2.1 Registration, Venues, Remote Writers & Disabilities

2.1 Registration, Venues, Remote Writers & Disabilities

Quick Answer: Register at https://www.nbt.ac.za using Book a test. You need an official ID or passport, a city and site, the NBT requirements from the faculties you will apply to, a date that leaves about four weeks for results, and a pen and paper for your username and Lesaka EasyPay number. Registration is date- and site-specific. Pencil-paper check-in is 07:30 and doors close 08:30. Remote writers email nbtremote@uct.ac.za. Disability arrangements need medical documents and at least four weeks via NBTdisability@uct.ac.za.

Book on the official site, with the right documents

Book the National Benchmark Tests (NBTs) on the National Benchmark Tests Project (NBTP) site with Book a test, not inside a university application portal. This OpenExamPrep chapter is an independent logistics briefing for the combined AQL + MAT sitting. It explains published CEA/NBTP procedures; it is not a faculty prospectus and it does not speak for Universities South Africa (USAf).

Put these items on the desk before you start the form:

Your username and password let you finish an incomplete registration, correct personal information, and request a date or site change until the closing date on the test schedule. The EasyPay number is how payment is matched so scores can be released. Use a personal email address; a shared school inbox is a common way to miss the two-day confirmation.

Worked scenario: one booking, two faculties

Keletso applies to Health Sciences (AQL and MAT) and Arts (AQL only). She books AQL & MAT for one Saturday — she cannot write MAT by itself or split the papers across two days. If Health Sciences needs scores in July and Arts will wait until October, she plans around July, then subtracts about four weeks plus the last registration day on the 2026 calendar. Institutions can access the same results, so two applications do not mean two sittings.

Two days before, then the 07:30 / 08:30 rule

Two days before a booked test you should receive an SMS and an email confirming the venue. Treat that as a reminder, then still open the Google-map pin on the test-venues page. A campus labelled "Great Hall" can have more than one entrance.

Pencil-paper morning

Be at the check-in desk by 07:30. Doors close at 08:30; after that, no one is admitted. Bring paid fees, your South African ID book/card or passport, two sharpened pencils and an eraser, and water and lunch if you are writing both papers. Sunday sessions exist at major sites for writers who cannot sit Saturday, including some religious constraints.

Register and write under the name printed on your official ID. At check-in you receive an answer sheet with name and ID on the back — check the print before the Senior Invigilator starts. Place the ID beside the sheet with pencils and eraser; everything else goes on the floor. Official pencil-paper what-to-expect states that bathroom breaks are not allowed during the three-hour sitting, so plan ahead. The online rule is different: it permits bathroom breaks of less than five minutes. Do not import that online permission into a hall. Do not bring a calculator, dictionary, scrap paper, notebooks, phones, tablets, or smart watches.

If the map is unclear, email nbt@uct.ac.za at least two days before. On the morning itself, the Helpdesk runs 07:00–10:00 at 021 650 3523.

Missed sessions, emergencies, and illness

A no-show means you re-register and pay again, unless you document a legitimate emergency (taxi accident en route, hospitalisation, family funeral) and email nbt@uct.ac.za promptly. If you become ill during the test, the Senior Invigilator collects your materials; NBTP contacts you the following week for a makeup at no extra cost, and the first answer sheet is destroyed, not scored. Illness or injury before test day: email nbt@uct.ac.za or call 021 650 3523 with a hospital or police report.

Trap: arriving at 08:40 after doors closed. Trap: sending a sibling — the ID on the sheet must be yours. Trap: treating the two-day SMS as the first time you look up the building.

Remote writers versus ordinary online booking

A remote writer cannot write at an institution that ordinarily hosts national sessions — typically someone in another country or too remote for a reasonable trip. That is not the same as ordinary online booking from a suburb that already has a Saturday hall. Email nbtremote@uct.ac.za. Appoint a credible proctor who is not a friend or relative. The writer pays proctor, courier, venue, and test costs. Material is released to couriers only after payment. NBTP emails the proctor once details are approved; you must stay in touch.

Online form: same scoring scale, different failure modes

NBTP states that online and pencil-paper forms are equilibrated — choosing paper does not lower the score. Convenience is not the same as risk. Complete the compulsory simulation on the same computer you will use on test day (photograph, photo ID verification, lockdown browser, sample questions, biographical form). A completed simulation is valid for the cycle and is not available on test weekends. You need administrator rights to install the browser.

Use a quiet room with a blank wall behind you, camera on and facing your face, no hoodie that hides the face, no headphones, and no other person entering. You may have one piece of paper and a pen/pencil only. Online bathroom breaks must be under five minutes; the timer keeps running. Login no later than 08:30. Unless you are told otherwise, online AQL starts at 09:00 and MAT at 14:00. Load-shedding, lost connectivity, or camera, computer, or router failure is the writer's risk. Book early in the cycle so you still have dates if the session is invalidated and you must re-register. Mobile phones are not supported as the test device.

Disabilities and access

Start with the Office for Student Disabilities at the institution you intend to apply to. Complete the special-session request form; you cannot finish ordinary online registration until it is sent. Email NBTdisability@uct.ac.za — schools that already provide support can write there too.

Modifications must be arranged and approved at least four weeks before you wish to write. Medical documentation of the disability and the support required is mandatory. Extra time is available with documentation. Weekend testing may not be offered, depending on the disability.

Not all venues are wheelchair-accessible. If you only need ramps or a lift, still give four weeks' notice so the scheduled hall can actually be used. A magnifier or other venue adaptive device needs a written request to nbt@uct.ac.za at least three weeks before the session. Braille exists for AL, QL, and MAT. Choose English or Afrikaans at registration — one language for both papers.