---
title: Is the exam really closed book? What are the rules?
description: "Yes — completely. No booklet, no notes, no reference materials, no dictionaries. Phones must be powered off, smartwatches and calculators stay home, and anyone using notes, helping, or being helped is dismissed. It’s why preparation method decides outcomes: every fee,…"
url: "https://nynotaryexamprep.com/help/is-the-exam-really-closed-book-what-are-the-rules/"
updated: "2026-10-05"
category: The Exam
---

# Is the exam really closed book? What are the rules?

Yes — completely. No booklet, no notes, no reference materials, no dictionaries. Phones must be powered off, smartwatches and calculators stay home, and anyone using notes, helping, or being helped is dismissed. It’s why preparation method decides outcomes: every fee, definition, statute number, and form wording has to live in memory. That’s precisely what our course drills — exact numbers, exact wording — and why our timed practice exams are built to the same 40-question, one-hour, no-lookup standard.