What to bring to the test center, and what happens on exam day

The written exam is held at a PSI test center. You book the seat with PSI after the state says you are eligible. You do not book with us and you do not book with the center.

Bring one identification, not two

You need one valid government photo identification that has not expired. A state driver's license, a state identification card, a passport or a permanent resident card all work. The bulletin lists the kinds it accepts, and one of them is enough.

Two rules matter more than which document you pick.

• The photograph has to look like you.
• The name on it has to match the name you registered with. If you married, divorced or changed your name, fix the registration before exam day, not at the counter.

Arrive thirty minutes early

Be at the center at least 30 minutes before your appointment. This is not a courtesy. Arriving late can cost you both the seat and the fee you paid, and then you book again and pay again.

In California a re-examination application costs 75 dollars. In Texas the written exam costs 55 dollars. A missed appointment is the most expensive thirty minutes in this process.

You will be thumb printed

Check-in is an identity process, not a formality. Staff check your identification, take a thumb print, store your belongings and walk you to a seat. Phones, bags, books, notes and study cards do not go into the exam room.

Do not bring anything you are not willing to leave in a locker.

The order of the day

1. Check in and show your identification.
2. Thumb print and a locker for your things.
3. A short tutorial on the computer, which does not use your exam time.
4. The exam. Multiple choice, four answers, one correct.
5. The score. In California and Texas the written result comes from the vendor at the center, so you leave knowing.

The question screen

Each question has four choices and exactly one is correct. You can move between questions, and you can mark a question and come back to it.

Do that. Answer every question you know first, mark the rest, and spend the last ten minutes on the marked ones. There is no penalty for a wrong answer, so never leave a question blank.

Pick the exam language when you book, not on the day

California offers the written exam in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean and Simplified Chinese. Texas offers English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean and Simplified Chinese for cosmetology, and fewer languages for some other licenses.

The language is a choice you make when you book, and the center you picked has to offer it. Check the languages on your center's page before you choose a date.

If you fail

You find out at the center. California sets no limit on the number of attempts; each one needs a new re-examination application and a 75 dollar fee. Texas publishes no attempt limit in its bulletin, and says the fee is forfeited if you do not test within one year of PSI receiving it.

Either way, the next step is a new booking. Read the retake guide before you pick the date, because what you do in the first week decides the second result.

The one thing people forget

Your booking confirmation. Bring it, on paper or on your phone, even though your identification is what gets you in. It carries your appointment time, the center address and the license you registered for, and at a center with four exams running at once that saves an argument.

The exact list of accepted identification is in the PSI candidate bulletin for your state, and it is worth reading once the week before.