TOPIK Test Day: What to Bring, ID Rules and the Timetable

On TOPIK day there are two ways to fail before you answer a single question: arrive after the door closes, or arrive with an ID that does not match your registration. Both are absolute. The rules for candidates that NIIED published for the 108th test (18 October 2026) say anyone without a valid ID is not allowed into the test building at all, and that a single mismatch between the English name on your ID and on your admission ticket means you cannot sit the test.

This guide covers the paper-based test in Korea: the timetable, the ID list, what you may and may not have in the room, how the answer sheet is handled, and a checklist for the night before. If you are sitting the computer-based test, the rules are similar but the times differ; see IBT TOPIK vs the paper test.

The timetable

These are Korean times. Overseas, ask the local institution, because times vary.

Three things the timetable does not tell you:

• The 40 minutes before the start are not spare time. NIIED's candidate instructions fill them: 30 minutes of answer-sheet instructions, ID checks and device collection (09:20–09:50, or 12:20–12:50 for TOPIK II), then 10 minutes for handing out the question booklets and the listening-test announcement. NIIED says entry after the closing time is "absolutely" impossible.
• Period 1 of TOPIK II has two fixed blocks. Listening runs 13:00–14:00 and the listening answer sheet is collected; writing runs 14:00–14:50. Then come a 20-minute break and a second ID check at 15:10 before reading starts at 15:20.
• TOPIK II candidates may not leave the building during the break, and anyone who misses period 1 cannot sit period 2.
• You cannot leave early. If you have to leave during the test, you sign a statement, wait in a separate room until the end, and your result is cancelled.

If you sit both TOPIK I and TOPIK II on the same day, you are at the site from before 09:20 until 16:30. Bring something to eat for the gap.

ID: what counts

This is the list for test sites in Korea, from NIIED's ID guidelines:

The details that cause problems:

• Originals only. A photocopy or a photo of your ID on your phone is not accepted. A mobile ID counts only if it is shown in the official app of the issuing agency (Ministry of the Interior and Safety, National Police Agency or Ministry of Justice). The IBT notice adds that test sites do not provide Wi-Fi or data for it, so make sure the app opens offline or on your own data.
• Korean-issued only, except passports. A residence permit or driving licence from another country is not accepted.
• Your residence card is at the immigration office? If you handed it in for a status change or extension, you may sit the test with the immigration receipt (for example, the stay-permit application confirmation) as long as it shows your English name, date of birth and photo.
• Name match. The English name on your ID and on the admission ticket must match completely. If you registered as "MARIA SANTOS" and your passport says "MARIA LUISA SANTOS", that is a mismatch. Corrections are only possible during the correction period, which ends three working days before admission tickets become printable; see the registration guide.

The admission ticket

According to NIIED's FAQ, tickets can be printed from 10:00 on the Monday two weeks before the test, but check your round's notice: for the 108th test the date was a Friday, 2 October. For the 109th test (15 November 2026), printing opens on 2 November at 10:00 and stays open until the test starts. Your candidate number also appears only from that moment.

• Members: log in → My Page → Registration status → Print admission ticket.
• Forgot your ID, or deleted the account: All menu → Non-member test information → Print admission ticket, then enter the round, candidate number and date of birth.

NIIED recommends Chrome and a personal computer; printing from public PCs in libraries or schools may fail because the printing program will not install. If the print button does nothing, turn off the browser's pop-up blocker. If you really cannot print it, NIIED says a captured image on your phone helps you find your room and seat.

Check the photo on the ticket. If the invigilator decides the person in front of them does not look like the registered photo, they can refuse entry, and having used that photo for an earlier TOPIK does not protect you.

Banned items: hand in everything with a battery

The 108th rules list wristwatches (analogue and digital), smartwatches, AI glasses, phones, power banks, e-cigarettes and earphones, and say candidates may neither keep them on them nor leave them somewhere else in the building; they must be handed to the invigilator. The official poster adds tablets, e-dictionaries, pen scanners, voice recorders, laptops, cameras, calculators and Bluetooth earphones. Everything must be switched off and handed in before the first session starts.

Under NIIED's penalty rules, keeping a device, letting a handed-in phone ring or vibrate, or storing it somewhere you chose yourself is enough for your test to be stopped or cancelled, during the test or the break. Devices with AI translation or writing functions, or hidden recorders, carry a two-year ban. NIIED also warns that it is not responsible for damage while devices are collected and suggests not bringing them at all. In practice: leave the smartwatch at home and bring a phone you are happy to switch off and surrender.

Since you cannot wear a watch, you will rely on the clock or the time announcements in the room. Practise past papers at home without looking at your phone so the pacing feels normal.

The answer sheet

You do not need to bring pens. NIIED's answer-sheet rules say you must write with the double-ended sign pen (양면사인펜) the invigilator hands out: the thick end for multiple-choice marks, the fine end for written answers. Any scoring problem caused by using a different pen is your responsibility.

• On TOPIK II, period 1 has two answer sheets (listening and writing). Write your candidate details on both.
• Mark one answer per question by filling in the number completely. Half-filled marks and two marks on one question both score zero.
• Correction tape must be your own. You cannot ask the invigilator or another candidate for it, and passing anything (pens, tape) between candidates counts as cheating.
• Do not damage the timing marks (the black bars along the top and bottom edges). The sheet is read by machine.
• No extra time to transfer answers after listening; mark them as you listen. Working on writing during the listening time also counts as cheating.
• Only your ID goes on the desk. NIIED's instructions say nothing else may be on it during the test, not even the admission ticket.
• Writing anything (words, symbols, drawings) anywhere except the question paper and answer sheet, including on your ticket, your desk or your hand, is treated as cheating, even if it has nothing to do with the questions.

When the end of the test is announced, stop. NIIED says ignoring the instruction to hand in your answer sheet can be treated as cheating.

Common reasons people are turned away

1. No original ID, or an ID that does not list the English name exactly as registered.
2. Arriving after 09:20 or 12:20.
3. Going to a test site or room other than the one you booked.
4. A ticket photo that does not identify you.
5. A watch or phone found on you after the collection.

Checklist for the night before

• Original ID that is on the accepted list, unexpired, with your English name exactly as registered
• Admission ticket printed, or at least a screenshot showing your room and seat
• Test site address and route checked; leave time for finding the building and room
• Your own correction tape (the sign pen for the answer sheet is handed out in the room)
• No watch; phone ready to switch off and hand over
• A drink and something light to eat, especially if you sit both papers
• Mask if you have symptoms (NIIED says confirmed COVID-19 cases may sit the test wearing a KF94 mask)

A few site rules from the 109th notice: buildings are non-smoking, including e-cigarettes; some sites charge for parking, so public transport is simpler. Results for the 108th test come out on 10 December 2026 at 15:00; for how to check them and print a certificate, see TOPIK results and certificates.