Exam Rules and Policies

The Linux Foundation has a zero tolerance rule in regard to anyone who engages in Exam Misconduct.

Our exams are administered under strict supervision and exam rules, and are carefully monitored during the live exam, and upon completion of the exam, the session recording is reviewed.

Any suspicious activity will be addressed and will result in consequences including, but not limited to, revoking a passing score and restricting an individual’s ability to take an exam again.

CANDIDATES MUST COMPLY WITH THE FOLLOWING RULES AND POLICIES DURING THE EXAM:

Testing Location Rules

• Room must be quiet, private and well lit

• Bright lights or windows should not be positioned behind the Candidate

• Testing from public spaces such as coffee shops, stores, etc. is not allowed

• No one other than the Candidate can be present in the room (ie. no guests, family members or pets are allowed in the room, except for service dogs as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act)

• Desk must be clear of all notes and electronics

Candidate Conduct Rules During Exam

• Candidate is not allowed to communicate with anyone other than the Proctor during the Exam

• Candidate is not allowed to read the questions out loud, to themselves, during the exam

• Candidate is not allowed to leave their desk or step out of view of the webcam, unless they have been granted specific permission by the Proctor

• Candidate is not allowed to eat, drink (except clear liquids as per rule below), or chew gum

• Candidate is permitted to drink clear liquids from a label-free clear bottle or a clear glass

• Candidate is not allowed to wear any electronic device in their ears, on their face or on their body unless medically necessary

• Candidate must refrain from making excessive and/or repetitive noise

• Candidate must refrain from covering their mouth and/or face

• Candidate is not allowed to write or enter input on anything (whether paper, electronic device, etc.) outside of the Exam console screen

• Candidates must refrain from inappropriate or questionable behavior including, but not limited to, failing to follow proctor requests, looking off the screen, and using forbidden resources.

Policy on Tools and Resources Allowed during Exam

The following tools and resources are allowed during all Exams as long as they are used by the Candidate to work independently on exam tasks (i.e. not used for 3rd party assistance or research) and are accessed from within the Linux server terminal on which the Exam is delivered (resources that cannot be accessed from within the terminal are not allowed):

• Man pages

• Documents installed by the distribution (i.e. /usr/share and its subdirectories)

• Packages that are part of the distribution (may also be installed by Candidate if not available by default)

• Review the external resources allowed during the exam for specific exam titles: Resources Allowed: All LF Certification Programs

The following resources are forbidden during the Exam:

• Text-based email clients

• Notes or unauthorized materials

• Unauthorized digital resources

• Browsing the Internet using installed tools such as Vim and Emacs

• Communications with other Candidates or outside resources

• Use of devices other than the exam desktop

• Notes

• Documentation (* the documentation installed by the distribution IS permitted)

• Course manuals

• Devices external to computer on which they are taking the exam, including but not limited to: mobile phones, PDAs, wearable computers, smart glasses, smart watches

• Desk must be clear of all notes and electronics