2.3 Proctoring, Allowed Materials, and Session Rules

Proctoring, Allowed Materials, and Session Rules

Quick Answer: Part B (SSPO) and Part C (PRF-R) are completed back-to-back in one online, proctored sitting — OACP tells applicants to set aside about 60 to 90 minutes total. Sessions run through eProctor Canada, a scheduled live session with a human invigilator; your webcam, microphone, and screen are recorded the entire time. Plan for a clean desk: eProctor’s default rule is that no papers, calculators, or water bottles are permitted and no washroom breaks are given, so the SSPO’s arithmetic has to be done in your head. Copying test questions for someone else is a serious integrity violation.

Once your Part A documents (the Applicant Code of Conduct and Consent & Release of Liability form) are reviewed and accepted, you'll receive an email with instructions for booking your online testing appointment. Knowing what that appointment involves — and preparing your space accordingly — removes a lot of avoidable stress before you've even seen question one.

Booking and Attending Your Session

As of a January 2025 system change, OACP Certificate testing moved to eProctor Canada, which runs scheduled, live-online sessions with an invigilator rather than the earlier unattended-recording setup. After your Part A forms are approved, you'll be directed to create an eProctor account and book a specific appointment time. On the day of your session, expect to:

• Sign in 30 minutes before your scheduled start time - eProctor asks for this so the check-in process and any technical problems can be sorted out before the clock matters
• Present government-issued photo identification for verification
• Complete an environment and equipment check with the invigilator before the SSPO begins
• Move directly from the SSPO (Part B) into the PRF-R (Part C) within the same appointment, once Part B is submitted

What You Need Before You Log In

If you don't have reliable equipment at home, OACP suggests borrowing a laptop that meets the minimum specifications from a friend or family member, or using a public computer lab such as a local library — but you're still responsible for finding a private, quiet space to test from.

What Gets Monitored

Throughout both Part B and Part C, your webcam feed, microphone audio, and full computer screen are recorded. This isn't a passive formality: the recorded footage is reviewed later while your certificate application is being processed, specifically to protect the integrity of the testing process. Anything unusual flagged in that review — an unauthorized person in the room, a phone visible on the desk, browser activity outside the test window — can trigger a follow-up investigation.

Materials: What's Allowed and What Isn't

This is the single most commonly mis-stated part of OACP test day, so take it from the proctor rather than from a prep forum. eProctor Canada's published rule is: "The space should have a table or desk that is private. Unless otherwise specified by the exam provider, no papers, calculators or water bottles will be permitted. In addition, no washroom breaks will be given during the exam time."

Two consequences follow, and both should shape how you practise. First, since no calculator is permitted and you should not count on scratch paper, the Section B arithmetic in Chapter 8 - elapsed time, distance, percentages, unit conversions, area and perimeter - has to be done mentally. Drill it that way rather than with a notepad beside you. Second, because no washroom breaks are given, treat the 60–90 minute block as continuous and prepare accordingly before you sign in.

If your own eProctor booking email or OACP instructions explicitly permit scratch paper for your session, follow those instructions - the proctor's rule defers to the exam provider. Absent that written permission, assume a bare desk.

Integrity Rules and What Happens If You Break Them

OACP is explicit that it is prohibited to write down or transcribe full test questions for the benefit of another applicant — this protects the security of a test bank that gets reused across sitting after sitting. Academic dishonesty of any kind, including this and more obvious forms of cheating, is treated as completely unacceptable in the context of a policing-recruitment tool. If you're caught:

1. Your current attempt is immediately disqualified
2. You're banned from retaking the OACP Certificate process for two years
3. Once the ban is lifted, the breach remains permanently noted on your file, and recruitment officers reviewing future applications are informed of it

That permanence is worth internalizing: unlike a low score, which no one but the police service you apply to ever sees, a confirmed integrity violation follows your file indefinitely.

A Practical Pre-Session Checklist

• Read every instruction in your official eProctor booking email at least once before appointment day, and check whether it specifies anything different from the default materials rule
• Run the required speed test and system or webcam check well in advance, not minutes before your slot
• Clear your desk completely - phones, smartwatches, papers, notes, and water bottles all come off it
• Choose a quiet room with a private desk and let others in your household know not to interrupt you
• Have your government-issued ID within reach and ready to show on camera
• Use the washroom before you sign in; no breaks are given once the session starts
• Sign in 30 minutes before your scheduled time, and block off the full 60–90 minute window with nothing scheduled immediately after, so a slow Part C doesn’t force you to rush