1.2 Test-Day Tools, On-Screen References, and Calculators

1.2 Test-Day Tools, On-Screen References, and Calculators

CIRO is a proctored, in-person computer exam. RETA administers it through the Kryterion Testing Network (KTN)—over 1,000 locations in the United States in the 2026 handbook, typically community colleges, universities, and training centers—and through RETA Network Testing Centers in facilities that already teach industrial refrigeration. Browse locations at RETA's testing-locations page so you know what geography is realistic, then stop. You do not book the seat yourself at the center.

The current CIRO web page and CIRO Exam Information Handbook do not list online live-proctored (OLP) testing. Do not plan to sit CIRO from a kitchen table, and do not trust a third-party blog that still mentions remote proctoring for this credential. If RETA later adds a delivery mode, it will appear on those official pages; this course follows what they publish now.

RETA staff schedule the exam—not the test center

The handbook is blunt: do not contact the test center. After the application is approved and fees are paid (and the VOE PDF has been received), contact RETA Certification Staff:

• Phone: 541-497-2955 (handbook scheduling hours are Pacific Time on business days; the checklist also lists an email path)
• Email: certification@reta.com

Be ready with a preferred city, date, and time before you call. Most KTN sites have only two to four stations, so flexibility matters. When the appointment is set, RETA emails an examination authorization code. Print that email and carry it. The proctor cannot start the exam without the code. Arrive 15–20 minutes early.

Reschedule by contacting RETA no less than four business days (96 hours) before the scheduled date. After that deadline, a $150 processing fee is due before another date can be set, because Kryterion bills RETA for the late change. The CIRO page uses the same four-business-day / $150 rule for late reschedule or cancel. No-show at the appointed time without a timely reschedule: the $150 fee applies and the exam fee may be forfeited. You cannot hand your registration to a coworker.

Identification and what to carry

Bring two forms of identification. One must be a government-issued photo ID such as a driver's license or passport. Staff will look for a second signature that matches the primary ID—if you use a credit card as the second form, the back must be signed. Without IDs and the authorization-code email, you will not be seated.

Also bring a simple non-printing, non-programmable calculator. The handbook is explicit:

• All required calculations can be done with a simple calculator.
• A scientific calculator is not required.
• You must clear the calculator memory before it enters the testing room.
• Not all KTN sites provide calculators, so bring your own.
• Cell-phone calculators and other devices are not permitted.

Unauthorized materials, talking to anyone other than test-center staff, or other misconduct can mean immediate disqualification and an automatic failing score. Notes you take during the test must be surrendered before you leave. RETA's nondisclosure rules forbid reconstructing items from memory, posting them, or discussing specific item content on forums. Comments about a question go only to RETA (the end-of-exam survey and RETA's published comment process).

The split screen: questions left, PDF right

At a proctored center the CIRO references open as an onscreen PDF beside the questions. The Study Guide you downloaded to prepare cannot be used during the exam. RETA's instruction is to treat that Study Guide the way you treat plant technical manuals: you must already know what is in it and when to open it. The exam will not prompt you to open a chart. If a discharge-temperature or SDS item appears, you either already know where that page lives or you burn clock hunting.

Layout and tools the handbook describes:

• Question on the left of the vertical divider; countdown timer above the question.
• Mark this item for later review under the question.
• Next records an answer and advances.
• Review All shows answered vs marked items.
• Submit Exam starts a multi-step finish sequence—do not click it as idle curiosity.
• Move through the PDF with the right-hand scrollbar/icon or the mouse scroll wheel.
• Drag the centerline left to widen the PDF.
• Far-right controls: fit width, + / − zoom. CTRL + mouse scroll wheel also zooms.

Never CTRL+F

Do not use CTRL+F (or analogous find-in-document shortcuts) to search the PDF. RETA warns that the testing system will treat that keystroke as a security violation, automatically log you out, and return you to the login screen. Zoom and scroll are allowed; find is not. Practice this constraint on the included practice exam until reaching SDS "Fire Fighting Measures" or a saturated-property row by table of contents and scrolling is automatic.

What the on-screen packet actually contains

Become fluent with these published reference types before test day. The January 2023 CIRO Study Guide (Rev 3) is the free file that mirrors what appears on screen. You will not carry that file into the room.

Those 24 screens are a CIRO differentiator. Later chapters in this guide teach how to read superheat, condenser approach, oil temperature, kW, and similar KPIs from operating data. The test-day skill is more basic and easy to fail: know which screen family you need, scroll to it without find, and extract the field the question actually asked for. A candidate who understands two-stage theory but cannot find the correct screen will still miss Monitoring items.

Worked habit (legal; this is not a copy of a RETA sample item): if a stem gives a screw compressor with a nameplate horsepower, voltage, power factor, and efficiency plus an evaporative condenser and thermosiphon oil cooler, you should already expect to open the matching operating screen, read the live suction/discharge/oil/condenser fields, and compare them to saturated properties or a theoretical discharge chart. You should not need a prompt that says "open reference page 14."

Practice exam as a dress rehearsal

The included practice exam is the only official rehearsal that uses the same on-screen references. Take it after you can find SDS sections, property rows, and representative screens in the downloaded Study Guide without CTRL+F. Additional attempts are $59. A practice score is not a RETA pass-rate statistic; it is a navigation drill.

Special accommodations under the ADA must be requested with the initial application, with documentation. RETA will not approve an accommodation that would substantially alter the skills required to perform the certified work or that would undermine the ability to protect health and safety. Confirm with RETA HQ that a chosen center can support an approved arrangement.

Exam traps

• Trap: calling Kryterion or a college testing office to "grab Saturday at 9." RETA staff must schedule CIRO.
• Trap: CTRL+F muscle memory from office PDFs. That keystroke can dump you to login.
• Trap: graphing calculator or phone. Simple non-printing, non-programmable only.
• Trap: assuming OLP exists because another RETA-era rumor or an old blog said so. Current CIRO sources do not list it.
• Trap: first look at the 24 screens on exam day. The Study Guide is free specifically so that does not happen.