Face-to-face exams
How to book face-to-face exams
On this page you can find information about booking the following face-to-face exams:
- Practical Grades
- ARSM Music Performance diploma
- Prep Test
- Open Music Assessment (formerly Performance Assessment)
- Practical Musicianship Grades
Online booking – use our online service to book these exams. Click Login/Register at the top of the page to get started.
Exam locations and dates – we offer these exams at:
- Public Venues - organised by us during regular exam sessions and open to anyone. Check our dates and fees page for booking periods and exam dates.
- ABRSM Jazz Visits – organised by us on specific dates in our exam sessions and open to anyone. See below for more information.
- Private Visits – at venues provided and run by a teacher, school or other organisation and only open to candidates of the Visit Organiser or their Permitted Applicants. For instrumental and singing exams you must normally have at least three hours of exams and you can usually choose the exam date(s).
We have special arrangements for the following exams:
- Jazz Practical Grades and Open Music Assessments – only available in Australia, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore and the UK at ABRSM Jazz Visits or Private visits, see below.
- Percussion, Organ and Harpsichord exams – only available at Private Visits, see below.
Face-to-face instrumental and singing exams take place on dates in our exam sessions, usually between 9.00am and 5.35pm. You can choose your venue and date (but not the time) from a list of options. The number of dates and venues available depends on the location. We confirm exam times after the booking period when we’ve finalised the timetables.
Check our step-by-step guide to booking exams at a Public Venue.
- Check booking periods and exams dates.
- Create your account if you don’t have one already.
- Have all your candidate information ready:
- Name - as it should appear on the mark form and certificate. This must match the name on any candidate ID document needed for the exam.
- Date of birth
- ABRSM Contact ID – for candidates who have been entered before using our new online service.*
- Subject and grade or level
- Any specific needs access requirements or reasonable adjustments
- Any alternative ‘presented by’ name
- Email address for the candidate (or parent/carer)
* For candidates in China, Hong Kong, Macao, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan you will need their National ID number, not their ABRSM Contact ID.
- Log in and select ‘Public Venue & Digital Exams’.
- Select your ‘territory’
- Select the ‘face-to-face’ filter button.
- Under ‘Instrumental & singing exams’ select any option – this allows you to book Practical Grades, ARSM Performance diplomas, Prep Tests or Open Music Assessments.
- If applicable, select the date range for your session.
- Enter your exam details, including any specific needs, then click ‘Show available booking options’.
- Select one or more possible venues – type a location in the venue box or scroll down to search.
- Narrow your search by changing the date range.
- Select venues/dates for your candidates and click ‘Next’.
- Enter your candidate details. Use their ABRSM Contact ID if they have one or enter new candidate details.
- Check that all fields with a red asterisk are complete, then click ’Submit and pay’.
- Check your booking summary and pay for your exams.
- We will send you an email to confirm your booking and payment.
Appointment confirmation – around two weeks after the booking period has closed, we email applicants (and candidates with an account) to let them know that they can log in to view confirmed exam appointments, including times for instrumental and singing exams.
Rescheduling – around two weeks after booking closes applicants (and candidates with an account) can log in to reschedule exams, subject to availability.
Late booking – late booking for exams opens around two weeks after the booking closes. Exam slots are subject to availability.
Cancelling an exam – applicants can cancel an exam through their account. If you cancel within 14 days of booking we refund the full fee.
Amending a booking – after you've paid for your booking, you can make some small amendments through your account.
ABRSM Jazz Visits
ABRSM Jazz Visits take place at venues organised by us on set dates during our regular exam sessions. They are open to anyone.
You can book at an ABRSM Jazz Visit from the date the booking period opens until 28 days before the visit date. The usual booking period closing date does not apply.
See below for a step-by-step guide below to booking your exams at an ABRSM Jazz Visit.
Face-to-face Jazz exams are only available in Australia, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore and the UK.
- Create your account if you don’t have one already.
- Check booking periods and exam sessions.
- Once the booking period opens, you can check a list of ABRSM Jazz Visit venues and dates on the dates and fees page.
- Choose your visit and make a note of the venue code. You will need the code when you book.
- Have all your candidate information ready:
- Name - as it should appear on the mark form and certificate. This must match the name on any candidate ID document needed for the exam.
- Date of birth
- ABRSM Contact ID – for candidates who have been entered before using our new online service.*
- Subject and grade or level
- Any specific needs access requirements or reasonable adjustments
- Any alternative ‘presented by’ name
- Email address for the candidate (or parent/carer) - optional for face-to-face Jazz exams.
* For candidates in Singapore you will need their National ID number, not their ABRSM Contact ID.
- Log in to your account and select ‘Private Visit’.
- Enter your venue code and select the visit.
- Enter your candidate and exam details, including any access requirements or reasonable adjustments and any alternative ‘presented by’ names. Use the candidate’s ABRSM Contact ID if they have one or enter new candidate details.
- Check you booking summary and pay for your exams.
- We will send you an email to confirm your booking and payment.
Appointment confirmation – 28 days before the visit date we email applicants (and candidates with an account) to let them know that they can log in to view their confirmed exam appointments, including times.
Late booking – after the booking period has closed (28 days before the visit date), you may be able to make late bookings if space is available.
Rescheduling – you won’t be able to reschedule a Jazz exam once it’s been booked. However, you can cancel an exam up to 28 days before the date of the exam and receive a full refund. You may then be able to make another booking (or late booking) at an alternative ABRSM Jazz Visit if space is available.
Cancelling an exam – applicants can cancel an exam through their account. If you cancel up to 28 days before the date of the exam, we will refund the full fee.
Amending a booking – after you've paid for the booking you can make some small amendments through your account.
The information here applies to Private Visits in the UK and Ireland. If you are interested in holding a Private Visit in a different country please contact your local ABRSM representative for more information.
If you have at least three hours of instrumental and singing exams we can provide an examiner for your venue, usually on a date of your choice.
Jazz - you can have Jazz exams at a visit if you have at least one hour of Jazz exams and at least three hours of exams in total.
Percussion, Organ and Harpsichord – these exams must take place at a Private Visit. There is no minimum number of candidates for these instruments.
How long do exams take?
Check the table below to find out how long our face-to-face exams take.
Digital Performance Grades and ARSM Performance diplomas – candidates preparing for digital exams should check the syllabus for the maximum programme time for their exam. For digital exams, the exam slots on our online booking service will be one minute longer than the times shown here for face-to-face Practical Grades and ARSM Performance diplomas.
Candidates with specific needs – extra time may be available for candidates with certain specific needs. Please check our specific needs pages for details.
Instruments and singing | Music Theory** | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Piano and harpsichord | Singing | Harp and Organ | All other subjects | ||
| Prep Test | 10 mins | 10 mins | - | 12 mins | - |
| Initial Grade | 12 mins | - | - | 12 mins | - |
| Grade 1* | 12 mins | 13 mins | 17 mins | 12 mins | 90 mins |
| Grades 2 and 3* | 12 mins | 15 mins | 19 mins | 14 mins | 90 mins |
| Grades 4 and 5* | 15 mins | 15 mins | 22 mins | 17 mins | 120 mins |
| Grade 6 | 20 mins | 20 mins | 25 mins | 20 mins | 180 mins |
| Grade 7 | 25 mins | 25 mins | 30 mins | 25 mins | 180 mins |
| Grade 8 | 30 mins | 30 mins | 35 mins | 30 mins | 180 mins |
| ARSM in Performance | 40 mins | 40 mins | 40 mins | 40 mins | - |
| Open Music Assessment | 15 mins | 15 mins | 20 mins | 15 mins | - |
* Jazz Practical Grades - add an extra three minutes
** Grade 6 to 8 Music Theory - candidates who finish early can leave the exam at any time after 40 minutes. At Grades 1 to 5, Music Theory candidates can end the online exam at any time.
Ensembles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Instrumental/singing and jazz | Choral Singing | |
| Primary/Initial | 17 mins | 20 mins |
| Intermediate | 23 mins | 22 mins |
| Advanced | 30 mins | 25 mins |
