NAPOLCOM exam day: the four things to bring, the dress code, the banned items, and the cheating rule that ends careers.
NAPOLCOM publishes its examination-day rules in a press release before each sitting, and they are short, specific and enforced. This guide restates them as NAPOLCOM issued them, adds what the rules imply for how you prepare in the last week, and explains the one rule with consequences beyond the day itself: the cheating policy under Memorandum Circular 2013-007.
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Exam guide
NAPOLCOM Exam Day: What to Bring, What to Wear, and What Gets You Sent Home
Short answer
Bring your Notice of Admission, a No. 2 pencil, a black ballpen and a valid ID with your photo and signature. Wear a plain white t-shirt or white polo shirt, dark pants and shoes, or you will not be admitted. Phones, gadgets, calculators and review materials are prohibited, and being caught with a phone is disqualification. Cheating bars a civilian from the exam permanently.
Quick facts
- Bring
- NOA, No. 2 pencil, black ballpen, valid ID
- Wear
- Plain white shirt, dark pants, shoes
- Banned
- Phones, gadgets, calculators, review materials
- Phone caught
- Automatic disqualification
- Cheating
- Civilians permanently barred (MC 2013-007)
Primary keyword: napolcom exam day what to bring
Key takeaways
- The Notice of Admission is the document that gets you in. Without it there is no exam, whatever else you bring.
- The dress code is enforced at the door: plain white t-shirt or polo, dark pants, shoes. Not in the attire, not admitted.
- Leave the phone at home, not in a bag. Possession inside the testing center is disqualification and an escort out.
- No calculator. Quantitative reasoning is done by hand, so practise it that way.
- Cheating is career-ending for both groups: civilians are permanently barred, police examinees are charged with dishonesty and face dismissal.
What to bring
Four things. NAPOLCOM's reminder lists them, and proctors check the first and last at the door.
- Your Notice of Admission (NOA). It names your testing center and room and is the only document that admits you.
- A No. 2 pencil, for the answer sheet. Bring two, sharpened, and an eraser.
- A black ballpen, for the parts of the form that are written rather than shaded.
- One valid identification card with your photo and signature: the same kind of government ID you presented at processing.
Water and food. NAPOLCOM's reminder does not list them either way. A three-hour paper is long enough that a bottle of water is sensible; keep it clear and unlabelled, and expect the proctor to have the final say. Eat before you go.
Source: NAPOLCOM's press release on examination-day reminders
What to wear
The prescribed attire is a plain white t-shirt or white polo shirt, dark pants, and shoes. NAPOLCOM states that examinees not in the prescribed attire will not be allowed to enter the examination area. Plain means plain: no prints, no logos, no coloured trim. Dark pants means trousers, not shorts; shoes means closed shoes, not sandals. Decide the night before and do not give the gate a reason.
Source: NAPOLCOM's press release on examination-day reminders
What is prohibited, and what happens if it is found
Cellular phones, electronic gadgets, pagers or two-way radios, calculators, review materials, explosives, firearms and deadly weapons are strictly prohibited inside the testing centers. The consequence NAPOLCOM attaches to the first of those is specific: examinees caught in possession of cellular phones or electronic gadgets are automatically disqualified and, after due investigation, directed to leave the examination center immediately.
The practical reading is that a phone in a bag is a phone in your possession. Do not bring one. If you must travel with it, arrange for someone outside the venue to hold it, because there is no locker and no exception.
- Cellular phones and any electronic gadget, including smartwatches.
- Pagers and two-way radios.
- Calculators of any kind.
- Review materials, notes, books.
- Explosives, firearms and deadly weapons.
Source: NAPOLCOM's press release on examination-day reminders
The cheating rule
NAPOLCOM's reminder restates its policy under Memorandum Circular No. 2013-007 of 30 October 2013: any form of cheating is unacceptable. A civilian examinee found cheating is permanently barred from taking the PNP Entrance Examination. A police examinee is charged with dishonesty and, if found guilty, dismissed from the service.
Permanently is the word to sit with. For a civilian, one act in one room ends the possibility of ever joining the PNP through this exam. Everything in the previous section, the phone especially, is read against that policy.
Source: NAPOLCOM's press release on examination-day reminders
The last week, and the morning
Confirm your venue on the Notice of Admission and, if you can, see it the day before. In the island and upland regions travel the day before rather than the morning of; NAPOLCOM's advice is to arrive early, and the gate closes at the announced time. Sleep matters more than one more drill on the last night, and the last three days are for light review, not new topics.
Practise the paper the way you will sit it: by hand, no calculator, under a clock, in one sitting. The full mock on this site is built to that shape. Then do nothing on the morning of the exam except eat, dress in the prescribed attire, and go.
Source: NAPOLCOM's press release on examination-day reminders
Frequently asked questions
What should I bring to the NAPOLCOM exam?
Your Notice of Admission, a No. 2 pencil, a black ballpen and a valid ID with your photo and signature. Those are the four items NAPOLCOM lists.
What is the dress code for the NAPOLCOM exam?
A plain white t-shirt or white polo shirt, dark pants and shoes. Examinees not in the prescribed attire are not allowed into the examination area.
Can I bring my phone if it is switched off?
No. Possession of a phone or electronic gadget inside the testing center is automatic disqualification under NAPOLCOM's rules, switched off or not.
What happens if I am caught cheating?
Under NAPOLCOM MC 2013-007, a civilian examinee is permanently barred from the PNP Entrance Examination; a police examinee is charged with dishonesty and, if found guilty, dismissed.
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