Technical requirements

On this page you will find the workstation requirements that must be met to ensure compatible and consistent exam delivery. Live-in-the-Application (LITA) exams may have requirements that are above and beyond those of the delivery software; refer to each individual program for detailed information.

Important: For information on what exams are available in what languages and versions, please see our Exam Releases page.

Note: Exams cannot be delivered during times of periodic maintenance. View the server maintenance schedule.

Exam delivery systems

For delivery of:

Important: The technical requirements of any locally installed software used with LITA (Live-in-the-Application) exams would be in addition to those of Compass. View each individual exam section in addition to the delivery system for each program your CATC wishes to administer.

Note: If it is not found in the requirements below then it should be considered "Not Supported".
 
Item Required / Minimum Recommended
Operating System Windows 10 Enterprise, Professional, Home, or Education
 Ver. 1607 build 14393.2515 or later (32-bit and 64-bit)

Windows 8.1 Enterprise or Professional (32-bit and 64-bit)
  Note: Some Live-in-the-Application exams support only 64-bit operating systems.
  Important: The language of Windows, the language of the locally installed software (for LITA exams only), the language of Compass, and the exam language must all match. See our FAQs for detailed info.
Admin Rights Local Windows Administrator rights are required to install Compass, configure the settings, and administer local exams.
Processor Pentium 4 or equivalent
1.3 GHz or higher		 Core i5 or equivalent
2.6 GHz or higher
  Note: Some Live-in-the-Application exams support only 64-bit processors.
RAM (LITA exams) 4GB 8GB
RAM (non-LITA exams) 2GB 4GB
Hard Drive 5GB +1GB over min per exam program installed
Video Resolution 1280 x 800 (Widescreen 16:9)
1024 x 768 (Standard 4:3)		 1920 x 1080 (Widescreen 16:9)
1280 x 1024 (Standard 4:3)
Security Protocol TLS 1.1 or higher
Internet Connection Speed 256 kbps or DSL High-speed internet connection
Supported Internet Browsers Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 (32-bit version only)
Latest versions of Microsoft Edge, Chrome, or Firefox  
Keyboard & Mouse 2-button wheel mouse
Keyboard
Browser Settings Cookies must be enabled
Printer Printer installed – can be Windows document printer
Additional Software .NET 4.5.2 must be installed (Windows only)
Adobe Reader current version
Firewalls Corporate firewalls (including VPNs) often cause this delivery method to fail. Please take your exam in a setting without a corporate firewall or ensure the ports and IP addresses are whitelisted
Communication Ports & IP addresses

Required: The domain certiport.com needs to be accessible. Also, need to have full access through ports 80 (HTTP), 443 (HTTPS), 56774 (TCP), and HTTP redirects permitted.

Recommended: Whitelist the domain "*.certiport.com".

Minimum: The following IP addresses must be accessible:

  • 159.182.30.18 | www.certiport.com
  • 159.182.31.253 | nuget.certiport.com
  • 93.191.169.139 | Additional Security IP
  • 159.182.30.17 | downloads.certiport.com
  • 159.182.30.17 | verify.certiport.com
  • 64.27.100.27
  • 64.27.64.232
  • 64.106.193.0/24
  • 64.106.220.0/24
  • 206.188.17.0/24
  • 159.182.0.0/16
New IPs (must be allowed prior to Feb 29, 2020):  The following IP addresses must be accessible:
 
  • 13.107.246.0/24
  • 13.107.253.0/24
  • 147.243.0.0/16
  • 191.232.166.33 | azuresouthamerica.starttest.com
  • 51.140.142.254 | azureeurope.starttest.com
  • 104.211.154.51 | azureindia.starttest.com
  • 40.122.173.143 | azureuscentral.starttest.com
  • 168.63.220.86 | azurehongkong.starttest.com

Note: If the internet is accessed through an authenticating proxy server and the system is not configured to automatically pass credentials to it, you will experience issues while testing.

The following URL’s may require unrestricted Communication:
 
 
Note: Sometimes it works better on certain systems if you add them in one of these fashions: (1) http://starttest.com, (2) http://starttest2.com, (3) *.starttest.com*, (4 *.starttest2.com*, (5) *.programworkshop.com*.

Prohibited Items

Note: If it is not found on the requirements below or in the Advanced Requirements list then it should be considered 'Not Supported'.
 
Item Exam delivery must adhere to the following restrictions
Portable Computing Devices

Touch Screen Laptops, Tablets and Smartphones are strictly prohibited.

Note: Examples of prohibited portable computing devices include, but are not limited to: Surface Pro, Chromebooks, Android and iOS phones, and tablets.
Processor

Devices running Ultra Mobile Processors are strictly prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to Intel Atom, AMD NEO CPU lines, and ARM CPUs.
RAM Less than the specified minimum RAM of your exam workstation OS
Operating Systems
  • Windows XP & Vista are strictly prohibited
  • Windows Server Operating System strictly prohibited on the exam delivery workstations
  • Virtual environments are strictly prohibited for exam delivery
  • All Linux/Unix based Operating Systems are strictly prohibited
Display Touch Screen monitors are strictly prohibited for exam delivery.
Display resolution less than 1024 x 768 in 16-bit color is strictly prohibited.
Network Connection Pearson strongly recommends avoiding networks configurations that involve Proxy Servers, Advanced Firewall Security Configurations, and other network security measures such as but not limited to packet filtering or packet inspection.
Internet Connection VPN connections are strongly discouraged and will result in disruption to exam delivery.
SSL VPNs are strictly prohibited (e.g., Hotspot Shield).
Dial-Up Internet Connections are not supported.
 
 Internet Browsers Browsers not found on the list of Supported Internet Browsers in this document cannot be used for exam delivery.

For delivery of:

Important: The technical requirements of any locally installed software used with LITA (Live-in-the-Application) exams would be in addition to those of Compass. View each individual exam section in addition to the delivery system for each program your CATC wishes to administer.

Note: If it is not found in the requirements below then it should be considered "Not Supported".
 
Item Required / Minimum Recommended
Operating System Mac OSX Catalina 10.15 (not supported for ACA CC 18 exams)
Mac OSX Mojave 10.14
Mac OSX High Sierra 10.13
  Important: The language of Mac OS, the language of the locally installed software (for LITA exams only), the language of Compass, and the exam language must all match. See our FAQs for detailed info.
Admin Rights Local Mac Administrator rights are required to install Compass, but are not required to deliver exams.
Processor Pentium 4 or equivalent
1.3 GHz or higher		 Core i5 or equivalent
2.6 GHz or higher
RAM (LITA exams) 4GB 8GB
RAM (non-LITA exams) 2GB 4GB
Hard Drive 5GB +1GB over min per exam program installed
Video Resolution 1280 x 800 (Widescreen 16:9)
1024 x 768 (Standard 4:3)		 1920 x 1080 (Widescreen 16:9)
1280 x 1024 (Standard 4:3)
Security Protocol TLS 1.1 or higher
Internet Connection Speed 256 kbps or DSL High-speed internet connection
Supported Internet Browsers Safari or Chrome
Keyboard & Mouse Yes
Browser Settings Cookies must be enabled
Printer Printer installed – can be a document printer
Adobe Reader current version
Firewalls Corporate firewalls (including VPNs) often cause this delivery method to fail. Please take your exam in a setting without a corporate firewall or ensure the ports and IP addresses are whitelisted
Communication Ports & IP addresses

Required: The domain certiport.com needs to be accessible. Also, need to have full access through ports 80 (HTTP), 443 (HTTPS), and HTTP redirects permitted.

Recommended: Whitelist the domain "*.certiport.com".

Minimum: The following IP addresses must be accessible:

  • 159.182.30.18 | www.certiport.com
  • 159.182.31.253 | nuget.certiport.com
  • 93.191.169.139 | Additional Security IP
  • 159.182.30.17 | downloads.certiport.com
  • 159.182.30.17 | verify.certiport.com
  • 64.27.100.27
  • 64.27.64.232
  • 64.106.193.0/24
  • 64.106.220.0/24
  • 206.188.17.0/24
  • 159.182.0.0/16
New IPs (must be allowed prior to Feb 29, 2020): The following IP addresses must be accessible:
 
  • 13.107.246.0/24
  • 13.107.253.0/24
  • 147.243.0.0/16
  • 191.232.166.33 | azuresouthamerica.starttest.com
  • 51.140.142.254 | azureeurope.starttest.com
  • 104.211.154.51 | azureindia.starttest.com
  • 40.122.173.143 | azureuscentral.starttest.com
  • 168.63.220.86 | azurehongkong.starttest.com

Note: If the internet is accessed through an authenticating proxy server and the system is not configured to automatically pass credentials to it, you will experience issues while testing.

The following URL’s may require unrestricted Communication:
 
 
Note: Sometimes it works better on certain systems if you add them in one of these fashions: (1) http://starttest.com, (2) http://starttest2.com, (3) *.starttest.com*, (4 *.starttest2.com*, (5) *.programworkshop.com*.

Prohibited Items

Note: If it is not found on the requirements below or in the Advanced Requirements list then it should be considered 'Not Supported'.
 
Item Exam delivery must adhere to the following restrictions
Portable Computing Devices

Touch Screen Laptops, Tablets and Smartphones are strictly prohibited.

Note: Examples of prohibited portable computing devices include, but are not limited to: Surface Pro, Chromebooks, Android and iOS phones, and tablets.
Processor

Devices running Ultra Mobile Processors are strictly prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to Intel Atom, AMD NEO CPU lines, and ARM CPUs.
RAM Less than the specified minimum RAM of your exam workstation OS
Operating Systems
  • Server operating systems strictly prohibited on the exam delivery workstations
  • Virtual environments are strictly prohibited for exam delivery
  • All Linux/Unix based Operating Systems are strictly prohibited
Display Touch Screen monitors are strictly prohibited for exam delivery.
Display resolution less than 1024 x 768 in 16-bit color is strictly prohibited.
Network Connection Pearson strongly recommends avoiding networks configurations that involve Proxy Servers, Advanced Firewall Security Configurations, and other network security measures such as but not limited to packet filtering or packet inspection.
Internet Connection VPN connections are strongly discouraged and will result in disruption to exam delivery.
SSL VPNs are strictly prohibited (e.g., Hotspot Shield).
Dial-Up Internet Connections are not supported.
 
 Internet Browsers Browsers not found on the list of Supported Internet Browsers in this document cannot be used for exam delivery.

For delivery of the Mac-compatible ACA, IC3 GS4 & IC3 GS5 exams

Note: The Mac Launcher software must be installed locally on the same hard drive that contains the Mac OS. It must also be within a dedicated (fat client) environment - thin/zero/web/citrix clients are not supported.

Note: If it is not found in the requirements below then it should be considered "Not Supported".

Item Required / Minimum
Supported Operating Systems Mac OSX Mojave 10.14
Mac OSX High Sierra 10.13
Mac OSX Sierra 10.12
Admin Rights Local Mac Administrator rights are required to install the Mac Launcher.
Processor Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz or higher
RAM 1GB
Keyboard & Mouse (pointing device) Yes
Minimum Video Resolution 1024 x 768
Color Depth 16-bit or Higher
Display Properties 96 DPI only
Minimum Monitor Size 17"
Internet Connection Speed 256 kbps or DSL
Communication ports
and IP addresses

Required: The domain certiport.com needs to be accessible. Also, need to have full access through ports 80 (HTTP), 443 (HTTPS) and HTTP redirects permitted.

Recommended: Whitelist the domain "*.certiport.com".

Minimum: The following IP addresses must be accessible:

  • 159.182.30.18 | www.certiport.com
  • 159.182.31.253 | nuget.certiport.com
  • 93.191.169.139 | Additional Security IP
  • 159.182.30.17 | downloads.certiport.com
  • 159.182.30.17 | verify.certiport.com

Note: If the internet is accessed through an authenticating proxy server and the system is not configured to automatically pass credentials to it, you will experience issues while testing.
Required Software Certiport Mac Launcher - (requires login)
Automatic updates Mac OS X updates should be turned off or set to not occur during testing.
Adobe Flash Player specific version - (NPAPI version)
Adobe Reader current version
Installed Printer Yes (for printing exam results)
Supported Web Browsers Mac Launcher has an embedded version of Chromium built into the solution that installs with the software. For browsing and using features of certiport.com you may continue to use Safari or Google Chrome.

Certification programs