Exam-day rules — what to bring and what to leave at home

Exam-day rules aren't a formality — some of them can decide whether you get to sit the exam at all.

Timing

The exam starts at 10:00 sharp. Latecomers are not admitted. Room numbers are posted on wall lists — arrive 15–20 minutes early, not exactly at 10:00.

The document that gets you in — and the one that doesn't

You're admitted with an ID card, passport, or residence-permit card. If your Estonian identity document has expired, a valid foreign passport is required.

A driving licence is NOT an identity document — this is officially written in capital letters in Harno's own guidance, because it's one of the most common mistakes. Check your document's validity at least a week before the exam, not the morning you're going.

What stays at home

You may not bring into the exam room:

• Watches of any kind, including smart watches;
• Phones;
• Headphones;
• Dictionaries or textbooks;
• Correction tools (correction pens, tape);
• any form of outside help.

Hearing aids are allowed, but need a doctor's certificate. If you leave the exam room without permission during the exam, it's recorded as interrupted.

Technical writing rules

• Handwriting must be legible.
• Write the writing-part answer booklet (Booklet I) in capital letters.
• Use only a black or blue ink pen — work written in pencil is invalid, even if you later wrote over it in pen.
• To correct a mistake, strike through the whole word or symbol.
• Only one answer per answer box — marking more than one option makes the answer wrong.

Why these rules are stricter than they might seem necessary

Three things that surprise many people:

1. Latecoming isn't "a few minutes" — 10:00 is a hard cutoff. The room closes and the exam starts simultaneously for everyone, because the listening part is played to the whole room at once.
2. No electronic device is allowed, even switched off — a smart watch on the desk is the same problem as a phone, because there's no way to verify what it's doing.
3. Detecting outside help scores the whole paper 0 points — this also applies to, for example, seeing another candidate's answers during the writing part.

Before you go — a checklist

• Valid ID card, passport, or residence-permit card (not a driving licence).
• Arrived 15–20 minutes before 10:00.
• Phone, watch, headphones left at home or in a bag that doesn't go on the desk.
• A black or blue pen — no pencil, not even for a draft.

This site doesn't replace the official instructions, but its exam exercises follow the same timing and structure, so practising against a real clock gives a realistic picture of how the day actually unfolds.

Sources: Information sheet for the Estonian language proficiency examinee (Harno, 2025). Facts reviewed 14 September 2026 — always check the current rules on Harno's page, since they can be refined by the exam organiser.

An explanatory article, not legal advice.