Bring three things and you will get into almost any Philippine college entrance exam: your printed test permit, a valid ID with your photo on it, and the writing materials the school told you to bring. Everything else on this page is detail around those three.
The detail matters, though, because most people who get turned away on test day are not cheating. They brought a photocopy instead of the original ID. They left the permit at home. They walked in with a smartwatch. Testing offices treat these as hard rules, and once the session starts there is usually no way to fix it.
The core checklist
Every admission test in the country asks for some version of the following. The names change; the substance does not.
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Printed test permit or ePermit | Proves you are a registered candidate and tells the proctor where you sit |
| Original valid ID with photo | Identity check. Photocopies are commonly rejected |
| Writing materials specified by the school | Usually pencils and an eraser for paper tests; erasable scratch materials for online tests |
| Water and light snacks | Long tests have breaks, and most schools allow this |
The University of the Philippines admissions bulletin is the clearest published example. UP tells UPCAT applicants to bring only the test permit, a school ID or any valid government-issued ID, at least two good-quality pencils, a sharpener, a rubber eraser, water and snacks, and it names cell phones and calculating devices as prohibited.
The University of Santo Tomas applies the same logic to the USTET: the permit and a valid ID with a picture are both required to be admitted into the testing room.
The Polytechnic University of the Philippines runs its admission through the iApply portal, where applicants download and print an ePermit after their application is processed. PUP instructs applicants to present that printed ePermit on the examination date.
Documents you need before test day, not on it
The document work happens weeks earlier, during application. Getting it wrong is what stops you from having a permit in the first place.
Proof that you are eligible to apply
Most first-year applications are open to Grade 12 students expected to graduate at the end of the current school year, and to senior high graduates who have not yet enrolled in a college programme. UP states that UPCAT applicants must not have taken the UPCAT before and must not have enrolled in any college course. De La Salle University sets out the same shape of rule: a Grade 12 student expected to graduate at the end of the covered academic year, or an earlier Grade 12 graduate who has not taken any college course, or a passer of PEPT, ALS or the NFEA and E Programme.
Your grades
Schools want the transcript or report card, not a screenshot. UP requires complete grades for Grades 8, 9, 10 and 11 under the K to 12 curriculum by the grades submission deadline, and it combines those grades with the standardised UPCAT scores to produce the admission score it calls the UPG. PUP asks for a scanned Grade 11 report card showing your full name, your LRN and your general weighted average for both semesters.
Because UP folds your junior and senior high grades into the admission score, the transcript is not paperwork. It is part of the exam.
A photo that meets specifications
Almost every portal rejects photos before it rejects people. PUP asks for a 2 by 2 inch coloured photo with a name tag, scanned as a clear JPEG under 300 kilobytes. CEM's rules for the NMAT are stricter still: taken within the last year, face and shoulders only, white background, square aspect ratio, at least 600 by 600 pixels, under 2 MB, JPG format, no selfies, no scanned photos of an existing ID, and it must match how you will look on test day.
A birth certificate and clearances, depending on the school
UST's application checklist for college applicants includes a PSA birth certificate or passport and, for certain applicant categories, school clearance. Mapúa University asks new first-year students for the original Grade 12 report card signed by the senior high principal, an original PSA birth certificate, and an original certificate of good moral character bearing the school seal.
Order the PSA copy early. It is the item that most reliably arrives late.
The ID question, answered properly
"Valid ID" is not a vague phrase. CEM publishes an explicit list for the NMAT, which is a useful reference because it is broader than most people assume: driver's licence, passport, PRC licence, SSS ID, GSIS UMID, voter's ID or certification, BIR ID, Philippine National ID or ePhilID, company or office ID, school ID, police clearance, PNP or airman licence, postal ID, barangay ID, NBI clearance, seaman's book, OWWA or iDOLE card, HDMF transaction card, PWD ID, solo parent ID, senior citizen's ID, and the ACR I-Card for foreign candidates.
Three rules that trip people up:
- Photocopies are not accepted for the NMAT. CEM says the authorizer will ask for the original.
- A recently expired ID may still work. CEM accepts an ID that expired within the last six months of the test date. If it expired more than six months ago and you have applied for a replacement, present the expired ID, the proof of renewal and your registration form. If it expired more than six months ago and you never applied for renewal, CEM says you will not be allowed to take the test.
- A lost ID needs an affidavit, not an apology. CEM's instruction is to present a notarised Affidavit of Loss along with the NMAT registration form.
Undergraduate testing offices are not always this explicit, which is exactly why you should read your own permit's fine print instead of relying on what a batchmate did last year.
What gets people disqualified
This is the part nobody reads until it is too late. CEM's published rules for the NMAT are the most detailed disqualification list any Philippine testing body puts in writing, and the categories generalise well to other admission tests.
Prohibited materials include phones of all kinds, all watches, tablets and e-readers, pencils, pen and pencil erasers, permanent markers, paper and tissue, physical calculators, books, notes, dictionaries and translators, scanning devices, wearable technology, digital storage and USB-tethering devices, external monitors, transmitting cables, compasses, rulers and protractors, mirrors, and unauthorised scratch materials.
That list is for an online, remotely proctored test, which is why ordinary pencils and paper appear on it. For a paper-based exam like the UPCAT, pencils are the point. Read the exam you are actually taking.
Prohibited activities include taking the test for someone else or having someone take it for you, receiving coaching or assistance in any form, reading items aloud or whispering, using unauthorised items even during the break, taking a photo or screenshot of the test window, ignoring proctor instructions, copying or reproducing test content, leaving the testing area without permission, covering the webcam or muting the microphone, screen sharing or casting, and connecting to an external monitor.
The consequence is stated plainly: anyone found violating these rules is disqualified from continuing, scores can be cancelled or withheld, registration and test fees are not refunded, and appeals after a final decision are not entertained. In the NMAT's case, CEM also reserves the right to ban a violator from future testing.
The lesson generalises. Whatever exam you sit, assume the proctor's instruction is final, and assume the recording is real.
Money: what you pay and what you might not have to
UP does not charge Filipino citizens an application fee for the UPCAT. Non-Filipino applicants pay a fee that UP publishes in its admissions bulletin.
Private institutions generally charge an application or testing fee, and the amount varies by school and by applicant category. Do not budget from a number you read on a forum; check the portal for the cycle you are applying in.
There is one legal exception worth knowing. Republic Act 12006, the Free College Entrance Examinations Act, lapsed into law in June 2024 and requires CHED-recognised private higher education institutions to waive college entrance examination fees and charges for applicants who are natural-born Filipino citizens, belong to the top 10 percent of their graduating class, come from a household below the NEDA poverty threshold or otherwise certified by the DSWD, are applying to a private HEI, and meet that institution's other requirements. CHED is authorised to impose sanctions on private schools that violate it.
UST has applied this to the USTET, waiving application fees for college applicants eligible under RA 12006. If you meet the conditions, ask the admissions office how to claim it before you pay.
For a broader view of what schools ask for beyond the exam itself, see our guide to college admission requirements in the Philippines.
Preparing the week before
Print two copies of the permit. One for your bag, one for whoever is bringing you. Permits are printed documents for a reason.
Do the practice run to the venue. Metro Manila testing weekends produce genuinely heavy traffic around the campuses. Arriving with an hour to spare costs you nothing.
Check your ID's expiry date against the test date. Not against today.
Sharpen pencils in advance and bring a spare eraser. For paper-based tests this is the whole kit.
For online tests, do the system check. CEM requires NMAT candidates to pass a system compatibility check before test day and lists what the machine needs: a Windows laptop or desktop, a working webcam and microphone, a functional mouse, a stable connection of at least 5 Mbps, an up-to-date browser, the secure browser software, easily erasable writing materials such as a small whiteboard, a valid ID, and a well-lit, quiet room where you are alone. It also warns that failure to log in on the test date, for any reason, forfeits the test.
Sleep. You cannot revise your way out of a test you sit exhausted.
If something goes wrong
If you realise a document is missing or wrong, contact the admissions office during the registration period. Nearly every correction that is free during registration becomes a paid service request, or impossible, once registration closes. CEM, for instance, allows free edits to most application details during registration and charges a service fee afterwards, and only its secretariat can change a name or date of birth at any point.
If you miss the exam entirely, that is a different problem with its own answers. We cover it in what to do if you missed the entrance exam.
And if you are still deciding which exams to sit, our side-by-side comparison of the major Philippine college entrance exams lays out what each one tests and how each school weighs it.
Sources
- Center for Educational Measurement, Inc., NMAT Bulletin of Information (July 2025): https://www.cem-inc.org.ph/nmat/files/downloads/NMAT_BOI_OCBT_0725-R.pdf
- Center for Educational Measurement, Inc., NMAT Frequently Asked Questions (February 2025): https://www.cem-inc.org.ph/nmat/files/downloads/NMAT_FAQs_02122025.pdf
- Center for Educational Measurement, Inc., NMAT Eligibility and Registration Requirements: https://www.cem-inc.org.ph/nmat/eligibility-registration-requirements
- University of the Philippines Office of Admissions, General Information Bulletin on First-Year Admissions: https://upcat.up.edu.ph/htmls/aboutupcat.html
- University of the Philippines Office of Admissions, UPCAT: https://upcat.up.edu.ph/
- University of Santo Tomas Office for Admissions, USTET portal: https://ustet.ust.edu.ph/
- Polytechnic University of the Philippines, PUPCET application procedure: https://www.pup.edu.ph/iapply/procedure/pupcet
- De La Salle University, First-Year College Application: https://www.dlsu.edu.ph/admission/admissions-undergraduate-first-year-college-application/
- Mapúa University, Requirements for New Students: https://www.mapua.edu.ph/pages/academics/registrar/requirements-for-new-students
- Republic Act No. 12006 (Free College Entrance Examinations Act), full text via LawPhil: https://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2024/ra_12006_2024.html
- Supreme Court E-Library, Republic Act No. 12006: https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/2/97547
- Presidential Communications Office, "Bill for free college entrance exams for smart but impoverished students now a law": https://pco.gov.ph/news_releases/bill-for-free-college-entrance-exams-for-smart-but-impoverished-students-now-a-law/
- The Varsitarian, "Free College Entrance Exams Act lapses into law": https://varsitarian.net/free-college-entrance-exams-act-lapses-into-law/
