Domestic BER Examination - Further Information

Further Information on the Domestic BER Examination

Click HERE to Book a Domestic BER Examination

Consequences for Registered Assessors if they do not pass the Domestic BER Examination by 31 December 2009
Length of time BER Assessors have to pass the Domestic BER Examination
Renewal of Registrations in 2010 if the Examination has not been passed
Consequences for Registered Assessors if they do not pass the Domestic BER Examination by 31 December 2010
Consequences of actively declining Assessor registration renewal, if the Assessor plans to re-register at a later stage.
Booking an Exam
Eligibility ID
Special Requirements
Examination Centre Locations
Examination Fee
Rescheduling/Cancellation Policy
Examination Confirmation
Identification Requirements
Procedure upon arriving at the Examination Centre
Domestic BER Examination Centre Rules
Examination Format
BER Examination Pass Mark
The Examination System
Examination Results
Examination Preparation
Sample Domestic BER Examination Paper
Examination Material
Next Steps after Successfully Completing the BER Examination
Repeat Exams
Appeals
Frequency at which BER Assessors will be re-examined
Revision of the Domestic BER Examination

Consequences for Registered Assessors if they do not pass the Domestic BER Examination by 31 December 2009
All registered BER Assessors are required to pass the Domestic BER Examination on or before 31 December 2009. If they have not passed the examination by this date, they will no longer be able to upload BER assessments to the NAS, their details will be not be displayed on the Register of BER Assessors and they will not be allowed to continue to offer their services as a BER Assessor. If an Assessor successfully passes the examination between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2010, their NAS account and their details on the Register of Assessors will be reactivated.

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Length of time BER Assessors have to pass the Domestic BER Examination
Assessors may attempt to pass the examination for 12 months. This means that all Assessors who have not yet attempted the examination or not passed the examination by 1 January 2010, have 12 months to keep trying (i.e. up until 31 December 2010).

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Renewal of Registrations in 2010 if the Examination has not been passed
Between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2010, Assessors will be permitted to renew their registration without passing the examination, however they will not be able to upload BER assessments to the NAS and their details will not be displayed on the Register of BER Assessors until they pass the Domestic BER Examination.

The month before an Assessor’s registration is due for renewal, they will receive an email advising them of the renewal process. Unless they specifically decline renewal, the renewal will be completed automatically and a renewal fee of €100 plus VAT will be collected by direct debit from their normal payment account in the month following their renewal.

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Consequences for Registered Assessors if they do not pass the Domestic BER Examination by 31 December 2010
Registered Assessors that do not pass the examination by 31 December 2010 will be de-registered and will be required to fully re-train and successfully pass the BER Examination in order re-register. In such circumstances only the standard Assessor renewal fee (€100 plus VAT) will be charged.

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Consequences of actively declining Assessor registration renewal, if the Assessor plans to re-register at a later stage

If an Assessor actively chooses to decline the automatic registration renewal, they will be choosing to voluntarily terminate their Assessor registration. If they ever wish to be reinstated as a BER Assessor, they will have to register through the standard registration process and the standard registration fees will apply.

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Booking an Exam
You must be a certified or registered BER Assessor or a recognised BER trainer to be eligible to take the Domestic BER Examination.
The BER Exam is administered by Prometric on behalf of SEAI. The examination can be taken at any of the 41 Prometric Test Centre locations throughout the country.
Online; click here (select The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland as the Testing Programme in Step 1)
By phone; call 1890 340 128
By post; fill in an application form and post to SEAI Bookings PO Box 788, Togher, Cork.

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Eligibility ID
You will need an Eligibility ID in order to book an exam.

If you are a registered BER Assessor you will have automatically received your Eligibility ID in an email SEAI sent you in June 2009. If you are a newly certified BER Assessor who has not yet registered with SEAI, you will need to call 1890 252 738 in order to set an Eligibility ID

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Special Requirements
Candidates with special requirements that need to be accommodated, such as reading difficulties, can be provided with extra time (extra hour) to sit their exam. These accommodations are intended to limit the impact of the candidate's special requirements on their examination performance, while not giving the candidate any unfair advantage.

Please note that if you have special requirements you will need to download and complete the DBER 02 Special Requirement Application Form and submit formal evidence to SEAI, PO Box 780, An Post South City Delivery Office, Togher Industrial Estate, Cork City. Upon receipt of your application SEAI will contact you to make the necessary arrangements. If you require further information or have other requirements please contact SEAI on 1890 252 738.
If you have already received your Eligibility ID and you require special arrangements please complete the form above, submit it to SEAI and you will received an updated Eligibility ID which will ensure you are provided with extra time to sit your exam.

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Exam Centre Locations

There are 41 different Exam Centres located throughout Ireland; 16 fixed centres and 25 mobile units. The locations can be accessed on this link and are as follows:

Opening times for the Exam Centres may vary but most will be open from 9am to 5pm or 11:15 to 7:15pm.

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Examination Fee
The examination fee is €100 + VAT.
Payment can be made using Visa, Laser, MasterCard. Please have these card details when booking your exam. Payments can also be made by filling out the postal application form and accompanying it with a cheque or postal order for €121 made payable to Prometric Ireland Limited. All postal applications should be sent to SEAI Bookings, PO Box 788, Togher, Cork.

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Rescheduling / Cancellation Policy

To reschedule or cancel your examination click here or call 1890 340 128. The table below outlines the rescheduling / cancelation fees where applicable:

*NOTE: If you want to book another examination you will need a new Eligibility ID. Call1890 252 738 (anytime after the day your exam was scheduled for) to arrange.

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Examination confirmation
Once your examination has been scheduled, you will receive your confirmation email confirming your examination appointment with the conditions/documentation required to take your exam. The confirmation letter will also include the following information.
- First name and surname
- Date of birth
- Email address and postal address
- Telephone number
- The location of examination centre
- Date and time of exam
- Your examination eligibility number
- Special Requirements which outlines your entitlement to extra time (if any)

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Identification Requirements
In order to sit the exam, candidates will need to present an acceptable form of photo identification at the Examination Centre. Acceptable forms of photo ID are a valid passport or driving licence. You must bring these original forms of ID with you to the examination centre, otherwise you will not be permitted to sit the examination and will lose your examination fee.

When making your booking you must provide your exact name and date of birth. This must exactly match the form of photo ID that is presented at the Examination Centre on the day of the exam.

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Procedure upon arriving at the Examination Centre
The examination centre staff will check your documentation to confirm/validate your identity. Your photograph will be taken when you register for your exam. This is for the purpose of producing ID cards for all registered Assessors. You will then be signed in and examination centre administrator will explain the procedures and how the examination works. They will then show you to your workstation where you will take your exam.

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Domestic BER Examination Centre Rules
All candidates will have to adhere to the examination rules. To review the examination rules click here
Examination centres are monitored and video recorded in the event that any rule is breached.

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Examination Format
The examination is 2 hour computer based and consists of 50 multi choice questions randomly selected from a bank of over 500 questions. There is only one correct answer to each question. The examination is split into 5 sections The sections are:
1 BER in Ireland, Overall Energy Performance and Advisory Reports;
2 Building Construction and Lighting;
3 Building Fabric and Ventilation;
4 Heating and Hot Water Systems - Part 1; and
5 Heating and Hot Water Systems - Part 2.

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BER Examination Pass Mark
To pass the examination you must achieve at least 50% in each section of the exam and achieve an overall score of at least 70% (BER Trainers must achieve an overall score of at least 85%).

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The Examination System
The examination is computer based and is presented in a very easy-to-use format and will not pose any problems for candidates.
A simple tutorial is presented at the beginning of the examination which will explain how the examination works. The examination can be taken with an easy to use touch screen, or by using a mouse and keyboard.

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Examination results
You will be issued with a score report before you leave the examination centre. The score report gives a breakdown of the different sections in the examination and clearly outlines the mark you have achieved in each section and the overall mark achieved. SEAI will maintain all examination data and results will be held centrally and may be used by SEAI for future auditing purposes.

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Examination Preparation
Candidates should familiarise themselves with the SEAI training specification (dated September 2008) which lists all 147 Learning Outcomes which are tested in the exam. The specimen paper (see below) is indicative of the examination and the topics covered.
In addition to the training specification you should be familiar with the following in order to be fully prepared:
BER training material provided by your BER training provider:
- DEAP Manual
- DEAP survey Guide
- Building Regulations Part L and the Technical Guidance Document to Part L
- BER Assessors Code of Practice
- BER Technical Bulletins
- BER FAQs
- Energy Performance Buildings Directive
- SI 666 of 2006
- National Administrative System - NAS

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Sample Domestic BER Examination Paper
BER Examination Specimen Paper
BER Examination Specimen Paper with answers

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Examination Material
You are allowed the use of your own calculator during the exam, provided it is a silent, handheld, solar or battery-operated, non-programmable calculator (without paper tape-printing capabilities or alphabetic keypads). An SEAI Examination Manual will be provided to each candidate for use during the examination and this contains a hardcopy of:
1. DEAP Manual;
2. DEAP Survey Guide;
3. Building Regulations Part L and the Technical Guidance Document to Part L;
4. Code of Practice for BER Assessors;
5. EU Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings

Candidates must not write on any of the materials provided or they will be automatically disqualified.

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Next Steps after Successfully Completing the BER Examination
SEAI will be notified immediately of all examination results. Registered Assessors who successfully pass the examination do not need to take any further action. Certified Assessors who successfully pass the examination may register as Domestic BER Assessors.

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Repeat Exams
There must be a 5 working day period between repeat examination dates. Assessors will be allowed to continue to repeat the examination for up to 12 months. The standard charge of €100 + VAT per examination will apply.
*NOTE: If you want to book another examination you will need a new Eligibility ID. Call1890 252 738 to arrange.

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Appeals
Candidates wishing to query their result must speak to the Examination Centre Administrator before leaving the Centre. They will be provided with a Customer Service Helpline - Cares Card to contact to request a re-mark of the test. As part of this process, Candidates must:
- Appeal within 10 working days of the date of your test
- Enclose an Appeal's Fee
- Any candidate known to be in breach of the examination rules cannot lodge an appeal.
- Failure to comply with the appeal process will forfeit the opportunity to appeal.

Prometric Head Office staff will conduct the re-marking of all tests and will provide the Candidate with the result of this process within five (5) working days. If it is found that the original marking was wrong Prometric will:
- Refund your appeal fee.
- Notify SEAI of the result of the remark.

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Frequency at which BER Assessors will be re-examined
BER Assessors will be required to sit a competency examination every 2 years. Further information on the renewal examination will be posted on www.seai.ie/ber/dber in 2011.

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Revision of the Domestic BER Examination
The Domestic BER Examination and subsequent competency examinations will be revised at least every 2 year and will take account of any changes made to the BER Scheme and learnings gained from the BER QA Auditing scheme.

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