Booking exams at Private Visits
Please also see our additional information for Private Visits.
Private Visits take place at an approved venue provided and organised by an applicant/Visit Organiser. Practical Private Visits take place on a date or dates chosen by the Visit Organiser, but not Sundays or Bank Holidays. Music Theory exams take place on set dates.
Visit Organisers book and run Private Visits. The Visit Organiser is responsible for going online to book and create their Private Visit and for sharing their Venue Code with any Permitted Applicants.
Permitted Applicants have received permission from a Visit Organiser to book their candidates at a Private Visit. The Visit Organiser provides any Permitted Applicants with a Venue Code, which they need to enter when they book candidates at the visit for the first time.
For a practical Private Visit, there must be at least three hours of examining time. This can include bookings made by the Visit Organiser and any Permitted Applicants. Check our exam timings to work out how much examining time you have and how many days you need to book. Each day can include up to 6 hours 30 minutes of exams, plus lunch and breaks, with a start time of 9.00am or 9.30am.
Jazz exams can take place at a practical Private Visit, as long as there is at least one hour of Jazz examining time and the total examining time for the visit is at least three hours.
For Music Theory Private Visits (Grades 6 to 8 only), the venue must be an educational institution, a music service/hub or an education department at a prison/hospital. There is no minimum number of candidates.
Organ, Percussion, Harpsichord, Choral Singing and Jazz Ensemble exams
Applicants will need to organise a Private Visit for these exams as we are unable to hold them at our Public Venues. The minimum number of examining hours does not apply and while we will make every effort to provide an examiner on your chosen date, we cannot guarantee this. We will let you know the final date, once we have confirmed your Private Visit.
Closing dates and late booking
Visit Organisers and any Permitted Applicants can book practical exams at a Private Visit up to 28 days before the chosen start date. Once a practical Private Visit booking has been confirmed, it may be possible to make late bookings if space is available. You should not rely on late booking to secure an exam slot. Any available slots are likely to be limited and we cannot guarantee that you will be able to book an exam once the Private Visit has been confirmed. We are unable to accept late bookings for Music Theory exams.
Find out more about late booking.
Confirming practical Private Visits
If our requirements for organising a Private Visit are met, we will automatically confirm the visit once booking has closed (28 days before the Private Visit start date). We will email the Visit Organiser and any Permitted Applicants to let them know that the visit is confirmed and that they can log in to view their exam dates and times. Candidates (or parents/carers) with an account will also receive a confirmation email.
At this point, the Visit Organiser can log in and view all candidates at their Private Visit, including those booked by Permitted Applicants. They can also download a list of all candidates booked at the visit (at any time), rearrange their timetable and choose to ‘lock’ the timetable when they are happy with it. The Visit Organiser can make changes or lock the timetable up to 48 hours before the start date. It is the responsibility of the Visit Organiser to inform their candidates and any Permitted Applicants of their finalised exam dates and times.
Find out more about rearranging and locking timetables.
Confirming Music Theory Private Visits (Grades 6 to 8 only)
Once the booking period has closed, we will email the Visit Organiser and any Permitted Applicants to let them know that they can log in to view their confirmed Music Theory exam details. Candidates (parents/carers) with an account will also receive a confirmation email.
How to book
For additional guidance, see our user guides and videos.
1. Check our additional information for Private Visits.
2. Register and create an account, if you don’t have one already.
3. If you are the Visit Organiser, make sure you have approval for your venue. If you don’t have approval, you can log in to request it. This can take up to eight working days. Once you have approval, make a note of your Venue Code. You will need to pass this on to any Permitted Applicants. To create your visit, log in and click Private Visit. You can then select your venue and choose your date(s) for practical exams. You can amend your practical Private Visit date(s) or add more days, as long as you do this before the visit is confirmed (28 days before the start date).
4. The Visit Organiser and any Permitted Applicants can then enter their candidate and exam details. Before you begin, have all your candidate information ready: Contact ID (if known), name, date of birth, exam subject and grade/level, any access arrangements and candidate email address (optional).You can enter these details directly into our exam booking service or you can use our bulk upload option to add a list of candidates.
5. Once you’ve added your candidate and exam details you can pay and complete your booking.
