Withdrawals, Non-attendance and Fee Refund Policy

a. Cancellations and withdrawals can only be made by applicants. Exam fees will only be returned to the applicant or organisation that made the payment.

Consumer and cancellation rights: Public Venue and digital exams

b. When booking an exam at a Public Venue or a digital exam, including Performance Grades and ARSM exams and online Music Theory, the contract may be cancelled within 14 days after the day on which the contract is entered into (the cooling-off period) for a full refund. Cancellations during the 14-day cooling-off period must be made by the applicant using the online booking service.

Late Booking for Public Venue exams, including Jazz: If the date of the exam is within 14 days of the day on which the contract is entered into, a full refund is applicable only if the cancellation is made before the date of the exam.

c. If a booking at a Public Venue, or a digital exam, including Performance Grades and ARSM exams and online Music Theory, is cancelled and/or expires (28 days following the date of booking) outside the ‘cooling-off period’ we will not offer any refund of the exam fee for the cancelled exam other than in the circumstances specified in paragraphs h, i, j or k of this policy.

d. Until 31 January 2024, if a booking at a Public Venue is cancelled outside the ‘cooling-off period’ we will offer a refund in the circumstances specified in the ’Special terms for non-attendance due to COVID (updated August 2023)’ section of this policy.

Private Visits: face-to-face instrumental and singing exams

e. When booking face-to-face instrumental and singing exams at a Private Visit, either as the Visit Organiser or as a Permitted Applicant, the booking may be cancelled up to 28 days before (and not including) the first day of the Private Visit and receive a full refund. If a booking is cancelled less than 28 days before (and not including) the first day of the Private Visit, we will not offer any refund of the fee for the cancelled exam other than in the circumstances specified in Reg. 8a: Withdrawals and non-attendance. Cancellations made 28 days (or more) before the first day of the Private Visit must be made by the applicant using the online booking service.

Private Visit: Grade 6 to 8 Theory exams

f. When booking a Music Theory exam at a Private Visit, either as the Visit Organiser or as a Permitted Applicant, the booking may be cancelled up to, and including, the Music Theory booking period closing date and receive a full refund. If a booking is cancelled outside this booking period, we will not offer any refund of the exam fee for the cancelled exam other than in the circumstances specified in Reg. 8a: Withdrawals and non-attendance. Cancellations must be made by the applicant using the online booking service.

Withdrawals and non-attendance

g. A candidate who is withdrawn from an exam, who does not attend an exam, or who does not submit a video or press Start Music Theory exam during the allotted 28 days of the booking, may be eligible for a partial refund under certain circumstances. The candidate may be re-entered in future, but a new booking and full payment must be made. For face-to-face exams and Music Theory Grade 6-8, neither a cancelled booking nor the exam fee already paid can be transferred from one booking period to the next. Requests received more than one week after the exam date will not normally be considered.

Illness and injury

h. If a candidate is unable to attend their exam owing to illness or injury, please notify us via our contact us form as soon as possible, and no later than the day of the exam. Please provide supporting documentary evidence. This should normally be a letter from someone in authority, such as a head teacher, confirming the candidate’s indisposition or injury, or a medical certificate. Notice given only to an examiner, local representative, steward or invigilator is not sufficient to qualify for a refund, if applicable.

Exceptional personal circumstances

i. If a candidate needs to withdraw owing to exceptional personal circumstances such as bereavement, please notify us using our contact us form  as soon as possible, and not later than the day of the exam, giving the reason for the request. These requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and our decision is final.

Circumstances beyond the candidate’s control

j. Where a candidate misses their exam owing to circumstances beyond their control (such as a major travel incident that causes serious difficulties getting to the exam, or an accident to their instrument immediately before the exam) the applicant must notify us using our contact us form as soon as possible, giving the reason for the request. These requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and our decision is final. 

Errors made during the booking process

k. It is the applicant’s responsibility to make sure that information provided when booking an exam is correct. We will not issue refunds if applicants make errors, for example, entering candidates for the wrong grade.

Additional information

l. We will reimburse payments received, subject to our statutory right to retain a portion of the exam fee to cover reasonable costs. We will process any refund due as soon as possible and, in any case, no later than 28 days after the day on which we were informed about the decision to cancel the contract. UK refunds are normally returned using the original payment method; however, refund payment methods may vary outside the UK. If the booking is cancelled after the ‘cooling-off period’, payment methods may vary.

Special terms for non-attendance due to COVID (updated August 2023)

Refunds for exams from 1 August 2022 to 31 January 2024

To support anyone affected by COVID restrictions, for all face-to-face instrumental and singing or Grade 6 to 8 Music Theory exams, any absent candidate will automatically receive a full refund. This applies worldwide.

You do not need to contact us to request a refund. However, it will help us if you log in to your account and cancel the exam. This does not apply to digital Performance Grades, digital ARSM diplomas or online Music Theory exams.

• This policy (currently in place until 31st January 2024) will be honoured for face-to-face instrumental and singing exams in Hong Kong for the July/August 2023 session as these bookings will have been received prior to the expiration of this policy. Refunds for Diploma entries are administered by the local Rep and will be issued two months after the request has been accepted.
• For exams at Public Venues and diplomas, we normally issue refunds by the end of the month following each exam session. (By the end of January for November–December exams, end of April for February–March exams and end of August for June–July exams.)
• For Private Visits we will issue refunds by the end of the month following the month of the visit date.

Updated January 2023