Examination Affairs Act

Dates of Promulgation

Full text of the 25 Articles of the Act promulgated by Presidential Order on 11 November, 1988.
Full text of all 31 Articles amended and promulgated on 16 January, 2002 by Presidential Order Hua-Zong-Yi-Yi-Zi no. 09100003650.
Full text of 35 Articles amended and promulgated on 4 February, 2015 by Presidential Order Hua-Zong-Yi-Yi-Zi no. 10400012571.
Deletion of Article 10, promulgated on April 28, 2021 by Presidential Order Hua-Zong-Yi-Yi-Zi No. 11000038671.
Amendment to Article 31, promulgated on November 29, 2023 by Presidential Order Hua-Zong-Yi-Yi-Zi No. 11200103531.

Article 1

This Act is for the protection of the fairness and justness of the national examinations in the interest of selecting talents to serve the nation.

Examination affairs of national examinations held according to the law shall observe the regulations of this Act.

Article 2

The organization of examinations shall be submitted by the Ministry of Examination to the Examination Yuan for its approval. A standing Board of Examiners may be set up for examinations that are held twice or more times a year, and be composed of the following:

1. Chair of the Board of Examiners

2. Members of the Board of Examiners

3. The Minister of Examination

Article 3

The Chair of the Board of Examiners shall be nominated by the President of the Examination Yuan, and be appointed by the President of the R.O.C. upon approval by the Council of the Examination Yuan.

The members of the Board of Examiners shall be jointly nominated by the Ministry of Examination and the Chair of the Board of Examiners, be presented to the President of the Examination Yuan for the approval of the Council of the Examination Yuan, and be appointed by the Ministry of Examination upon ratification.

The members of the Board of Examiners may be divided into various groups by examination category or subject, each headed by one convener, jointly nominated by the Ministry of Examination and the Chair of the Board of Examiners from among the members of the Board of Examiners.

Article 4

The Chair of the Board of Examiners must possess one of the following qualifications:

1.Be currently serving as the Minister of Examination, Deputy Minister of Examination or member of the Board of Examiners.

2.Be currently serving as president or academician at the Academia Sinica.

3.Have an employment record as principal of a domestic or overseas public or private university or academy for no less than four years.

4.Be serving as specially appointed officer and have an employment record as principal at a domestic or overseas public or private university or academy for no less than three years.

Article 5

Members of the Board of Examiners for Senior Examinations, or Special Examinations equivalent to the level of Senior Examinations, must possess one of the following qualifications:

1. Possess one of the qualifications named in the above Article.

2. Three years experience as professor or associate professor, or six years as assistant professor at public or private academic institutions of or above the level of junior college.

3. Having passed the Senior Civil Service Examinations for no less than ten years, holding senior grade or equivalent post and having made significant contribution to relative fields of research with outstanding outcome.

4. Having passed Senior Professional and Technical Examinations or equivalent Senior Examinations and worked in the corresponding field of expertise for no less than ten years, and having made significant contribution to relative fields of research with outstanding outcome.

The above regulations also apply to the Board of Examiners for Promotional Examinations for Civil Servants, Customs Agents, Police Personnel, Transportation Industry Personnel (operator to senior operator), and Special Civil Service Transfer Examination for Colonels and Above

Article 6

Members of the Board of Examiners for Elementary and Junior Examinations, or Special Examinations of equivalent levels must possess one of the following qualifications:

1. Hold one of the qualifications specified in the Article above.

2. Three years experience as professor or associate professor, or six years as assistant professor at public or private academic institutions of or above the level of junior college.

3. Ten years experience as dean or professional instructor at public or private high schools or vocational schools.

4. Having passed the Senior Civil Service Examinations or Special Examinations of Equivalent level for no less than eight years, holding junior grade or equivalent post and having made significant contribution to related fields of research with outstanding outcome.

5. Having passed Senior Professional and Technical Examinations, or equivalent Senior Examinations, and worked in the corresponding field of expertise for no less than eight years, having made significant contribution to related fields of research with outstanding outcome.

The above regulations also apply to the Board of Examiners for the Promotional Examinations from assistant operator to operator, and operator to senior operator for Transport Industry Personnel.

Article 7

Depending on the special requirements of the subject, alternative selection methods may be applied to select members of the Board of Examiners, in response of the specific needs of the said exam method or test subject. In such case, senior grade civil servants or persons holding posts of equivalent standing, with amplitude of professional expertise and outstanding performance, may be selected for the position.

Article 8

Examinations are organized by an Examination Affairs Office, set up by the Ministry of Examination. Personnel organizing examination affairs are appointed by the Minister of Examination, and handle all examination related affairs. All such affairs, shall be overseen by the Chair of the Board of Examiners. The Examination Affairs Office Organization Regulations are to be set up by the Examination Yuan upon request by the Ministry of Examination.

Article 9

The Board of Examiners exercises its powers according to the law and the decisions made by the Council of the Examination Yuan. The following items are determined by the Board of Examiners

1. Question drafting, grading and reviewing standards.

2. Allocation of question drafting and grading duties.

3. Examination score reviews.

4. Methods and standards used for score transfers.

5. Determination of admission and qualification standards.

6. The opening and verification of sealed name lists, and confidential documents related to invention and authorship.

7. Publication of the names of admitted or qualified candidates.

8. Other items to be discussed.

The above said powers are determined by the Board of Examiners depending on the nature and method of examination, upon which the Chair of the Board of Examiners is authorized to invite the various team conveners or members of the Board of Examiners to exercise it.

Conference regulations for the Board of Examiners and score transfer methods are to be determined by the Examination Yuan upon request of the Ministry of Examination.

Article 10

(Deleted)

Article 11

The following personnel must be present at the meetings of the Board of Examiners:

1. Head of the employing or allocating organizations and examination affairs management personnel.

2. Drafters, graders, verification inspectors, oral examiners, psychometric examiners, physical examiners, and onsite examiners.

Article 12

The Chair of the Board of Examiners oversees all examination affairs. His duties are as follows:

1. Convene and chair Board of Examiners meetings.

2. Control and supervise examination affairs.

3. Determine test questions for each subject.

4. Conduct examinations.

5. Randomly review examination papers for grading consistency.

6. Sign the list of qualifiers to be published.

7. Sign the qualification certificates.

8. Other duties and authorities endowed by this or other laws.

Item 3 of the above list is to be performed in conjunction with the conveners of the various teams or members of the Board of Examiners. Item 5 in the above list is to be performed in conjunction with the conveners of the various teams or members of the Board of Examiners. In the event that the Chair of the Board of Examiners is unable to perform his duty, the President of the Examination Yuan is to appoint one of the members of the Board of Examiners to stand in on his behalf.

Article 13

The duties of the members of the Board of Examiners are as follows:

1. Attend Board of Examiners meetings.

2. Conduct regional examination affairs.

3. Conduct or perform the drafting, finalizing and reviewing of test questions, handle test question disputes, the grading of examination papers and all related affairs.

4. Conduct or perform authorship or invention verifications, education and work experience verifications, and all related matters.

5. Conduct or perform oral examinations, psychometric tests, physical examinations or onsite examinations.

6. Other duties and authorities endowed by this or other laws.

Member of the Board of Examiners divided into teams shall be presided over by their team convener, or other individually appointed member of the Board of Examiners, for the above items 3 to 5.

Article 14

The various examinations may be administered in the form of written, oral, psychometric, physical, or on-site examinations, authorship and invention verification, education and work experience verification, or any other method approved by the Examination Yuan. All examinations apart from pure written examinations must include at least two of the above said examination methods.

The regulations overseeing oral examinations, foreign language oral examinations, psychometric, physical, and on-site examinations, authorship and invention verification, education and work experience verification shall be set by the Examination Yuan upon request by the Ministry of Examination.

For examinations of a special nature as referred to in paragraph one, the Ministry of Examination shall apply for approval of the Examination Yuan, upon which it may commission external organisations, schools or institutions to administer said examination. When commissioning external organisations for examinations, the Examination Yuan must ensure that the organisation in concern is of high credibility worthy of public trust. Organisations entrusted with the administration of national examinations must do so themselves, and may not subcontract any further organisations, institutions or schools to administer said examinations. Regulations regarding the public credibility standards, budget allocation, supervision matters, commissioning scope and process of the organisations to be entrusted, shall be determined and stipulated by the Examination Yuan, upon application by the Ministry of Examination.

Article 15

The question drafting, grading, verification, oral examination, psychometric testing, physical or onsite examinations of the various examinations, while undertaken by members of the Board of Examiners, may also be performed respectively by drafters, graders, inspectors, oral examiners, psychometric testers, physical examiners or onsite examiners if necessary.

The hiring procedures of the above is identical to the hiring process of members of the Board of Examiners; i.e. they must satisfy the requirements of Articles 5 to 7. When necessary, the Ministry of Examination and the Chair of the Board of Examiners may jointly select suitable persons to oversee the examinations, and apply for ratification by the Examination Yuan, so they be hired in retrospect.

Article 16

Duties of the drafters, graders, inspectors, oral examiners, psychometric testers, physical examiners and onsite examiners are respectively as follows:

1. Drafting of test questions.

2. Grading of examination papers.

3. Inspection and verification of examination questions, authorship or inventions, qualifications and experiences related to intellectual abilities.

4. Perform oral examinations.

5. Perform psychometric tests.

6. Perform physical examinations.

7. Perform onsite examinations.

Article 17

The members of the Board of Examiners for the various examinations shall be selected from among the Examination Affairs Human Resources Database. However, persons selected by the Chair of the Board of Examiners of the examination in concern are not bound by this rule.

The Ministry of Examination shall submit the Regulations regarding the compilation, specialization review, examination affairs work records, and management and maintenance of the above said database to the Examination Yuan for its approval.

Article 18

The Ministry of Examination shall set up question banks in coordination with the examinations being held. The drafting and reviewing of the items in the question banks shall be undertaken by persons qualified as members of the Board of Examiners and appointed by the Ministry of Examination.

To broaden the scope of resources for the question banks, the Ministry may openly seek, trade or purchase question items domestically and internationally, which will be added to the question bank upon verification.

Regulations regarding the seeking, trading, purchasing, drafting, reviewing, safeguarding, usage and renewal of items in the question banks shall be submitted by the Ministry of Examination to the Examination Yuan for its approval.

Article 19

The question items drafted and reviewed by the Members of the Board of Examiners, drafters and reviewers shall be communicated to the Ministry of Examination as classified documents, and may be used upon approval of the Chair of the Board of Examiners.

To use items from the question bank in an examination, the items in concern shall be presented to the Board of Examiners, for the Chair of the Board of Examiners, the team conveners and members of the Board of Examiners to discuss and perform random sample reviews.

When drafting questions, the members of the Board of Examiners and the drafters shall include the correct answers to the proposed questions. Essay questions must be include reference answers or calculation processes, as well as grading criteria as reference for the graders.

Regulations regarding the outline and procedures of the question items, number restrictions, drafting principles and other issues pertaining to question drafting, shall be submitted by the Ministry of Examination to the Examination Yuan for its approval.

Article 20

The production of examination papers for national examinations shall take place within the examination quarters.
Regulations regarding the security and management of the examination quarters, and operation regulations for the production and non-disclosure of electronic examination question bank items, shall be submitted by the Ministry of Examination to the Examination Yuan for its approval.

Article 21

When examinations are held, examinees shall enter the examination halls at the prescribed time.

Examinees who cheat or otherwise violate examination regulations will be punished according to the regulations by removal of examination session, point deductions or voiding of their examination paper. In the event that such behavior should be in breach of criminal law, the examinee will be forwarded to law enforcement.

Examination Hall Regulations and Invigilation Regulations shall be submitted by the Ministry of Examination to the Examination Yuan for its approval.

Article 22

Unless otherwise required by law, registration and application for examinations held by the Ministry of Examination may be submitted in the form of email, fax, text message or other electronic documents, and be considered as delivered in person. Regulations regarding the way of delivery shall be determined by the Examination Yuan.

Article 23

After the completion of national examinations, examination questions and test-type examination answers may be disclosed. However, this does not apply to examination subjects of a special nature, as approved by the Examination Yuan.

Article 24

Disputes regarding the examination questions or the disclosed test-type examination answers shall be submitted for clarification within the given time limit. Applications are not accepted past the aforementioned time period.

The time periods, procedures, handling guidelines and relevant matters of the disputes regarding the examination questions shall be determined by the Examination Yuan.

Article 25

The grading of essay questions may be in the form of single grading, parallel grading, grading of individual questions, parallel grading of individual questions, and others. Online grading may be used when necessary. Test-type examination sheets shall be graded by computers. Regulations governing matters regarding the handling of excessive discrepancy between the grading of essay questions and test-type examination sheets and parallel grading and others shall be determined by the Examination Yuan.

After the examination, examination sheets shall be sealed and jointly safeguarded. Regulations governing matters regarding the unsealing and reading of examination sheets, resealing, and disposal after the expiration date shall be determined by the Examination Yuan.

Article 26

Examinees may, after the disclosure of examination grades, apply according to regulations for verification of the grades they got or viewing their examination sheet. The application deadlines, charges, relevant procedures and other matters of the checkup of grades shall be determined by the Examination Yuan.

While viewing the examination sheet, Examinees shall not transcribe, copy, videotape, read aloud, record, or duplicate in various forms.

The methods, ranges, application deadlines, charges, relevant procedures and other matters of the viewing of examination sheet shall be determined by the Examination Yuan.

Article 27

Examinees shall not apply for the following purposes:

1.Any behavior of duplication.

2.Provision of reference answers for essay questions

3.Revelation of the name and relevant information of members of the Board of Examiners, question drafters, graders, reviewers, interviewers, psychological examiners, physical examiners, and on-site examiners.

In case of any discrepancy between other laws and the preceding regulations, this provision shall prevail.

Article 28

Graders shall use their expertise and experience based upon their statutory authorities to objectively evaluate the contents of the answers of Examinees.

After the grading and prior to unsealing the answer sheets, should the grading procedure is found to be illegal, amiss, partial, or inconsistent, Team Conveners may ask the original graders to regrade, or convene a grading group or select other graders to grade the answer sheets with the approval of the Chair of the Board of Examiners.

After the unsealing of examination grades, the examination sheets shall not be regraded unless violations of law or obvious errors stated as follows are found:

1.Examination sheets being overlooked in the marking process;

2.The failure of graders to grade essay questions in accordance with the clear calculation procedure and results provided;

3.The score marked on the front of a marked paper differs from that on the inside;

4.Error in the calculation process of the test scores;

5.The scores given to each question surpass the scores assigned to it.

For regrading pursuant to the preceding regulations, the Chair of the Board of Examiners shall, prior to the dissolution of the Board of Examiners, ask the original graders to regrade, or convene a grading group. After the dissolution of the Board of Examiners, the Examination Yuan shall convene a grading group or select other graders for regrading.

For grading of examination methods other than written examination, Paragraph 1 to Paragraph 4 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

Article 29

Chair of the Board of Examiners, Members of the Board of Examiners, question drafters, graders, reviewers, interviewers, psychological examiners, physical examiners, on-site examiners shall recuse themselves from the drafting, grading, review, interview, psychological examination, physical examination, and on-site examination of the examination of a subject should he/she or his/her spouse, relatives by blood or by marriage within three degrees is an examinee of the examination.

Those engaged in the drafting and grading of examination questions shall notify the Ministry of Examination upon registration of the examination of the subject.

Examination personnel who has (have) violated the provisions of the preceding two Paragraphs will not be selected thereafter.

Article 30

A Board of Examiners is to be established after announcement of the examination, shall submit documents relating to the organization of the examination and relevant documents to the Ministry of Examination, which shall in turn forward the said documents to the Examination Yuan for archiving, and shall be dissolved thereon.

A Standing Board of Examiners is to be established after the first announcement of the examination in the current year, shall handle documents relating to the organization of the examination and relevant documents, which shall be submitted to the Ministry of Examination, which shall in turn forward the said documents to the Examination Yuan for archiving, and shall be dissolved after the Ministry of Examination’s archiving of the organization and relevant documents of the last examination in the current year.

After the dissolution of the Board of Examiners, matters regarding the examination shall be handled by the Ministry of Examination according to relevant laws.

Article 31

Chair of the Board of Examiners, Members of the Board of Examiners, question drafters, graders, reviewers, interviewers, psychological examiners, physical examiners, on-site examiners and other examination personnel shall maintain utmost confidentiality, and shall not cheat, collude, and disclose examination questions.

Violators will be punished by law, and those who violate the Criminal Code are be subject to the punishments thereof.

Violations of the preceding paragraphs will be subject to relevant laws and regulations; anyone found in violation will be subject to the Criminal Code.

Article 32

In the case of major natural disasters such as typhoon, earthquake, flood, fire, communicable diseases, loss of examination questions, disclosure of examination questions, or other major incidents, the handling procedures of examination shall be determined by the Examination Yuan.

Article 33

To protect the rights of people with disabilities to take national examinations, regulations governing matters regarding applicable subjects, application procedures, practical protection measures and others shall be determined by the Examination Yuan.

Article 34

The Enforcement Rules of this Act shall be formulated and promulgated by the Examination Yuan.

Article 35

This Act is effective from the date of promulgation.

In case of any discrepancy between the English version and the Chinese version of these Regulations, the latter shall prevail.