Candidate FAQ

CAS Exams MAS-I, MAS-II, 5, 6-Canada, 6-United States, 7 and 9 will be offered in May 2023.

May registration opens on January 17, 2023 and the registration deadline is April 10, 2023 at 11:59 PM ET.

Under the health protocols established by Pearson VUE, candidates will be asked to acknowledge that they meet the health requirements outlined on the Pearson VUE COVID-19 webpage and to follow the health and safety guidelines while testing. Candidates who will not be admitted to the test center because they fall into any of the health situations listed are eligible to request a refund of their May 2023 exam fee. Candidates requesting a refund must provide proof (copy of email and/or screenshot) of their exam appointment cancelled by Pearson VUE. For all other situations, your refund request must be submitted by April 21, 2023 for the May exams.

Candidates who must cancel their appointment due to Pearson VUE’s COVID-19 policies but are still eligible to sit at the end of the exam window based on the health guidelines, can either attempt to reschedule their exam to the end of the exam window, or request a refund using the guidelines listed. The CAS cannot guarantee exam availability for those who have to cancel their exam after April 21. The CAS will not be extending the examination window.

A candidate with a formally diagnosed disability, who needs special testing arrangements, must submit a written request for each examination.

Candidates should indicate their request for accommodation on the online exam registration form. Documentation of the disability, e.g., physician's statement, diagnostic test results, as well as the need for special arrangements, is required of each candidate and is valid for 12 months. Previous accommodations given to the candidate in an educational program or work setting may be considered.

Requests for special arrangements and supporting documentation must be submitted at the applicant's expense at least two weeks prior to the registration deadline for Exams MAS-I, MAS-II, and 5 through 9. Please email casexams@casact.org.

For the CAS Data and Insurance Series Courses, contact The Institutes.

For Exams 1&2, contact the sponsoring organization.

The CAS can work with you to make your testing experience as comfortable as possible.

To apply for an accommodation, please email casexams@casact.org. Documentation is requested as early as possible but must be submitted at least two weeks prior to the registration deadline.

Upon submissions of the required documentation, candidates can request the following list of common pregnancy and nursing testing accommodations:

• Additional break time to be added to the exam
• A private space with an electrical outlet, that is not a restroom for lactating purposes
• Permission to have water in a clear, spill-proof bottle
• Prescribed medication

Private space is provided on a first come, first served basis and is subject to availability. This could require a candidate to travel to a test center that has private space available.

Children are not permitted at the testing centers. Please email casexams@casact.org to discuss options if you are exclusively breastfeeding.

For the CAS Data and Insurance Series Courses, contact The Institutes.

For Exams 1 & 2, contact the sponsoring organization.

The refund deadline is April 21, 2023.

May 2023 Refund Policy:

CAS has a strict refund policy. Refund requests must be sent via email to refund@casact.org no later than April 21, 2023.

To receive a refund, a candidate must email refund@casact.org requesting a refund for the exam, as well as cancel any Pearson VUE appointments that were made for the exam. Please note that the request must be received by April 21. Canceling the exam appointment does not entitle you to a refund if you do not send a request to refund@casact.org before the refund deadline.

If you scheduled your exam appointment with Pearson VUE and are requesting a refund, please include proof of appointment cancellation.

Yes, there are two types of fees listed below:

Cancellation Fees

A $200 administrative fee per examination will be assessed on all refunds. Exceptions may apply.

Exception to Administrative Fee for May 2023 Examinations:

Scenarios where we would NOT charge an administrative fee (exceptions):

• A candidate changes their registration from one exam to another at any time during the open registration period
• A candidate cannot find an exam appointment with Pearson VUE and the CAS cannot find an appointment within a reasonable distance and therefore the candidate requests a refund
• Candidate receives cancellation from Pearson VUE and for whatever reason does not want to reschedule and requests a refund

Scenarios where we WOULD charge administrative fee:

• If a candidate who will not be admitted to the test center because they fall into any of the health situations outlined on the Pearson website requests a refund
• If the candidate cannot find an exam appointment, the CAS offers them one and they decline the appointment and ask for a refund
• All refund requests received before the deadline that do not fall into the exception category

No-Show Fees

Failure to cancel an examination with both the CAS AND Pearson VUE could result in the cancellation being incomplete and remaining as a scheduled exam. Even if the refund deadline has passed, it is still necessary to cancel your exam at least 48 hours prior to your appointment to avoid an additional $100 "no-show" administrative fee. Further instructions can be found below under What if I cannot make it to my exam appointment?

Candidates should be aware that due to Pearson VUE requirements, exam registrants who register and then decide to sit for a different exam will be required to cancel their original CAS registration and Pearson VUE exam appointment and then re-register and make a new exam appointment. Please note that there are no fees associated with switching exams after the initial registration.

As we adapt to the CBT environment candidates will begin to see items that take advantage of the new platform. This may take the form of larger, more realistic, datasets as well as leveraging some of the built-in capabilities of the spreadsheet environment.

Moving forward, questions that do not require calculations or spreadsheet functionality will utilize the new essay response format.

No, the guessing penalty for MAS-I and MAS-II has been removed as of October 2022. For more information, please read the article Guessing Penalty Eliminated Beginning Fall 2022.

No personal items may be taken into the testing room except a single approved calculator. This includes all bags, books, notes, phones, writing instruments, watches and wallets. Food and water are prohibited in the exam area.

Regular scratch paper, ink pens, or pencils are not allowed.

A non-erasable spiral notebook will be given to candidates with a fine-point felt pen for scratch work. If you need an additional spiral notebook, you can raise your hand and a Pearson VUE representative will provide you with up to two additional notebooks.

The CAS released a sample set of exam questions for MAS-I, MAS-II and Exams 5-9. The CAS has also developed a CBT Tutorial Video to accompany the sample questions and example solutions for CAS Exams 5-9. The sample questions provide candidates a way to review and familiarize themselves with the functions and features of taking a test in the Pearson VUE testing environment.

Please note, the MAS-I and MAS-II sample exams have the functionality where the candidate can “click anywhere in the row” to respond to a question. This is only on the sample exams. On exam day, candidates will have to click directly on the radio button beside the letter to answer a multiple-choice question.

Also, note that in response to the feedback we received from candidates who took the fall 2020 CAS exams, we have added a new tool to assist with your preparation. Pearson VUE has posted a blank sample worksheet for candidates to build and practice in their spreadsheet environment. Candidates can find the blank sample worksheet on the Pearson VUE/CAS website under “Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) Sample Testing.”

See the list of functions here and on the Pearson VUE/CAS website under “Related Links.”

There may be times where knowing a spreadsheet formula will make the calculations quicker, but candidates will not be required to have knowledge of specific spreadsheet formulas to receive full credit.

If a particular spreadsheet function is recommended to produce a result, candidates will be given instructions for its use, or a definition of inputs and outputs.

The CAS will work with candidates to find them a spot. In order to receive a refund, you must submit a refund request to refund@casact.org by April 21, 2023.

In the United States, a reasonable distance is defined as 180 miles. Exam availability cases outside of the United States will be handled on a case-by-case basis. The CAS will work with the candidate and Pearson VUE to find them a spot at a testing center.

Exam slots are limited, so if you are unable to attend your exam appointment, please cancel your appointment at least 48 hours prior to the exam with Pearson VUE AND the CAS, or you will be charged a $100 administrative "no-show" fee. Please note that your exam fee will be forfeited if your appointment is canceled after the refund deadline.

To cancel your appointment 48 hours+ prior to exam and avoid “no-show” fee:
Contact Pearson VUE support, or cancel via your Pearson VUE account, AND email casexams@casact.org with cancellation request and proof of Pearson VUE cancellation.

To cancel your appointment within 48 hours of exam:
Contact Pearson VUE support AND email casexams@casact.org.

Please inform the exam administrator as soon as the issue occurs. A case will be filed with PearsonVUE. Candidates may also submit feedback or a grievance with the CAS after the exam, however the first course of action should be to inform the administrator of any issues that occur during the exam.

Exams MAS-I, MAS-II, and 5 through 9 and CAS Data Insurance Series Courses

No, exam questions and instructions will be printed, and exams administered, exclusively in English. Candidates must submit written responses in English; non-English responses will not be graded with the following exception: Should a candidate for an exam jointly sponsored by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries wish to respond to any or all of the constructed-response test items (essay questions) in French, advanced notice must be provided to the CAS Office when applying to write the exam.

Provided such advanced notice was received and a suitable translator is available from the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, responses submitted in French will be translated into English by qualified translators and graded exclusively in translation. All translations will be literal translations from French to English. If advanced notice has not been provided, non-English responses will not be graded. If a suitable translator cannot be engaged before the date of the exam, the candidate will be notified. The CAS cannot guarantee the accuracy of any translation. Appeals based upon errors in translation of a candidate's responses will not be considered. Grade reports for exams requiring translation may be delayed.

Send your additional questions via email to casexams@casact.org. For general information and helpful links, please visit the Pearson VUE/CAS website.

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• Pearson VUE/CAS Website
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• CBT Tutorial Video
• Written Response Tutorial for CAS Exams 5-9