The HKEAA administers the ABRSM online and paper-based Music Theory Exams, Practical Grades (face-to-face examinations) and Performance Grades (digital examinations). ABRSM examinations are the most popular music examinations in Hong Kong.

Top

Starting from 2021, applicants should register for the examinations (except Choral Singing and Ensembles) and complete the payment through the ABRSM online booking service. For more details, please visit ABRSM website https://www.abrsm.org/en-hk.

For Choral Singing and Ensembles, applicants are required to upload the completed ABRSM entry forms (PDF format) and complete the payment online during the registration period via: https://mip.hkeaa.edu.hk/mip/ABCHO

Top

Examination booking and cancellation payments made through ABRSM online service are international transactions. Your bank, card issuer or PayPal may charge you for processing these transactions. These additional charges and any foreign exchange rate applied to the transaction are made by your bank, card issuer or PayPal and not by ABRSM. Charges will vary, depending on the payment method and the bank or institution you use to make the payment. Please refer to your bank, card issuer or PayPal for information about international transaction fees.

Top

• For Initial Grade to Grade 5 Practical and Performance Grade Exams, there are no specific entry requirements.
• For candidates entering Grades 6, 7 and 8 of Practical and Performance Grade Exams, a pass in Grade 5 or above of Theory / Practical Musicianship Examinations / solo Jazz subject is required.
• For candidates entering for ARSM, a pass in Grade 8 Practical or Performance in the instrument being presented (or listed alternative) is required.

Top

Click here to locate the entry forms for Choral Singing and Ensembles on ABRSM website.

Top

From 1 January 2023, if an interpreter is needed, applicants must select the ‘interpreter’ checkbox at the time of examination booking and make the arrangement themselves, following ABRSM Fair Access Guidelines. Applicants may refer to the list of interpreters with contact details on the ABRSM website.

Top

• For Practical Grade (Initial Grade, Grade 1 - Grade 8 and ARSM Music Performance) and Performance Grade Exams, no admission forms will be required. "Notes to Applicants and Candidates" will be emailed by the HKEAA to the applicants 2 weeks before the first date of the Practical Grade exam session. The notes and forms for the March-April 2025 session can also be downloaded from below:
  Notes to Applicants and Candidates
  ABRSM Candidate Identification Form (For candidates whose identification documents have no photo)
  ABRSM Exam Programme & Running Order Form (For Prep Test, Initial Grade and Grade 1-8 Exams)
  ARSM Programme Form (For ARSM Music Performance Exams Only)
• For Choral Singing and Ensembles, "Exam Appointment" emails will be sent to the applicants by ABRSM 4 weeks before the first date of the exam session. It is subject to the schedule of ABRSM. Please contact the HKEAA if the email is not received 2 weeks before the first date of the exam session.

• For Practical Grade and Performance Grade Exams (Initial Grade and Grades 1-8), examination results and digital mark forms will be released to the applicants' ABRSM accounts within 1 week of the examination date or submission of the examination video.

From 23 May 2024 onwards, applicants can access the digital certificates for successful candidates in their ABRSM accounts as soon as the examination results are released (except Prep Test and Open Music Assessment). Candidates with accounts will also have access to their results and digital certificates 7 days later. Applicants or candidates who would like to receive a paper certificate in addition to digital certificate can place an order in their ABRSM accounts with a payment of HK$30. The paper certificate will be sent to the provided address within 4 months after the order date. The HKEAA will announce the posting dates via this webpage. Please visit ABRSM website for more information regarding digital certificates.

*Applicants or candidates who have not received their ordered paper certificates should contact the HKEAA within 5 months after the placing an order with ABRSM. Otherwise, the certificates will be regarded as successfully received by the applicants or candidates. Uncollected certificates will be destroyed 5 months after the issue of certificates. After that, requests for uncollected certificate will be regarded as applications for replacement of certificates and supplementary fees will be levied.

Examination delivery concerns (applicable to face-to-face examinations) and result review requests must be submitted to ARBSM within 3 weeks of release of result online. For details, please visit ABRSM website.

• For Prep Test and Open Music Assessment, no marks will be awarded and candidates will receive a paper certificate with the examiner's comments at the end of their assessment.

Top

Upon the introduction of digital certificates on 23 May 2024, applicants or candidates can requests a reprint of certificate in their ABRSM accounts with a payment of HK$198. If the examination record cannot be found in your ABRSM account and a reprint order cannot be placed, please send the below information to ABRSM in the UK at certificatereprints@abrsm.ac.uk for further assistance.

Applicant Name

Applicant Contact ID

Candidate Name

Candidate Contact ID

Exam Type e.g. Music Theory, Practical Grade, Performance Grade

Grade & Instrument/Subject

Exam Date

Top

Applicants and candidates should observe the most updated information and regulations on ABRSM website:
https://www.abrsm.org/en-hk/about-our-exams/exam-regulations

Examination Syllabuses are available from the ABRSM website:
https://www.abrsm.org/en-hk/about-our-exams/syllabuses

Sheet Music
When taking face-to-face Practical Grade Exams, playing one or more of the prepared pieces from memory is optional. Candidates playing from memory must bring copies of the pieces for the examiner's use. No one is allowed to listen outside the examination room, nor is anyone allowed to remain near the door except the waiting room supervisors or other representatives of the ABRSM. Candidates may not bring any unauthorized material or equipment into the examination room. Any candidate infringing this rule may be disqualified.

If photocopies are to be used for this purpose, it is the candidate's responsibility to obtain written permission from the publisher/copyright holder. In the UK, certain publishers allow photocopies to be made for the examiner's use - for full details, see the MPA's Code of Fair Practice at www.mpaonline.org.hk.

Wrong Music Pieces
Candidates offering a wrong piece or study or not being prepared to perform the whole of the work specified in the current or previous year's syllabus for the Grade under examination will be liable to disqualification. Teachers and candidates are requested to pay particular attention to the current "Exam Information & Regulations".

Accompanists
Candidates must provide their own accompanist in instruments where an accompaniment is required. Their teacher may act as the accompanist but the examiner will not do so. Accompanists must therefore be punctual. Particular attention should be paid to the capability of the accompanist. A poor accompanist can jeopardize the success of a soloist particularly in the higher grades where the set pieces call for a high degree of technical proficiency from both players.

Stringed & Wind Instruments
Candidates examined in stringed or wind instruments are reminded that their instruments need to be tuned to the piano in the examination room immediately before the examination either by themselves or the accompanist. According to the syllabus, in Initial Grade to Grade 5, the teacher or accompanist may tune the candidate's instrument (or advise on tuning) before the exam begins. The examiner will not do so. In Grade 6 to Grade 8 and ARSM, candidates must tune their instruments themselves.

Percussion, Organ, Harpsichord and Choral Singing
The above examinations can only take place at an approved venue as a Private Visit. Applicants and candidates planning to host a Private Visit should make their own arrangements for the examination venue. Please refer to the “Private Visits for Instrumental and Singing Exams” section below for more information.

Private Visits for Instrumental and Singing Exams
Private Visits take place at an approved venue provided by a teacher, school or other organisation. Only candidates of the Visit Organiser or their Permitted Applicants can take examinations at a Private Visit. The minimum examination time for each Visit is 3 hours, unless there are candidates examined in Percussion, Organ, Harpsichord or Choral Singing.

As stipulated in ABRSM "Exam Regulations", Visit Organisers hosting a Private Visit have a duty of care towards examiners as well as candidates and their escorts and, as such, they are advised to carry out a risk assessment and to make appropriate arrangements to comply with health and safety legislation. ABRSM or the HKEAA cannot accept liability for any damage, injury, expense or loss (including consequential loss) incurred during the course of a Visit.

Private Visit requests must be submitted to the HKEAA by email (ie@hkeaa.edu.hk) at least 1 month prior to the start of the booking period of the examination session. In case the venue has not been approved by ABRSM, Visit Organiser should request approval by submitting an approval request to ABRSM via his/her ABRSM account. A completed Venue Approval Application Form and the required documents listed in the form must also be submitted to the HKEAA together with the Private Visit request. Requests submitted after the start of the booking period will not be entertained. For details, please visit ABRSM website.

Top

Personal data of applicants/candidates are used by the HKEAA and ABRSM (the “Examination Board”) for delivery of examination and assessment services. Whether you provide the requested personal data is voluntary. However, if you fail to provide all the data, or if any of the data are inaccurate or incomplete, the HKEAA and the Examination Board may not be able to accept your entry or provide all or part of the examination and assessment services. The personal data submitted may also be used for:

• Assisting tertiary institutions and other government/public organisations in their admission processes;
• Assisting tertiary institutions and other government/public organisations in respect of their requests for information in granting scholarships;
• Assisting tertiary institutions and other government/public organisations to confirm the candidates' eligibility for financial assistance or other forms of subsidization, in which case, the necessary personal data of the candidates may have to be disclosed to the concerned organisations for verification;
• Certifying candidates' examination results in response to legitimate requests;
• Processing any refund or payment in relation to the examination;
• Conducting educational research and analysis in an anonymous format in which the identities of candidates are not traceable; and
• Marketing the services and products of the Examination Board (including examination services, courses, events, publications, and other examination materials or resources) subject to the consent of the applicants/candidates.*

The HKEAA and the Examination Board may also transfer the personal data of applicants/candidates between them and to third parties for use for the above purpose or other directly related purposes, whether in or outside Hong Kong, including government/public organizations, regulatory bodies, schools and educational institutions, banks (for processing refund or payment), and service providers/personnel providing various administrative or technical services to facilitate the delivery of the examination and assessment services including but not limited to data punching, registration process, verification of identity, dispatch of examination documents, and the capture, disposal or other processing of data.

In compliance with the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, access to all personal data will be made available, on payment of a fee, to anyone who can establish his/her right to be informed of such data as are retained by the HKEAA. Please also note that applicants’/candidates’ personal data/correspondence/other information received by the HKEAA may be transferred to the Examination Board concerned for delivery of examination and assessment services and for any of the abovementioned purposes or other directly related purposes. In general, upon completion of an examination or examination series and all the connecting examination services, the HKEAA will transfer all such data to the Examination Board who will then assume full control of such data. By then, applicants/candidates should approach the Examination Board direct for their personal data/information handling policies if necessary.

 * If you have given consent to the Authority but wish to withdraw your consent for your personal data to be used for this purpose, please send a letter of request to the Authority.

Top