CSCA December 2026 Exam: Dates, Times and Registration
The December 2026 CSCA is sat on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 December 2026. Professional Chinese and Mathematics are on the first day, Physics and Chemistry on the second. The first paper starts at 08:00 Beijing time (UTC+8), at home and in test centres alike.
- Exam days
- 19–20 Dec 2026
- First paper
- 08:00 Beijing
- Registration
- Not open yet
- Dates not published
- Results
- Early January 2027
- Within 10 working days of the exam
Paper Times, December 2026
- Professional ChineseSat 19 Dec, 08:00–09:30 Beijing time90 min, 80 questions
- MathematicsSat 19 Dec, 11:00–12:00 Beijing time60 min, 48 questions
- PhysicsSun 20 Dec, 08:00–09:00 Beijing time60 min, 48 questions
- ChemistrySun 20 Dec, 10:30–11:30 Beijing time60 min, 48 questions
You sit only the papers you registered for. Every paper is multiple choice and marked out of 100; Professional Chinese is sat in the Humanities or the STEM stream, at the same time. Times can still change: the exam notice for this sitting and your admission ticket on csca.cn have the final word.
What Time Is That Where You Are?
The CSCA runs on Beijing time for everyone, so a paper that starts at 08:00 in Beijing starts at 00:00 in Casablanca and Accra and at 07:00 in Jakarta. Your own clock first, then 41 cities.
On your clock
- Chinese—
- Maths—
- Physics—
- Chemistry—
Jakarta, Bangkok, HanoiUTC+7
- Chinese
- Sat 07:00
- Maths
- Sat 10:00
- Physics
- Sun 07:00
- Chemistry
- Sun 09:30
Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Manila, UlaanbaatarUTC+8
- Chinese
- Sat 08:00
- Maths
- Sat 11:00
- Physics
- Sun 08:00
- Chemistry
- Sun 10:30
Seoul, TokyoUTC+9
- Chinese
- Sat 09:00
- Maths
- Sat 12:00
- Physics
- Sun 09:00
- Chemistry
- Sun 11:30
Dhaka, BishkekUTC+6
- Chinese
- Sat 06:00
- Maths
- Sat 09:00
- Physics
- Sun 06:00
- Chemistry
- Sun 08:30
KathmanduUTC+5:45
- Chinese
- Sat 05:45 (night)
- Maths
- Sat 08:45
- Physics
- Sun 05:45 (night)
- Chemistry
- Sun 08:15
Delhi, ColomboUTC+5:30
- Chinese
- Sat 05:30 (night)
- Maths
- Sat 08:30
- Physics
- Sun 05:30 (night)
- Chemistry
- Sun 08:00
Islamabad, Tashkent, AlmatyUTC+5
- Chinese
- Sat 05:00 (night)
- Maths
- Sat 08:00
- Physics
- Sun 05:00 (night)
- Chemistry
- Sun 07:30
Baku, Dubai, TbilisiUTC+4
- Chinese
- Sat 04:00 (night)
- Maths
- Sat 07:00
- Physics
- Sun 04:00 (night)
- Chemistry
- Sun 06:30
Moscow, Istanbul, Riyadh, NairobiUTC+3
- Chinese
- Sat 03:00 (night)
- Maths
- Sat 06:00
- Physics
- Sun 03:00 (night)
- Chemistry
- Sun 05:30 (night)
CairoUTC+2
- Chinese
- Sat 02:00 (night)
- Maths
- Sat 05:00 (night)
- Physics
- Sun 02:00 (night)
- Chemistry
- Sun 04:30 (night)
Johannesburg, Harare, LusakaUTC+2
- Chinese
- Sat 02:00 (night)
- Maths
- Sat 05:00 (night)
- Physics
- Sun 02:00 (night)
- Chemistry
- Sun 04:30 (night)
Lagos, Algiers, TunisUTC+1
- Chinese
- Sat 01:00 (night)
- Maths
- Sat 04:00 (night)
- Physics
- Sun 01:00 (night)
- Chemistry
- Sun 03:30 (night)
Casablanca, Accra, Dakar, AbidjanUTC+0
- Chinese
- Sat 00:00 (night)
- Maths
- Sat 03:00 (night)
- Physics
- Sun 00:00 (night)
- Chemistry
- Sun 02:30 (night)
LondonUTC+0
- Chinese
- Sat 00:00 (night)
- Maths
- Sat 03:00 (night)
- Physics
- Sun 00:00 (night)
- Chemistry
- Sun 02:30 (night)
Paris, Berlin, MadridUTC+1
- Chinese
- Sat 01:00 (night)
- Maths
- Sat 04:00 (night)
- Physics
- Sun 01:00 (night)
- Chemistry
- Sun 03:30 (night)
New YorkUTC-5
- Chinese
- Fri 19:00
- Maths
- Fri 22:00
- Physics
- Sat 19:00
- Chemistry
- Sat 21:30
Los AngelesUTC-8
- Chinese
- Fri 16:00
- Maths
- Fri 19:00
- Physics
- Sat 16:00
- Chemistry
- Sat 18:30
Start times, on the clock each place keeps on the day of the paper. In orange: before 6 in the morning there. Where clocks change close to a sitting, check your own device nearer the day.
Registration for December 2026
Registration for December 2026 has not opened, and csca.cn has not published its dates. The official site lists this sitting as “registration not started”. This page shows the dates as soon as they are out.
For a sense of the timing: registration for the November 2026 sitting opened 30 days before its first exam day, stayed open for 7 days (15 to 21 October 2026) and closed 24 days before the exam. That is what happened last time, not a promise for this sitting.
What you can do before it opens:
- Create your account on csca.cn: one email address registers one candidate.
- Check your passport: it is the only ID accepted and must stay valid until your scores are released.
- Prepare the ID photo: 33 mm × 48 mm, white background, JPG of 40–200 KB, taken in the last 6 months.
- Have a way to pay ready: a Visa or Mastercard issued outside mainland China, WeChat Pay or Alipay.
- Confirm with your university which subjects, and which Chinese stream, your programme asks for.
Fees and Results
Results
Results are released within 10 working days of the exam, on your csca.cn account: for this sitting, expect them in early January 2027. Working days leave out weekends and public holidays in China, so a holiday in between makes it later. Each subject is marked out of 100 and the score stays valid for 2 years.
Before the Day
- Download your admission ticket from your csca.cn account when you are emailed that it is ready, and print it.
- Keep your original passport at hand: a photocopy or an expired passport is refused, and the fee is not refunded.
- Sitting it at home: a Windows computer (macOS is not supported), a webcam, a phone or tablet as second camera, and 20 Mbps internet.
- Finish the equipment check and at least one proctored mock test in the days the CSCA sets: both are compulsory for the home test.
- The exam system opens 60 minutes before the start. Nobody is let in once a paper has begun.
Other CSCA Sittings
Get Ready for December 2026
Free lessons, timed mock papers of 48 questions in 60 minutes and a topic list for each subject.
Dates and times are taken from the schedule published on csca.cn. This site is an independent study guide, not the exam's organiser: register and download your ticket on csca.cn only.