PSI Test Centre Rules (2026): Most Programmes Want One ID, Not Two

How many forms of ID does PSI require?

One, in every state bulletin we read except Washington DC. The wording is close to identical from state to state, which is what makes the DC deviation worth flagging rather than dismissing as a drafting quirk.

Nine programmes, eight of them asking for a single ID. This is a sample of the PSI bulletins bound to exams we publish, not a census of every PSI programme — so treat it as evidence that the rule is programme-level, and check your own bulletin rather than counting on the majority.

Which IDs PSI accepts

The state bulletins publish a closed list rather than a description, which is more useful than it sounds — it means an ID that is not on the list is not a judgement call at the desk.

• — State-issued driver's licence
• — State-issued identification card
• — US government-issued passport
• — US government-issued military identification card
• — US government-issued alien registration card
• — Canadian government-issued ID

Arrival time and the two-day cancellation window

PSI's bulletins ask you to arrive at least 30 minutes before your appointment, for sign-in, identification, and familiarising yourself with the process. Arriving late is not a delay; the bulletin states you may not be admitted and you will forfeit your registration fee.

The cancellation window is two days, and PSI spells out how to count it: a cancellation notice must be received two days before the scheduled examination date — "for example, for a Monday appointment, the cancellation notice would need to be received on the previous Saturday." One detail is easy to miss and expensive: a voice mail message is not an acceptable form of cancellation. Use the website or speak to a representative.

Calculators and what you cannot bring in

For the PSI programmes we read, your own calculator is not an option. Handheld calculators appear on the prohibited-items list alongside phones and smart watches. Where arithmetic is needed, PSI supplies the tool: the DC bulletin says a calculator will be provided at check-in, and the Massachusetts bulletin says a calculator will be provided and personal calculators will not be permitted.

The prohibited list also runs wider than most candidates expect, and it is worth reading as a packing list in reverse:

• — Reference materials of any kind.
• — Electronic devices of any type — phones, cameras, laptops, tablets, earbuds, electronic games, electronic watches, handheld calculators, headsets, music players.
• — Bulky or loose clothing that could conceal notes or a recording device, including coats, shawls, hooded clothing, heavy jackets and overcoats.
• — Hats or headgear, unless worn as religious apparel.
• — Purses, wallets, notebooks, briefcases, backpacks, pens and pencils, food, drink, and good-luck items.
• — Anyone who came with you. The DC bulletin is explicit that people accompanying a candidate may not wait in the examination centre, inside the building, or on the building's property — drivers, children, friends and family included.

Why one vendor has different rules in different states

Because PSI is not the body setting the rules. It is contracted to deliver an examination on behalf of a licensing authority — a state real-estate commission, a department of insurance, a professional board — and the bulletin is written for that programme. The ID count, the calculator provision and the prohibited list all sit inside a document with a state seal at the top of page one.

That is the structural reason no vendor-wide answer can be trusted, and it applies to the other vendors too: Pearson VUE publishes four separate global ID policies and lets each exam sponsor pick one. It is also why programmes move: the IRS Special Enrolment Examination transferred from Prometric to PSI in March 2026, taking a new bulletin with it.

The practical consequence is short. Find the candidate information bulletin for your exam in your state, read the required-identification section, and treat any article that answers the question without naming your state — including a general one about PSI — as a starting point rather than an answer.

Exams we cover that PSI delivers

Each of these was verified against a PSI document while we fact-checked it, which is what puts it on this list. Open an exam for its fees, format and scoring, and for the licensing authority whose bulletin governs your test day.

Derived from our own evidence trail rather than a PSI directory, so this covers the exams we publish rather than everything PSI delivers. Confirm the vendor on your own booking confirmation — programmes change hands, and an older article may name the previous one. Pearson VUE runs its own four-policy ID system, covered in our Pearson VUE guide; Prometric publishes no ID rule of its own at all, which our Prometric guide takes apart.

How we checked this

• — Every ID count on this page was read from a PSI candidate information bulletin for a named state programme, retrieved 3 September 2026, and each is quoted rather than paraphrased. The bulletins are listed in full under Sources.
• — The nine programmes are the PSI bulletins already bound to exams we publish, which is why they are all real-estate licences. That is a real limit on the sample: it is enough to show the rule is set per programme, and not enough to state a proportion for PSI as a whole. We have not read PSI's insurance or allied-health bulletins with the same care and have not generalised to them.
• — Arrival, cancellation, prohibited-item and calculator rules are quoted from the Colorado, South Dakota, Massachusetts and District of Columbia bulletins. Where a rule appeared identically in several, we cite the one we read first rather than implying we checked all of them.
• — We have not published a column for which PSI programme requires which ID count beyond the nine listed. Getting that wrong would cost a reader an exam fee, and PSI publishes no master table to check it against.

Questions

How many forms of ID do you need for a PSI exam?

One, for most programmes. Eight state real-estate bulletins we read require a single form of identification matching the name you scheduled with, carrying your signature and photo, valid and unexpired. Washington DC requires two. Check the candidate information bulletin for your own exam, because the requirement is set per programme.

Is a Costco card or Social Security card a valid second ID for PSI?

For the programmes covered here the question does not arise, because no second ID is required. Neither card appears on PSI's accepted-primary list either, which runs: state driver's licence, state ID card, US passport, US military ID, US alien registration card, and Canadian government ID.

Can you bring a calculator to a PSI test centre?

No — handheld calculators are on the prohibited-items list. Where one is needed PSI provides it: the DC bulletin says a calculator will be provided at check-in, and the Massachusetts bulletin says a calculator will be provided and personal calculators will not be permitted.

How early do you have to arrive for a PSI exam?

At least 30 minutes before your appointment, which covers sign-in, identification and orientation. If you arrive late you may not be admitted and you will forfeit your registration fee.

What is PSI's cancellation policy?

You can cancel and reschedule without forfeiting the fee if notice is received two days before the examination date — for a Monday appointment, by the previous Saturday. A voice mail message does not count as cancellation; use the PSI website or speak to a representative.

What happens if you bring the wrong ID to a PSI exam?

Your registration is invalidated. The Colorado bulletin states that failure to bring the proper documentation invalidates your registration, that you will not be able to take the examination as scheduled, and that you forfeit the examination fee.

Why do PSI's rules differ between states?

Because the licensing authority sets them, not PSI. PSI delivers the exam under contract to a state commission or board, and that authority's candidate information bulletin defines the ID requirement, the calculator provision and the prohibited-items list. Two states can therefore run the same profession's exam through the same vendor under different rules.

Sources

Every rule above is quoted from one of these documents. A vendor or licensing authority can revise any of them without notice, so the retrieval date is part of the citation.

1. proctor2.psionline.com Colorado Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin (PSI) · read 3 September 2026

   “You must provide 1 form of identification. The identification must match the name you scheduled with.”

2. test-takers.psiexams.com Colorado Real Estate Broker Candidate Information Bulletin (PSI) · read 3 September 2026

   “You must provide 1 form of identification.”

3. test-takers.psiexams.com Georgia Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin (PSI) · read 3 September 2026

   “You must provide 1 form of identification.”

4. test-takers.psiexams.com Hawaii Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin (PSI) · read 3 September 2026

   “You must provide 1 form of identification.”

5. test-takers.psiexams.com Minnesota Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin (PSI) · read 3 September 2026

   “You must provide 1 form of identification.”

6. test-takers.psiexams.com Tennessee Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin (PSI) · read 3 September 2026

   “You must provide 1 form of identification.”

7. test-takers.psiexams.com Oregon Real Estate Broker Candidate Information Bulletin (PSI) · read 3 September 2026

   “You must provide one form of identification.”

8. test-takers.psiexams.com South Carolina Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin (PSI) · read 3 September 2026

   “Candidates need to provide one (1) form of identification.”

9. proctor2.psionline.com South Dakota Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin (PSI) · read 3 September 2026

   “You must provide 1 form of identification. The identification must match the name you scheduled with.”

10. test-takers.psiexams.com Massachusetts Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin (PSI) · read 3 September 2026

    “A calculator will be provided; personal calculators will not be permitted.”

11. test-takers.psiexams.com District of Columbia Real Estate Candidate Information Bulletin (PSI) · read 3 September 2026

    “You must provide 2 forms of identification. One must be a VALID form of government issued identification (driver's license, state ID, passport), which bears your signature and has your photograph. In addition, it must be current and unexpired. The second ID must have your signature and preprinted legal name.”