Examinations

From January 2024 upon booking your course, your exam preparation and exam(s) will have been automatically booked on the next available session. You would have received notification of these separate bookings.

If you have not received it, please contact [email protected].

If your exam is included in the course fee, from January 2024, your exam preparation and exam(s) will be automatically booked on the next available session. You will receive notification of these separate bookings.

If you do not receive it, please contact [email protected].

If your exam is not included in the course fee, or if you are re-sitting an exam, please book it by choosing your exam and preferred date on this page.

If you have any questions regarding the exam booking, please contact [email protected]

If you need to cancel or change your exam date, you have 14 days to do this for free. Please contact the team at [email protected].

After this period, you will need to re-book an exam using the options on this page and pay the exam fee.

For more information, please refer to the terms and conditions or please contact [email protected].

All practice tests associated with the exams can be located on the Digital Academy.

The Civica exam delivery platform has a short test to enable you to familiarise yourself with the functions, layout and features of the platform.

When you log onto Civica, under the ‘live’ icon, four Diploma practice materials will be assigned to you. This is to enable you to familiarise yourself with the functions, layout and features of the platform.

You will be sent a copy of the ratio sheet from the examinations team for the Finance for Non-Finance Directors exam which you are allowed to print off and bring into the Finance for Non-Finance Directors exam. However, this must be a clean sheet with no markup or calculations.

For the Diploma exam, a copy of the ratio sheet will be available on the exam delivery platform. You can, if you wish, bring a hard copy to the Diploma exam. However, this must be a clean sheet with no markup or calculations.

You will find an icon for a basic calculator in the top right-hand corner, just below the ‘finish’ button for the Finance for Non-Finance Directors exam. Is it not available for any of the other cert exams?

You are allowed to bring a non-scientific calculator to the exam.

The calculator icon is NOT available for the Diploma exam. Therefore, you are therefore advised to bring a non-scientific calculator to the exam.

Due to GDPR, the live exam prep sessions are not recorded.

If you are unable to attend the session, pre-recorded material can be requested at [email protected].

We ask candidates not to attempt to record the live sessions while attending the event.

Third-party transcription bots are not permitted in the exam prep sessions unless explicitly approved in advance.

Click ‘Sign in’ on the top right-hand corner of this website.

Enter your username and password.

Click the ‘IoD Academy’ link  (also on the top of this website) to access the learning platform.

If you are accessing your IoD account for the first time you will need to verify your account details by clicking the “Forgot my password” link on the website and completing the steps outlined.

Please email [email protected], if you have any difficulty accessing the platform.

If you have forgotten your username, please email [email protected].

Note – please do not set up another account as this could cause access problems.

Go to www.iod.com and click the ‘Sign in’ button on the right side of the page.

The login page will open. Please click ‘Forgotten password’ (under the ‘login’ box).

You will need to enter your email address to request a new password.

You will be emailed a password reset link.

If you do not receive this email, please contact [email protected].

The exam preparation material will become available upon completion of the course and can be found under the ‘Exam Preparation’ tab in each Certificate module.

Click the arrows in the top right to navigate through content.

If you have any issues logging into the IoD Academy or accessing the exam preparation material, please contact [email protected].

If you cannot locate the exam preparation materials, please contact [email protected] for support.

Please contact [email protected] for information on the exam preparation bookings.

Information about completed examinations is not shown on the digital academy. If you require confirmation of your exam result, please contact [email protected].

Information about completed examinations is not shown on the digital academy.

If you need to change the date of the exam or confirmation of your exam result, please contact the [email protected].

Photo ID image is a form of legal verification to show that you are who you say you are.

We ask for this to validate that the correct person registered is taking the exam.

The following valid and current photo identification documents are acceptable for the verification check prior to the exam taking place:

Current passport
Current driving licence* (photocard).
National ID card (containing photo)

* Paper driving licence holders must also provide a supporting photo ID such as armed forces, police, student union or company ID card.

Room sweep is the term used for the video you supply to us in the pre-examination checks. This must be done so that we know the exam protocols are being followed.

For example, no unauthorised materials or equipment, and no other people in the room. You will not be able to continue if this step is not completed.

We need a full panoramic view of your room, as well as above and below your desk. However, if your device has a built-in camera, please refer to the Record and Review guidance document or alternatively please contact [email protected] where a member of the team will be able to provide further advice.

Please follow the below steps:

• Exit out of the exam and turn your webcam on to ensure that it is working correctly, then repeat the above process.

• Contact the Civica Assess Helpdesk who will be able to assist with resolving the issue.

The 3 options are a default set by the browser itself, you must only select ‘Entire Screen’ and click ‘share’ before it takes you to the exam. For more information, please refer to the Record and Review guidance document that has been sent to you from the examination team.

Civica Assess is a different platform from Digital Academy and MyIoD.

If it is your first time using Civica Assess, you will be sent an email with a link to change your password.

Digital Academy and MyIoD use the same password login.

Please contact [email protected] or [email protected] where they will be able to re-enable your account as well as reset your password.

You can bring the following into the exam:

A small amount of food and drink.

Two sheets of blank A4 paper.

A non-programmable calculator (a calculator that does not have a function button and cannot have formulae programmed into the memory; a scientific calculator or a smartphone cannot be used in the exams under any circumstance).

Usually, this will be within four weeks of the exam. Please contact [email protected] if you haven’t received your results within this period.

Results are published and released by the Civica exam platform from ‘noreplycalibrandtest.com’.

If you have used your personal email address for the exam:

Please check your junk mail to ensure it has not been filtered.

Gmail email accounts, please go to ‘mailboxes’ and select ‘All Mail’ and on the search bar, enter ‘noreplycalibrand.com’

If you have used a work email address for the exam:

Please contact your IT department to check that it has not been blocked by the security firewall.

Please check your junk mail to ensure it has not been filtered.

Certificates are usually distributed within six to eight weeks of receiving your result.

if you have not received your certificate within this period, please see contact [email protected].

If you have not received your digital certificate within this time frame. Please contact [email protected].

The IoD no longer issues hardcopy certificates for the following:

Certificate in Company Direction.

Diploma in Company Direction.

Certificates issued to candidates are all digital, if you require a hard copy, a fee is chargeable. Please contact [email protected] for further information.

A replacement or duplicate copy of a certificate has a fee attached, please contact [email protected] for further information.

To re-sit an exam, you can book and pay for your re-sit by selecting an available exam on this web page.

Each Certificate exam is 45 minutes long and is composed of 16 multiple-choice questions.

These questions are made up of 12 one-mark questions and four two-mark questions (total 20 marks).

To achieve a pass, candidate will need to achieve 50%. To achieve a distinction, candidates will need to achieve 75%.

In order to achieve an overall ‘Distinction’ for the qualification, you must achieve 3 out 4 with distinctions in your exams. If not, the overall result will be a ‘Pass’.

You can but this will be a tall ask. You are advised to take the exam at your earliest convenience after your course. There is no recommended sequence although it is generally thought best to take a maximum of two exams on any one day.

No. You will not be able to book your exam before you have booked the course.

No. The IoD does not release the numerical score for any of the Certificate in Company Direction exams.

The Diploma exam is 3 hours and 15 minutes or 195 minutes long and it is based on a case study. Total 100 marks.

The question for the Diploma in Company Direction exam is standard and pre-published by the IoD.

This means that you will know the question you need to answer prior to taking the exam.

However, you will NOT have sight of the case study, which you will only see when you commence the exam.

The question will remain the same, while the case study will change at each exam.

The standard question is as follows:

As a newly appointed non-executive director at [DCS]*, prepare a set of notes for the next board meeting that:

• critically evaluate the current position and performance of [DCS];

• critically evaluate the challenges facing [DCS] and formulate possible strategic options; and

• recommend a way forward, paying attention to your identified strategic options. Include how this may impact [DCS] and outline any additional information the board would need to review before making a decision.

*[DCS] = Name of the organisation featured in the Diploma Case Study.

IoD qualifications are credit-rated under the internationally recognised Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF).

Qualification
Diploma in Company Direction

SCQF Level
11

Equivalent level in England and Wales
7

Equivalent higher education level
Masters

Yes. IoD exams are conducted via remote invigilation and are available anywhere in the world, provided the technical specifications are met.

We recommend you take your exam as soon as possible once you have completed the course, so the learning remains fresh in your mind. We also recommend you allow for sufficient revision time before completing the exam.

As the course syllabuses are updated on a regular basis, all exams must be taken within two years of your course completion date.

No, you have to pass the Certificate in Company Direction before taking the Diploma exam.

Yes, a number of previous Diploma case studies are available in the exam preparation section on the IoD Academy, which will become available upon completion of the course. Two weeks prior to the exam you will also be given access to a previous Diploma case study on Civica, the exam delivery system, which will allow you to both revise and familiarise yourself with the exam interface.

To achieve a pass, candidates will need to achieve 50%. For a distinction, candidates will need to achieve 70%.

For a distinction, you will need to achieve 70%.

The next step in your professional development with the IoD is to become a Chartered Director.

Chartered Director is the benchmark of director excellence, providing you with professional recognition, enhanced career prospects and access to an exclusive network of senior professionals recognised for their outstanding leadership and contribution to business.

Further information can be found here.

Please contact [email protected] for further informatoon and advice about your particular circumstances.

The next step in your professional development with the IoD is to become a Chartered Director.

Chartered Director is the benchmark of director excellence, providing you with professional recognition, enhanced career prospects and access to an exclusive network of senior professionals recognised for their outstanding leadership and contribution to business.

Further information can be found here.

Please contact [email protected] for further information and advice about your particular circumstances.