but check the rules on what may be on your desk before printing anything out.

Rough Working

You cannot use ordinary scratch paper freely. The permitted setup is a small whiteboard, or blank paper inside a transparent file sleeve, written on with an erasable marker — nothing permanent.

You must show the board or sleeve to the proctor before and after the exam, and erase everything at the end. Since there is no calculator either, practise your hand-calculation on exactly this setup during revision so the constraint is familiar rather than a surprise.

Exam-Day Timeline

1. 60 minutes before: close every other application, disconnect second monitors, put the phone on its stand and plug both devices in.
2. 30 to 60 minutes before: log in and complete device setup. This window is not optional — leaving it to the last ten minutes is how candidates miss the start.
3. Identity check: present your original passport to the camera as instructed.
4. Environment scan: show the room and your rough-working board.
5. During the exam: stay in frame, keep quiet, do not open other applications.
6. At the end: erase your board and show it to the proctor before closing the session.

After the Exam

Results for online and on-site computer-based tests are released within 7 working days; paper-based test scores take up to 14 working days. Scores are reported per subject on a 0 to 100 scale and stay valid for two years, so one good sitting can cover more than one application cycle.

Verify Before You Rely On This

The requirements above reflect the guidance circulating for the 2026 sittings, but the CSCA can revise the client and its rules between sessions. Always confirm the current requirements against the documentation sent to your registered email and published in the official registration system at csca.cn before exam day — particularly the operating system and client version, which are the requirements most likely to change.

Once your setup is sorted, the preparation itself is the easy part: full-length timed practice exams, free course modules for all four subjects, and the exam calendar so you know when the next sitting opens.