Free Practice Questions for CBSA OTEE
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Key Facts: CBSA OTEE Exam
117 questions
The OTEE is a 117-question multiple-choice online exam
CBSA - Entrance exam for officer trainees
135 minutes
Total time to complete the OTEE once started, about 69 seconds per question
CBSA — Entrance exam for officer trainees
4 competencies
Reasoning skills, analytical thinking, client service orientation and writing skills
CBSA - Entrance exam for officer trainees
Online
The OTEE is written online with a one-week window to begin the test
CBSA - Entrance exam for officer trainees
No prior knowledge
All OTEE questions are hypothetical and need no prior CBSA knowledge
CBSA - Entrance exam for officer trainees
1-year wait
Unsuccessful candidates must wait one full year before re-writing the OTEE
CBSA - Selection steps and timelines
Accepted in later selection processes per the March 2026 CBSA fact sheet
A successful OTEE result remains accepted in later selection processes according to the CBSA’s March 2026 fact sheet
CBSA parliamentary recruitment fact sheet — March 24, 2026
214
Free original practice questions available here
OpenExamPrep
The CBSA Officer Trainee Entrance Exam (OTEE) has 117 online multiple-choice questions in 135 minutes. It assesses reasoning skills, analytical thinking, client service orientation, and writing skills; no prior CBSA knowledge is required. The current candidate page omits a numeric cut score, while a March 24, 2026 CBSA parliamentary fact sheet states 60% correct in each competency. An unsuccessful result ends the current candidacy and a retake is permitted one year after the initial attempt.
Sample CBSA OTEE Practice Questions
Try these sample questions to review concepts for the CBSA OTEE exam. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 214+ question experience with AI tutoring.
1All officers on night shift carry a flashlight. Marc is an officer on night shift. Which conclusion must be true?
2In a fictional sorting exercise, some travellers in a line have passports. No one with a passport is sent to a second queue. Which statement must be true?
3What number most logically continues the series: 3, 6, 12, 24, ___ ?
4Find the next letters in the series: AB, DE, GH, JK, ___ ?
5If every package that beeps is rescanned, and a package was not rescanned, what can you conclude about that package?
6Four officers finish a report in this order: Priya before Sam, Sam before Lee, Lee before Omar. Who finished last?
7A pointer turns one quarter-turn clockwise at each step: up, right, down, left, up. Which direction comes next?
8Pattern: 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, ___ . What comes next?
9Compare the identity codes in the same position in each list. List 1: KA7316, MT2049, RX8803, PL5174. List 2: KA7316, MT2409, RX8803, PL5174. How many codes differ?
10Blueprint is to building as recipe is to which result?
About the CBSA OTEE Exam
The CBSA Officer Trainee Entrance Exam (OTEE) is one of the first formal assessment steps to becoming a Canada Border Services Agency officer trainee. It is an online exam of 117 multiple-choice questions that candidates complete in 135 minutes. The OTEE assesses four required competencies: reasoning skills (drawing conclusions and inferences to solve problems), analytical thinking (using logical thought to break down a situation and reach an outcome), client service orientation (providing the best possible service to internal and external clients), and writing skills (producing clear, correct written documents in plain language). All questions are hypothetical, so no prior knowledge of the CBSA is required. A March 2026 CBSA fact sheet says a candidate who previously passed the OTEE in another selection process need not retake it; an unsuccessful candidate may retake the exam one year after the initial attempt.
Exam sponsor: Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) National Recruitment. The requirements and fees below concern the certification or admission exam, separate from our free practice resources.
Assessment
117 multiple-choice questions assessing four competencies: reasoning skills, analytical thinking, client service orientation and writing skills. All questions are hypothetical and require no prior CBSA knowledge.
Time Limit
135 minutes (about 2 hours 15 minutes) once the exam is started, roughly 69 seconds per question. Candidates have a one-week window to begin and must finish in a single sitting.
Passing Score
The current CBSA candidate exam page (modified September 9, 2026) does not state a numeric pass mark or describe individual score feedback. A CBSA fact sheet for Parliament dated March 24, 2026 states that 60% correct in each of the four competencies is required to pass. The CBSA does not publish how many questions fall in each competency; follow the instructions in your current invitation.
Exam / Certification Fees
No OTEE exam fee is published on the current candidate page. Other recruitment steps can involve costs, including fingerprinting; follow the current selection instructions.
Exam sponsor websiteFees, eligibility, and exam policies can change. Confirm them with the exam sponsor before applying or paying.
Our practice resources: topics covered
We aim to reflect publicly available exam outlines and topic information in our study resources. Coverage, format, and difficulty may differ from the actual exam, and we cannot guarantee that every detail is accurate or current. Confirm exam requirements, fees, and policies with the official exam sponsor.
Reasoning Skills
The ability to draw conclusions or inferences from information to solve problems. Practice here covers deductive and inductive reasoning, syllogisms, applying rules and conditions to specific cases, valid and invalid conclusions, number and letter series, analogies, and analytical logic puzzles.
Analytical Thinking
The ability to use a logical thought process to break down and work through a situation or problem to arrive at an outcome. Practice here covers interpreting tables and passages, prioritizing tasks against rules, comparing data for discrepancies, and evaluating multi-factor scenarios to reach a well-supported decision.
Client Service Orientation
Situational-judgment questions on providing the best possible service to internal and external clients, against the seven criteria the CBSA names: quality, timeliness, completeness, knowledge/competence, courtesy, fairness and outcome. The official sample for this competency is an internal scenario reviewing another unit's report, asked as a paired most-effective and least-effective question.
Writing Skills
Knowledge of clear, correct written communication produced in plain language. Practice here covers grammar, subject-verb agreement, pronoun and tense use, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure and clarity, conciseness and vocabulary - all tested through multiple-choice questions.
Preparing for the CBSA OTEE Exam
What You Need to Know
- Passing score: The current CBSA candidate exam page (modified September 9, 2026) does not state a numeric pass mark or describe individual score feedback. A CBSA fact sheet for Parliament dated March 24, 2026 states that 60% correct in each of the four competencies is required to pass. The CBSA does not publish how many questions fall in each competency; follow the instructions in your current invitation.
- Assessment: 117 multiple-choice questions assessing four competencies: reasoning skills, analytical thinking, client service orientation and writing skills. All questions are hypothetical and require no prior CBSA knowledge.
- Time limit: 135 minutes (about 2 hours 15 minutes) once the exam is started, roughly 69 seconds per question. Candidates have a one-week window to begin and must finish in a single sitting.
- Exam / certification fees: No OTEE exam fee is published on the current candidate page. Other recruitment steps can involve costs, including fingerprinting; follow the current selection instructions. Official sources
Using Our Practice Resources
- Work through all 214 available questions
- Review every answer and explanation
- Track weak areas and revisit them
- Use our AI tutor for tough concepts
CBSA OTEE: Suggested Study Strategy
Frequently Asked Questions
How many questions are on the CBSA OTEE and how long is it?
The OTEE has 117 multiple-choice questions and you have 135 minutes (about 2 hours 15 minutes) to complete it once you start - roughly 69 seconds per question. You have a one-week window to begin and must finish in a single sitting.
What competencies does the OTEE assess?
Four competencies: reasoning skills, analytical thinking, client service orientation and writing skills. All questions are hypothetical, so no prior knowledge of the Canada Border Services Agency is required.
Is there a pass mark for the OTEE?
The current CBSA candidate exam page does not state a numeric cut score or describe individual score feedback. A CBSA parliamentary fact sheet dated March 24, 2026 states that candidates need 60% correct in each of the four assessed competencies. The CBSA does not publish the question allocation by competency; your current invitation controls the sitting.
Can I re-write the OTEE if I fail?
Yes, but you must wait one full year after your first attempt. If you re-write before the waiting period ends, the new results are invalid and a fresh one-year wait begins from that date. A March 2026 CBSA fact sheet says a candidate who passed in a prior selection process need not retake the OTEE.
Is there a fee to write the OTEE?
No OTEE exam fee is published on the current candidate page. Other recruitment steps can involve costs, including fingerprinting; follow the current selection instructions.
Are these official CBSA practice questions?
No. These are original OpenExamPrep questions modelled on the four official OTEE competency areas. The CBSA provides its own sample questions on the official entrance-exam page, which you should also review.