CSCA January 2027 Exam: Dates, Times and Registration
The January 2027 CSCA is sat on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 January 2027. Professional Chinese and Mathematics are on the first day, Physics and Chemistry on the second. The first paper starts at 14:00 Beijing time (UTC+8), at home and in test centres alike.
- Exam days
- 23–24 Jan 2027
- First paper
- 14:00 Beijing
- Registration
- Not open yet
- Dates not published
- Results
- Early February 2027
- Within 10 working days of the exam
Paper Times, January 2027
- Professional ChineseSat 23 Jan, 14:00–15:30 Beijing time90 min, 80 questions
- MathematicsSat 23 Jan, 17:00–18:00 Beijing time60 min, 48 questions
- PhysicsSun 24 Jan, 14:00–15:00 Beijing time60 min, 48 questions
- ChemistrySun 24 Jan, 16:30–17:30 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 14:00 in Beijing starts at 06:00 in Casablanca and Accra and at 13:00 in Jakarta. Your own clock first, then 41 cities.
On your clock
- Chinese—
- Maths—
- Physics—
- Chemistry—
Jakarta, Bangkok, HanoiUTC+7
- Chinese
- Sat 13:00
- Maths
- Sat 16:00
- Physics
- Sun 13:00
- Chemistry
- Sun 15:30
Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Manila, UlaanbaatarUTC+8
- Chinese
- Sat 14:00
- Maths
- Sat 17:00
- Physics
- Sun 14:00
- Chemistry
- Sun 16:30
Seoul, TokyoUTC+9
- Chinese
- Sat 15:00
- Maths
- Sat 18:00
- Physics
- Sun 15:00
- Chemistry
- Sun 17:30
Dhaka, BishkekUTC+6
- Chinese
- Sat 12:00
- Maths
- Sat 15:00
- Physics
- Sun 12:00
- Chemistry
- Sun 14:30
KathmanduUTC+5:45
- Chinese
- Sat 11:45
- Maths
- Sat 14:45
- Physics
- Sun 11:45
- Chemistry
- Sun 14:15
Delhi, ColomboUTC+5:30
- Chinese
- Sat 11:30
- Maths
- Sat 14:30
- Physics
- Sun 11:30
- Chemistry
- Sun 14:00
Islamabad, Tashkent, AlmatyUTC+5
- Chinese
- Sat 11:00
- Maths
- Sat 14:00
- Physics
- Sun 11:00
- Chemistry
- Sun 13:30
Baku, Dubai, TbilisiUTC+4
- Chinese
- Sat 10:00
- Maths
- Sat 13:00
- Physics
- Sun 10:00
- Chemistry
- Sun 12:30
Moscow, Istanbul, Riyadh, NairobiUTC+3
- Chinese
- Sat 09:00
- Maths
- Sat 12:00
- Physics
- Sun 09:00
- Chemistry
- Sun 11:30
CairoUTC+2
- Chinese
- Sat 08:00
- Maths
- Sat 11:00
- Physics
- Sun 08:00
- Chemistry
- Sun 10:30
Johannesburg, Harare, LusakaUTC+2
- Chinese
- Sat 08:00
- Maths
- Sat 11:00
- Physics
- Sun 08:00
- Chemistry
- Sun 10:30
Lagos, Algiers, TunisUTC+1
- Chinese
- Sat 07:00
- Maths
- Sat 10:00
- Physics
- Sun 07:00
- Chemistry
- Sun 09:30
Casablanca, Accra, Dakar, AbidjanUTC+0
- Chinese
- Sat 06:00
- Maths
- Sat 09:00
- Physics
- Sun 06:00
- Chemistry
- Sun 08:30
LondonUTC+0
- Chinese
- Sat 06:00
- Maths
- Sat 09:00
- Physics
- Sun 06:00
- Chemistry
- Sun 08:30
Paris, Berlin, MadridUTC+1
- Chinese
- Sat 07:00
- Maths
- Sat 10:00
- Physics
- Sun 07:00
- Chemistry
- Sun 09:30
New YorkUTC-5
- Chinese
- Sat 01:00 (night)
- Maths
- Sat 04:00 (night)
- Physics
- Sun 01:00 (night)
- Chemistry
- Sun 03:30 (night)
Los AngelesUTC-8
- Chinese
- Fri 22:00
- Maths
- Sat 01:00 (night)
- Physics
- Sat 22:00
- Chemistry
- Sun 00:30 (night)
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 January 2027
Registration for January 2027 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 February 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 January 2027
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.