A failed ExAC section is a setback, not a restart. The sections you passed stay passed, and you rewrite only the failed ones at the next sitting, inside three consecutive attempts. In our experience, candidates who pass on the retake change how they study, not just how much. This guide from Examitect, an independent ExAC prep platform unaffiliated with the CACB, covers what a fail means, the official rewrite rules, how to find the objectives that cost you marks, and how to rebuild your plan for the next November.
| Attempts | Three consecutive attempts to pass all four sections |
|---|---|
| What you rewrite | Only the sections you failed |
| How often | Once a year, in November (November 2 and 3 in 2026) |
| What results show | Pass or fail per section, no raw scores |
| Study load | 6 to 10 hours a week, 500 to 800 timed questions per cycle |
Failing an ExAC section means your score on that section fell below its cut score. The ExAC Framework Document (page 15) defines the cut score as the minimum score a candidate with a minimum level of competence must obtain on each section. It is not a fixed percentage. Expert markers, all architects, estimate how likely a minimally competent candidate is to answer each item correctly, and the average of those estimates becomes the cut score. Equating across years checks that candidates are not advantaged or disadvantaged by a harder or easier exam (page 14), and a score below the cut score's "zone of confidence" confirms a true fail (page 15).
Results reach you as a performance report (page 16). It shows your status, the sections you passed and the sections you need to take again, as pass or fail per section, with no raw scores. Where you have not passed the entire exam, it adds constructive information on the failed sections. You cannot tell from it whether you missed by two questions or twenty, so that feedback and your own practice results have to fill the gap.
If you believe a result is wrong, candidates who do not pass one or more sections may request a formal review for a fee (page 16). Trained architect markers recheck the written booklets under the supervision of an ExAC test consultant, and another consultant checks the bubble sheets by hand against the answer key. If a section result is overturned, the fee is refunded in full.
The rewrite rules sit on page 16 of the ExAC Framework Document, under Rewriting. The 2026 Preparation Guide (page 3) points to exac.ca for the conditions for retaking the exam.
| Attempt | What you write | If you do not pass everything |
|---|---|---|
| First | All four sections | You must register for the next exam sitting and rewrite all failed sections |
| Second | Only the sections you failed | You get one final attempt at the next scheduled sitting |
| Third | Only the sections still not passed | You rewrite all four sections at a future sitting, as a first-time candidate |
Passed sections do not have to be rewritten, but only inside those three attempts. Writing fewer than four sections is what a rewrite looks like; first-time candidates weighing the full sitting can read our guide to sitting all four ExAC sections in one sitting. The attempts also follow the calendar: the ExAC is administered once a year, in four three-hour sessions over two consecutive days in November (Framework Document, page 10). The 2026 sitting is November 2 and 3, so a retake is the following November.
If you cannot write the next sitting, the Framework Document (page 10) says candidates may request an exemption from the time limits on completing the exam for personal issues such as pregnancy or unexpected injury, with details on the ExAC accommodations page. The Preparation Guide (page 10) adds a reporting procedure for exceptional circumstances and says no refund is given if you simply do not show up.
The Framework Document and the 2026 Preparation Guide do not publish these, so look them up on exac.ca as soon as your results arrive:
A few things carry over from your first attempt. You choose English or French at registration (Preparation Guide, page 6). On exam day you need official photo ID and your Letter of Authorization, and you must arrive 30 minutes before the start (page 10).
Give yourself a few days after results. The ExAC is written and marked by practising architects at the level of a candidate with a minimum level of competence, which is a real bar, and one failed section says something about one exam session and one study approach, not about the architect you will be. Then, while the exam is still fresh, write down the topics that felt shaky and where you ran short of time. Keep it to topics: the Confidentiality Agreement forbids reproducing or disclosing the nature and contents of the exam (Preparation Guide, page 13).
The Examitect approach, refined from the debriefs our team runs with candidates after every sitting, is to diagnose before you study. Candidates who skip this usually repeat their first plan with more hours and get a similar result. A fail tends to come from one of four gaps.
| Gap | What it looks like | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge | You did not know the concept, even with time to think | Targeted reading, then questions on that objective |
| Lookup | In Section 2, you could not find the clause fast enough | Better tabs and timed lookup drills |
| Time | You knew the material but ran out of time | Full-length timed sets and a pacing plan |
| Format | Short answers that ran long or skipped calculation steps | Written practice under the Preparation Guide's answer rules |
Every ExAC cycle, the same patterns come up in the post-exam debriefs our team runs with candidates. Question counts are from the Framework Document (page 5).
| Section and objectives | Common cause | What to change |
|---|---|---|
| Section 1: objectives 1 to 4, 6 and 7; about 96 multiple choice and 8 short answer | Short answers that lost points on format, and cost questions without the working shown | Write answers on lined paper and show every step. See our Section 1 study strategy. |
| Section 2: objective 5 (NBC and NECB); about 75 multiple choice | Lookup speed in an open-book section, and running out of time on Part 3 questions | Rebuild your tabs and drill timed lookups. Read Section 2 pacing and how to tab the NBC 2020. |
| Section 3: objectives 8 and 13; about 96 multiple choice and 6 short answer | Assembly evaluation treated as memory work, and gaps on the construction documents side | Study assemblies by control layer and cover 8.4 to 8.6. See our Section 3 study strategy. |
| Section 4: objectives 9 to 12; about 130 multiple choice | Contract roles half-learned, and fatigue over a long section | Learn who does what under CCDC 2 and build stamina with full-length sets. See where Section 4 candidates lose marks. |
Two format rules from the 2026 Preparation Guide are easy marks to recover. A blank multiple-choice answer counts as incorrect (page 9). In the short-answer booklets, only the number of points asked for is read, answers beyond the lines are not marked, and points are awarded for each calculation step (pages 7 to 9). Our post on whether to start with short answers or multiple choice covers how to order your time.
If you are rewriting Section 2, keep your tabbed code books. The Preparation Guide (page 12) allows paper copies of the NBC 2020, without provincial adaptations, and the NECB 2020, with annotations, highlighting and tabs made beforehand. Added pages are not permitted, and you may not mark the books in the room. Fix the tabs that let you down rather than starting over.
A retake is a lighter load: fewer sections, the same weekly hours. Keep the house study load from our 12-week ExAC study plan, six to ten hours a week and 500 to 800 timed questions across the cycle, and put all of it into the sections you failed.
| Sections to rewrite | How to split the hours and questions |
|---|---|
| One | All of it on that section, weighted toward red objectives |
| Two | Split by weakness, not evenly; the weaker section gets about 60 percent |
| Three | Close to a first attempt, using the full 12-week structure |
Twelve weeks before the sitting is a sensible start for most retakes. The six steps below fit inside that window.
List the objectives, rate each one, sit a timed diagnostic set and sort every miss into a knowledge, lookup, time or format gap.
Write down one thing you will do differently, such as practising from week one, rebuilding your Section 2 tabs or writing short answers on lined paper.
Go back to the source behind each one, such as CHOP, CHING, the NBC or CCDC 2, and answer a short set of questions as soon as you finish it.
Keep six to ten hours a week and aim for 500 to 800 timed questions across the cycle. Review every miss against its source.
Two to four weeks before the exam, sit each failed section under the real three-hour limit, with short answers on paper where the section has them.
Register for the next sitting as soon as registration opens on exac.ca, and keep your tabbed code books if you are rewriting Section 2.
Do not restudy the sections you passed, though expect some overlap, because CHOP supports Sections 1, 3 and 4. If you studied mostly by reading the first time, flip the ratio: practice questions build the recall the exam rewards, and reading alone builds recognition.
A retake is a narrower problem than a first attempt. You know the room, the clock and the format, and you know which sections need work. Plan it with that in mind, and the next November can be the last one you need.
The ExAC Framework Document gives each candidate three consecutive attempts to pass all four sections. If any section is still not passed after the third attempt, the candidate rewrites all four sections at a future sitting, as if they were a first-time candidate.
Sections you passed do not have to be rewritten on your second or third attempt; you register for the next sitting and rewrite only the failed ones. After a failed third attempt, though, you rewrite all four sections as a first-time candidate.
The rewrite rules in the ExAC Framework Document start from a first attempt at all four sections, and writing fewer than four is what a rewrite looks like. Splitting the exam therefore happens on a retake, after you have sat all four and passed some of them.
The ExAC Framework Document and the 2026 Preparation Guide do not give a results date, so check exac.ca. Candidates receive individual performance reports first, and the public aggregate results are published on exac.ca after that. The exam itself runs once a year in November.
The ExAC Framework Document and the 2026 Preparation Guide do not state registration or retake fees. Check the current fees on exac.ca, and ask your firm whether it reimburses a retake, since a rewrite can fall in a different budget year from your first attempt.
The ExAC performance report does not include raw scores. It shows your status, the sections you passed, the sections you need to take again and a pass or fail result for each section. Where you have not passed the whole exam, it adds constructive information on the failed sections.
The ExAC has no fixed passing percentage. Each section has a cut score, set by expert markers who estimate how likely a minimally competent candidate is to answer each item correctly. Equating across years checks that candidates are not advantaged or disadvantaged by a harder or easier exam.
Candidates who fail one or more ExAC sections can request a formal review for a fee. Trained architect markers recheck the written booklets and a consultant checks the bubble sheets by hand against the answer key. If a section result is overturned, the fee is refunded in full. Check exac.ca for the fee and deadline.