Register for NCEA

These are all externally assessed:

• NCEA and NZ Scholarship end-of-year exams
• Portfolio, Report and Kete Manarua submissions for:
  • Level 1 Dance | Music | Physical Education | Te Ao Haka | Te Reo Māori
  • All levels of Design and Visual Communication | Technology | Visual Arts
  • NZ Scholarship Health & Physical Education | Music

Portfolios, reports and Kete Manarua can only be assessed if you select the appropriate externally assessed standards in your NCEA registration form.

You or your supervisor will receive an email with instructions on what to do and by when. If you’re unsure about registering, or which externally assessed standards to select, just check with your kaimanaaki or kaiako.

Your main school is responsible for registering you for any externally assessed standards for your Te Kura subjects.

You will need to re-register for any externally assessed standards through Te Kura.  Our Qualifications team will email instructions advising what you need to do and by when.

You need to submit an online NCEA registration form to tell us:

• which externally assessed standards you wish to sit
• where you plan to sit any end-of-year exams
• if you require any Special Assessment Conditions (SAC).

You can only submit one registration form, so it must include all externally assessed standards you wish to sit, as well as any required SAC.

You can select a school from a list of available Exam Centre Schools, and you must sit all your exam sessions at a single Exam Centre School.

If your registration includes end-of-year exam standards:

• You will be provisionally registered until approval is received from your chosen end-of-year Exam Centre School via our online portal for schools.
• You will be automatically registered for practice exams.
• Remember you must also complete a Practice Exam Supervision form by the required deadline.

It is important you check the standards you selected in your NCEA registration form and immediately let our Qualifications team know of any changes.

If you have a medical, physical, sensory, or specific learning disability, you may be eligible for SAC. You must provide any details on your online NCEA registration form.

Te Kura is not an end-of-year Exam Centre School so you will need to ask a local secondary school if you can sit your exams there.  

You'll select a school on the NCEA registration form. You can choose any school that’s convenient for you, and it doesn’t need to be a school you’ve previously attended.

1. Te Kura will email you to advise who you need to contact at your chosen school once we have received your NCEA registration form.
2. Your chosen Exam Centre School will receive an email as well, with a link to our online portal for schools. They must provide their decision to Te Kura by clicking the link. They will be able to action this once they’ve heard from you.

Approval from your chosen Exam Centre School is required before the deadline specified in our instruction email.

The Exam Centre School you selected on your NCEA registration form must approve your request in our online portal, so we are aware of their decision.

• Once approved, you will receive an email from Te Kura confirming your external standards registration. This will include whether any end-of-year exams will be in digital or paper format, and a link to the NZQA end-of-year exam timetable.
• If you received approval from your Exam Centre School but do not receive a confirmation email from Te Kura, please contact our Qualifications team. It may mean the Exam Centre School hasn’t provided their official decision in our online portal.

The Exam Centre School you selected in your NCEA registration form must decline your request in our online portal, so we are aware of their decision.

We will send an email asking you to contact our Qualifications team with the name of another secondary school as your new Exam Centre School. We’ll then update your NCEA registration and send you the new contact details.

Declines are usually because:

• they are unable to host you for all your end-of-year exam sessions
• their exam sessions are full
• they’re unable to support a SAC requirement, such as separate accommodation.

This year Te Kura NCEA practice exams run from 31 August to 4 September 2026.

NCEA practice exams are sat at home under strict supervision. They must be supervised by a non-family member if you wish to be eligible for derived grades.

Supervision may be available at a local Huinga Ako - just check with your kaimanaaki for availability in your area. You must still complete the Practice Exam Supervision form even if you will be supervised at a local Huinga Ako.

The Practice Exam Supervision form will be available soon.

Further details will be available in the NCEA Practice Exams course in My Te Kura in Term 3.

Digital exams are typed on a device with a physically attached keyboard rather than hand-written in paper booklets.

Some end-of-year exams are in digital format only, while others are available only on paper. In some subjects, there is a choice between digital or paper.

In subjects where there is a choice, your Exam Centre school decides which format they will use. Te Kura has no influence over this decision.

Te Kura will automatically register you for the digital format unless your Exam Centre School alerts us otherwise. Your Exam Centre School will advise Te Kura of their decision in our online portal at the same time as they approve your request.

Te Kura will let you know the exam format of each subject in your NCEA registration confirmation email.

Digital exams are not available for Te Kura overseas exams.

If you are confirmed to be sitting any digital exams, you must have access to a reliable, fully functional laptop with a keyboard that you can take with you on exam days. You will also need compatible headphones for any language listening standards. A digital exam checklist will be provided in your confirmation email.

If you do not have access to a laptop, your kaimanaaki may be able to talk through some ideas with you e.g. borrowing one from family or friend or applying for our laptop and connectivity assistance programme.

If your kaimanaaki cannot help you find a solution, you may need to sit paper exams. In this case, you must contact our Qualifications team as soon as possible, as special arrangements must be made.

You must take your personalised exam admission slip to every exam session. It shows the date and time of each of your end-of-year exam sessions and will be posted to you by the end of October. If you don’t receive it by then, you can email our Qualifications team for a signed replacement.