End-of-year NCEA and New Zealand Scholarship exams begin on Tuesday 10 November and finish on Friday 4 December, according to NZQA's timetable. Each session is three hours long and starts at either 9.30am or 2pm.
The first day includes Level 1 Mathematics and Statistics in the morning. Level 3 English is on Wednesday 11 November and Level 2 English on Thursday 12 November.
When are the language exams?
For students taking Chinese, Japanese or Korean, NZQA lists these dates:
- Level 2 Japanese: Tuesday 10 November, 2pm
- Level 1 Korean: Wednesday 11 November, 2pm
- Level 2 Chinese: Thursday 12 November, 2pm
- Level 2 Korean: Tuesday 17 November, 2pm
- Level 3 Japanese: Wednesday 18 November, 9.30am
- Level 3 Chinese: Friday 20 November, 9.30am
- Level 1 Japanese: Monday 23 November, 9.30am
- Scholarship Chinese: Thursday 26 November, 2pm
- Scholarship Japanese: Wednesday 2 December, 9.30am
- Level 3 Korean: Thursday 3 December, 9.30am
- Level 1 Chinese: Thursday 3 December, 2pm
If two of a student's exams are on at the same time, NZQA says to talk to the school's Principal's Nominee as soon as possible.
What to bring
NZQA's candidate information sheet says students must bring their admission slip to every exam and put it face up on the desk. It shows the National Student Number (NSN) and the exam code, which tells you which room and desk to go to.
If the slip is lost, print a new one from the MyNZQA learner portal or ask the Principal's Nominee. A replacement has to be signed by the Principal's Nominee before it can be used.
Photo ID, such as a school ID or driver licence, is needed for any Scholarship exam and for any exam sat at a school the student does not normally attend.
Equipment goes in a clear pencil case or plastic bag: black or blue pens, pencils, and up to two NZQA-approved calculators for subjects that allow them. Supervisors check that calculator memory has been cleared.
What not to bring
Phones, smartwatches and smart glasses are not allowed unless they are switched off and sealed in an emergency evacuation pack, which stays under the chair. The pack can also hold keys, money, a bus pass and medicine.
NZQA also bans watches of any type, notes, and dictionaries, including foreign language dictionaries and translators.
Timing rules
Students should arrive at least 20 minutes before the start. Anyone who turns up late does not get extra time. Anyone more than 30 minutes late will not be let in without NZQA's direct approval, which it says is given only in exceptional circumstances.
Nobody can leave in the first 45 minutes or the last 15 minutes.
If a student is sick or something goes wrong
Students who miss an exam, or whose performance is affected by illness, injury or a serious event outside their control, can apply for a derived grade. The grade is based on evidence of their work during the year, and their school must have reported a derived grade for that standard.
The application goes through the Principal's Nominee, with supporting evidence such as a doctor's note. NZQA says it should be in no later than two weeks after the assessment. Derived grades are not available for Scholarship.
NZQA's examples of temporary illness include gastroenteritis and notifiable diseases such as COVID-19, measles and whooping cough. A student who misses an exam because they have a notifiable disease, or are unvaccinated and have been in contact with someone who has one, can also apply.
Health New Zealand urged students and whānau in October to check their measles protection before exams. In the 2025 outbreak it managed 48 confirmed cases and more than 7500 contacts, mostly during October and November. Students who are not immune and are exposed may have to stay away from school, it said.
The derived grade criteria focus on circumstances outside the student's control. Families thinking of flying out early for the summer holidays should check the full timetable first.
Results
NZQA says marked NCEA exams can be viewed in the MyNZQA learner portal from late January. Results are released in January 2027.
For more on school results, see our story on what the NCEA numeracy results show. Families may also want to read about whooping cough in Auckland schools.
