A valid passport can still get you turned away at the door.
Before your session you check your passport's expiry date. That is the right instinct, but the wrong check. The invigilator does not only confirm that your document is in date.
The trap
On the day, only the exact document you declared when registering is accepted. A passport renewed since then, perfectly valid, no longer carries the number on your file: it is refused.
The invigilator compares the name, the photo and the document number against what was recorded at registration. The check is a match, not just a validity date.
Key points
- A different document, even a valid one, is not accepted in place of the declared one.
- No photocopy, no scan, no photo on your phone: the physical original.
- Being turned away costs you the session, new fees and a wait before you can sit again.
Why this mistake goes unnoticed
Nobody re-reads their registration confirmation a month after it arrived. Yet that email is what fixes the type and number of the expected document. A passport renewed between registering and sitting, a missing middle name, first names in the wrong order: the mismatch is enough, even when you are obviously the right person.
The two-minute check to run tonight
Open your confirmation email, note the document type and number, and compare them letter by letter with the ID you plan to bring. If anything has changed, write to your centre before the session, not on the morning of the exam. With that settled, only your level is left to work on.
Ready to reach CLB 7?
Two minutes of checking tonight, or a session lost at the door of the room.
Assess your level for free and practice in the official TCF Canada format.