Examination Policies

Foundation Examinations

To be eligible to undertake any of the PEB Foundation Examinations candidates must hold a degree awarded by a UK institution in a Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics subject (a STEM degree).

Candidates holding a degree not awarded by a UK institution must provide a statement of comparability from ENIC with their application form.

If a candidate does not hold a STEM degree they may apply to the PEB to have alternative qualifications and/or experience considered.

Final Examinations

In order to be eligible to undertake any of the PEB Final Examinations candidates must have passed either:

• the Foundation Certificate examination FC1 (P1) (set by either PEB ) or
• the Foundation level examinations set by any other examination agency approved by IPReg listed in Rules for Examination and Admission of Individuals 2011 | The Intellectual Property Regulation Board  (amended July 2021)

Certificate in Patent Administration

There is no need to obtain any prior qualification in order to be eligible to enter for the Introductory Certificate in Patent Administration.

It is advisable that candidates have a minimum of 6-12 months relevant work experience before undertaking the Introductory Certificate in Patent Administration.

Qualifying Examinations

The PEB can only consider requests for exemptions based on examinations listed in Schedule 3 of the Rules for Examination and Admission of Individuals (amended July 2021).

As of 1 February 2023, neither IPreg accredited Intellectual Property qualifications obtained from the universities of Bournemouth, Brunel, Manchester, Queen Mary London prior to and including 2013 cohorts, nor the historic Joint Examination Board examinations prior to and including 2011 passess (or 20As 12 resits), are deemed equivalent to some of the requirements of the Qualifying Examinations.

Foundation Certificate

The PEB will consider requests for exemptions from the FC2 (English Law) PEB examination if a candidate has successfully completed one of the Law qualifications or law examinations listed in Schedule 3 of the Rules for Examination and Admission of Individuals (amended July 2021).

Introductory Certificate in Patent Administration

Candidates who hold the Certificate in Patent Administration awarded by CIPA are exempt from the Introductory Patent Administration Certificate.

The PEB will normally publish by the March of the year in which the examination takes place the examination dates, including the:

• opening and closing dates of the examination registration period.
• dates of the examinations.
• the results issue dates.

Registration Policy

Registration for PEB examinations must be made before the published closing date, and payment must be received on or before the published closing date for registration, using the appropriate Examination Registration Form.  Candidates must ensure that they register within the specified time to avoid the late registration fee.

The PEB does not accept applications by email.

Payment Policy

Payment must be made by Bank transfer (BACs) on receipt of an invoice from PEB Payment must be received before PEB can process the Examination Registration.

A receipt of  registration form acknowledgement email will be sent within 48 hours of receipt of the Examination Registration. This is NOT a confirmation of registration.

Withdrawals from Qualifying Examinations

If a candidate withdraws from any Qualifying Examination at any time, the fee paid is neither refundable nor transferable after receipt by the candidate of confirmation of registration, with the following exceptions:

A full refund will be given to candidates who:

• withdraw from FD2 (P3) or FD3 (P4) within one month of the publication of the EQE results;
• enter for the PEB English Law (FC2) examination and are subsequently granted an exemption before the examination takes place.

If you wish to withdraw from FC2, FD2 or FD3, please contact the PEB.

Exceptional circumstances: A partial refund may be given to candidates who, due to exceptional circumstances (e.g. illness, pregnancy-related circumstances), withdraw from a Qualifying examination. Candidates should apply to PEB for a refund accompanied by suitable evidence (e.g. a medical report) as soon as possible and, in order to be eligible for a refund, no later than 15  working days before the date of the examination. Any granted refund will be at the discretion of the PEB and will be less an administrative charge as shown below.

The administrative charge is designed to cover the costs that PEB is committed to once the registration has been confirmed.

If you wish to withdraw from a Qualifying Examination, please email [email protected] with your request stating the reason for withdrawal.

Withdrawals from the Patent Administration Examination

If a candidate withdraws from the ICPA examination at any time, the fee paid is neither refundable nor transferable after receipt by the candidate of confirmation of registration.

A partial refund may be given to candidates who, due to exceptional circumstances (e.g. illness, pregnancy-related circumstances), withdraw from the ICPA examination. Candidates should apply to PEB for a refund accompanied by suitable evidence (e.g. a medical note) as soon as possible and, in order to be eligible for a refund, no later than 15 working days from the date of the examination. Any granted refund will be at the discretion of the PEB and will be less an administrative charge as shown below.

The administrative charge is designed to cover the costs that PEB is committed to once the registration has been confirmed.

If you wish to withdraw from the Patent Administration Examination (ICPA), please email [email protected] with your request.

Where PEB receives both a correctly completed registration form AND the entry fee for a PEB examination by the published deadline, the entry will be deemed to have been received by the closing date and will be processed.

Where either the registration and/or the payment is not received by the PEB by the published closing date, the PEB may, at its discretion, process the entry on receipt of the late entry fee.

Requests to change an examination venue from the one originally requested by the candidate will be considered up to six weeks before the examination (PAC) or up to six weeks before the start of the examination week (Qualifying Examinations).

Requests to change venue received after the above stated dates cannot be considered.

Candidates who fail to attend an examination at the prescribed time for whatever reason, will not be allowed to take that examination at a different time in that examination cycle.

If there are exceptional circumstances which cause the candidate to know in advance that they will not be able to attend at the prescribed venue, and if the PEB receives enough notice to make the necessary administrative arrangements, the PEB will seek to accommodate a change of venue request.

For information on refunds for missed examinations please see the PEB Registration, Payment, Withdrawal and Refund Policies.

Reasonable Adjustments are the main way in which the PEB complies with its duty under the Equality Act 2010 to provide fair access to assessment for candidates who have particular needs that have a substantial and long-term adverse effect, such as: cognition and learning needs; communication and interaction needs; sensory or physical needs; social, emotional or mental health needs; health issues; disabilities; and temporary or permanent injuries.

Reasonable Adjustments allow candidates to access the examination, and show what they know, understand and can do.

The PEB’s Reasonable Adjustments Policy provides additional support for the following categories of candidates:

• Those with a permanent physical, sensory or mental disability that is likely to affect the candidate throughout their life.
• Those with temporary physical, sensory or mental disability that is likely to affect the candidate for less than one year, and is likely to improve. Examples of a temporary disability could include broken limbs or injury to hands which could impair a candidate’s ability to word process their answers.

Requesting Reasonable Adjustments

1          Adjustments requested must be reasonable and not give the candidate an unfair advantage.

2          The PEB Qualifying Examinations and ICPA assess the candidate’s professional competence. Reasonable Adjustments cannot remove, alter or weaken competence requirements.

3          Examples of adjustments or arrangements that cannot be granted include:

• adjustments that would alter the nature or content of the assessment and/or undermine the integrity of the examination, for example changes to the style of the assessment, or the number of questions
• additional time plus rest breaks
• taking the examination in extra sittings, for example over two days
• question papers in a language other than English
• extra time to accommodate candidates whose first language is not English
• use of mono-lingual dictionaries
• use of bilingual dictionaries, for example for candidates whose first language is not English.

4          Requests for Reasonable Adjustments must be supported by relevant, recent evidence. The required evidence comprises the two elements (a) and (b) below.

(a)       Evidence of the health issue(s), physical, sensory or mental disability, temporary or permanent injury or other specific need:

(i)    For all Reasonable Adjustment requests, the evidence of the issue, disability, injury or specific need must have been provided by an appropriately qualified professional such as a doctor, a practitioner currently registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), a psychiatrist, an educational psychologist, or other person appropriately qualified in the relevant field.

(ii)   The professional must be, or have recently been, involved in the candidate’s care in relation to the condition described.

(iii)  The professional’s report must provide relevant information/evidence of the nature and extent of the disability or difficulty.

(iv)  For specific learning needs, such as dyslexia, the evidence must include a full diagnostic report from a specialist teacher who holds a current practising certificate in assessing specific learning difficulties issued by their relevant professional association, or from a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist registered with the HCPC.

(b)       Evidence of the candidate’s normal way of working, which must explicitly:

(i)    state the Reasonable Adjustment requested and why;

(ii)   relate directly to the Reasonable Adjustment that is requested;

(iii)  confirm that the Reasonable Adjustment requested forms part of the candidate’s normal way of working.

Evidence of the candidate’s normal way of working can be met by submission of a workplace needs assessment report and/or a letter from a current employer that meets criteria (b)(i), (ii) and (iii).

Evidence in support of an application for Extra Time or Supervised Rest Breaks must additionally:

• confirm that the candidate has persistent and significant difficulties when accessing and processing information;
• show evidence of how the disability/difficulty has impacted on the candidate’s usual daily working practice;
• confirm that extra time or rest breaks are part of the candidate’s normal way of working as a direct consequence of the disability/difficulty;
• confirm that without the application of extra time or rest breaks the candidate would be at a substantial disadvantage when compared with other, non-disabled candidates taking the assessment.

5          Reports used to support applications for Reasonable Adjustments for examinations before the age of 18 or university needs assessments/screening reports will not normally meet the evidence requirements.

6          Guidance on specific Reasonable Adjustments

Application Process

Reasonable Adjustments must be approved before the examination takes place. The deadline for applications, together with supporting evidence, is the last working day of the August before the examinations take place.

In submitting your application for Reasonable Adjustments you are confirming that you have read and understand the PEB Policy on Reasonable Adjustments.

When you complete the Registration Form, you should indicate that you are requesting Reasonable Adjustments and specify the adjustment(s) you are requesting.

You are strongly advised to upload your supporting evidence when you register. This will help ensure that your request can be dealt with promptly.

If you do not upload your supporting evidence when you register, you must email it to [email protected] by the deadline of the last working day in August.

Evidence received after the end August deadline will NOT be considered and it is likely that your request will be refused.

The PEB will contact you with the outcome of your application as early as possible. However, there may be a delay in dealing with an application if the PEB needs to ask for advice from an external reasonable adjustments specialist.

If your request for a Reasonable Adjustment was approved in a previous examination session, and your condition or disability is permanent, you will still need to indicate on the Registration form that you are requesting a Reasonable Adjustment. You will not need to submit new evidence unless your condition has changed. However, the PEB routinely reviews Reasonable Adjustment applications that were approved in previous sessions and may contact you to ask you to provide recent evidence.

Late requests

Exceptionally the PEB will consider requests for reasonable adjustments up to six weeks before the examination (ICPA) or up to six weeks before the start of the examination week (Qualifying Examinations).

Applications received close to the deadline will only be considered by the PEB if:

• there was an unforeseeable, unavoidable circumstance(s) beyond your control that meant you were mentally or physically incapable of submitting your application to request a Reasonable Adjustment by the deadline, and/or;
• the circumstances or condition stated in the reason for the adjustment request could not have been known to you before the deadline, and;
• there is sufficient time remaining before the examination to accommodate the specific adjustment that has been requested, and;
• there are valid and evidenced reasons why you did not submit the application prior to the deadline.

If the PEB is not able to meet a late request for Reasonable Adjustments, you could consider lodging a Special Consideration request after the examination.

All Examinations

Special Consideration:

• is the process whereby possible adjustments to the candidate’s mark are considered;
• cannot remove the difficulty faced by the candidate.
• will only result in an adjustment to the total mark awarded, where there has been a material detrimental effect on the candidate’s examination performance.

An application for Special Consideration may be made, following an examination, if the candidate’s examination performance may have been impacted by a temporary illness, injury or indisposition, or an event or incident which:

• was outside the candidate’s control;
• could not reasonably have been predicted; and
• was likely to have had a material effect on the candidate’s ability to demonstrate their normal level of attainment in the examination.

The result awarded must reflect the candidate’s actual performance in the examination. Only minor adjustments can be made to the mark awarded by examiners. Larger adjustments would jeopardise the standard of the examination. There are, therefore, some situations where candidates should consider not registering for, or withdrawing from, an examination. (The PEB Withdrawal Policy is here https://www.cipa.org.uk/patent-examination-board/policies/examination-policies/.)

PEB Examinations lead to the “licence to practise”. It is important to note that there may be situations where it is not possible for mark adjustments to be made.

Eligible Circumstances

Eligible circumstances for Special Consideration are generally incidents or crises occurring between the date of application to enter the examination and the close of the examination, for example:

• death of an immediate family member or close friend within the previous two months or longer if there are ongoing implications such as a court case at the time of the examination;
• serious and disruptive domestic crisis;
• diagnosis of terminal illness of an immediate family member or close friend;
• significant incapacitating illness of the candidate or immediate family member;
• major surgery;
• disease;
• car accident;
• permanent bodily injury;
• severe asthmatic attack;
• flare-up of congenital conditions such as epilepsy or diabetes;
• physical assault/trauma.

Eligible circumstances include events or incidents outside the candidate’s control, such as:

• major disturbance in the examination room such as evacuation of the venue,
• loss of time due to late arrival at the examination venue due to exceptional circumstances outside the candidate’s control (such as complete shut-down of the transport network);
• in online examinations, technical circumstances such as complete internet loss due to failure on the part of the broadband provider.

Special Consideration cannot be requested where the candidate:

• has a long-term illness, permanent disability or condition, unless another significant illness affects them at the time of the examination. Candidates with a permanent disability or condition should refer to the PEB Reasonable Adjustments Policy https://www.cipa.org.uk/patent-examination-board/policies/examination-policies/ and the Reasonable Adjustments Procedure  https://www.cipa.org.uk/patent-examination-board/procedures/examination-procedures/;
• has a sensory or physical disability that means they cannot access the examination, even with Reasonable Adjustments or modified examination materials;
• are affected by the consequences of committing a crime or using alcohol or drugs;
• experience technical equipment failure of IT/communications equipment, systems or software they have provided or chosen to use, for example: breaks in WiFi connection leading to loss of connection to the examinations system; firewall blocking access to the examination system; or an out-of-date licence preventing use of word processing software;
• were absent for more than 40% of the examination time allocated to answering the Question Paper;
• fail to apply for Special Consideration within the published time frame.

In cases where the candidate has experienced more than one form of disadvantage, Special Consideration will be applied only to the most serious indisposition or circumstance.

The maximum mark adjustment that can be awarded under Special Consideration is normally 10%.

Data Protection

PEB has to comply with Data Protection legislation and the CIPA Privacy Policy. PEB will not communicate about Special Consideration cases with anyone than the candidate unless the candidate has specifically given permission for a named person to be contacted.

Applying for Special Consideration

Deadline for applying for Special Consideration

Special Consideration must be applied for no later than two weeks after the examination for Qualifying Examinations, and no later than one week after the examination for IPAC and APAC. Special Consideration cannot be requested after the results have been issued.

To apply for Special Consideration, an application must be submitted to [email protected]  within two weeks of the date of the examination which:

•  includes the applicant’s candidate number and the examination reference/title;
• confirms that the applicant have read and understood the PEB Special Consideration Policy and Procedure;
• explains fully the circumstances the applicant believes impacted on their examination performance; and
• states what the applicant believes the impact on their examination performance to have been;

Supporting evidence, wherever possible. For medical and health-related applications this should be a letter from a doctor, hospital, or appropriately-qualified health professional. If the circumstances relate to sitting an examination at an office or place of work, an independent report should be provided by an appropriate member of staff. Candidates are advised to submit evidence at the time of application. If supporting evidence is not available they should state when they intend to submit it. Evidence cannot be taken into account if it is received after an application has been processed.

Disturbances affecting the whole examination

If the disturbance affected the whole examination room, or a significant section of it, these details will be supplied to the PEB and the affected candidates will be advised that this has been lodged as a special consideration. There is no need to write separately to the PEB in such circumstances, unless you want to bring something else to the attention of the PEB.

Malpractice is any deliberate action or practice that threatens the integrity of any PEB examination.  The PEB strives to prevent the occurrence of malpractice in its examinations, in order to safeguard their consistency and integrity.

The following are examples of candidate malpractice:

• Misuse of assessment material, introduction of unauthorised material into the room where the candidate is sitting the exam. Unauthorised material includes: study notes, study guides, personal stereos. Except where they are specifically required to enable remote invigilation to be carried out, mobile phones and other similar electronic devices constitute unauthorised items.
• Obtaining, receiving, exchanging or passing on information which could be examination related  by means of  talking or using written papers /notes/material on the internet or on a computer or other electronic device.
• Copying from another candidate.
• Collusion – working collaboratively with other candidates.
• Disruptive behaviour including the use of offensive language.
• Failing to abide by the instructions or advice of an invigilator, supervisor, or the PEB in relation to the examination rules and regulations.
• Impersonation – pretending to be someone else or arranging for another to take one’s place in an examination.
• Attempting to influence PEB decisions by inappropriate or unethical means.

Reporting and Outcomes

All incidents of malpractice, irrespective of the nature of the incident, will be reported to the PEB in writing.

Candidates accused of malpractice will be made fully aware in writing at the earliest opportunity of the nature of the alleged malpractice. Candidates will have the opportunity to respond in writing to any allegations. Such responses should be submitted within 14 days of receipt of the allegations.

The PEB will determine:

• Whether the regulations have been adhered to
• Where the culpability lies for the breach in regulations
• The appropriate measures to be taken to protect the integrity of the award and to prevent future breaches as well as mitigate against any adverse effect
• The nature of any penalty to be applied.

Penalties

The severity of the penalty will depend on the nature of the malpractice and the extent of any mitigation but may include:

• A mark of zero for the particular examination where malpractice was adjudged to have occurred
• A mark of zero for the particular examination where malpractice was adjudged to have occurred and a mark of zero for other PEB examinations taken in that year.
• Permanent exclusion from all or a particular group of PEB examinations.
• If the candidate is a CIPA member, PEB will advise CIPA of the malpractice finding. PEB may also inform IPReg.

Any candidate whom the PEB has decided is guilty of malpractice shall have the right of appeal (see Appeals Policy).

During PEB online examinations, candidates will be recorded.

Data logs and recordings will be made before and during examinations and up to the deadline for submission of answers. These will be used only for the purposes of ensuring that accurate results are issued to candidates and/or for investigating suspected malpractice.

Recordings will normally be retained until the final date for requesting an Enquiry about Results (EaR). If you request an EaR, then data logs and recordings relating to your examination(s) will be retained until the EaR process (including any Stage 3 Appeal) is complete.

If there is reason to suspect that malpractice may have occurred, then any relevant recordings will be reviewed as part of any investigation.

PEB is committed to taking individuals’ personal information and data seriously. Personal information and data provided to PEB will not be sold to any third party. It will not be disclosed to any third party without the individual’s agreement.

The PEB meets its responsibilities under data protection legislation by following the CIPA Privacy Policy https://www.cipa.org.uk/privacy-policy/.  This policy covers how PEB collects, uses, discloses, transfers and stores personal information and data.

Candidates’ Answer Scripts

The PEB does not release original marked scripts or copies of marked scripts to candidates.

Once results are issued, candidates will be sent a link so they can download the Answer document that was sent for marking. .

Archiving and Script Retention

Candidate scripts, audio-visual files and online data logs are held by PEB for 3 months after the date the results are published, and then they are destroyed, except where they are anonymised and retained for:

• use as exemplars;
• use in training;
• research purposes,
• monitoring standards over time; and/or
• external regulatory purposes.

Candidate script(s), audio-visual files and online data logs will also be retained in the event of a malpractice investigation.

Subject Access (GDPR) Requests

Subject access requests are dealt with in accordance with the Information Commissioner’s Office guidance in force at the time of receipt of the request.

The PEB does not release original marked scripts or copies of marked scripts to candidates.

The PEB complies with subject access requests relating to marks awarded by providing lists of the examiners’ script annotations.

SAR requests should be emailed to [email protected].

SAR requests are dealt with strictly in the order that they are received and are completed within the time limits set out on the website of the Information Commissioner’s Office i.e. within one calendar month of the request.

The information and data will be provided by email and email attachments.

If a subject access request is unfounded or excessive, or if the individual requests further copies of their data, PEB will charge an administrative fee that covers the costs incurred in complying with such requests.

Qualifying Examinations

There is no limit to the number of times a candidate may resit any of the PEB Qualifying Examinations.

Introductory Certificate in Patent Administration

Illness

If a candidate is unwell and unable to attend the prescribed examination, they can sit the next scheduled examination without re-attending the course. A fee will be charged for the re-sat examination, and no refund is payable for the missed examination (see Registration, Payment, Withdrawal and Refund Policy). If the candidate then fails the examination, they will be required to retake the whole course and examination.

Attendance

If a candidate fails to attend three course sessions, they shall not be eligible to take the examination for that course.

Failed examination

If a candidate has failed an examination at or within 10% of the pass mark, they can sit the next scheduled examination without re-attending the course. If a candidate fails the examination at the second attempt, they will be required to retake the whole course and examination, regardless of the mark gained in the second examination.

If a candidate has failed an examination by more than 10% below the pass mark, they must retake the whole course and sit that course’s examination.