# PECB open-book exam: tab and notes template

Rules come from PECB's version 1.5 Candidate Handbooks for the ISO/IEC 42001, ISO 22301 and ISO/IEC 27701 Lead Implementer exams, read on 2 October 2026. Suggestions are marked as ours. Check PECB's Exam Rules and Policies page before your exam in case anything has changed. This template does not reproduce any ISO standard: fill it in from your own copy, in your own words.

## What you may bring (PECB rule)

- [ ] A hard copy of the standard your exam is about (on paper; a PDF on a screen does not count)
- [ ] Your training course materials, through the PECB Exams app or printed
- [ ] Any personal notes you took during the training course, through the app or printed

## Tab the standard (our suggestion)

Check the contents page of your copy first. If its requirements run from clause 4 to clause 10, tab each one on the side edge in one color, and each annex on the top edge in a second color. Label tabs with the number and a word or two of your own.

| Tab | Clause or annex | Page | Tab color | Domain it serves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clause 4 | | | |
| 2 | Clause 5 | | | |
| 3 | Clause 6 | | | |
| 4 | Clause 7 | | | |
| 5 | Clause 8 | | | |
| 6 | Clause 9 | | | |
| 7 | Clause 10 | | | |
| 8 | Annex ___ | | | |
| 9 | Annex ___ | | | |
| 10 | Annex ___ | | | |

## One-page notes index (our suggestion)

Build it during the course, on days 1 to 4, so it stays inside PECB's wording: personal notes taken during the training course. Put a letter before each page number: **S** for the standard, **M** for course materials, **N** for your notes. Example: M-47.

| Clause or topic | Page | My note | Domain it serves |
|---|---|---|---|
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## Sort by domain weight (from the handbooks)

Copy your own exam's domain table from its Candidate Handbook. The heaviest domains in our three examples:

| Exam | Heaviest domains (questions out of 80) |
|---|---|
| ISO/IEC 42001 Lead Implementer | Planning 20, implementation 18, fundamental principles and concepts 17 |
| ISO 22301 Lead Implementer | Planning 18, implementation 18, monitoring and measurement 12 |
| ISO/IEC 27701 Lead Implementer | Implementation 23, planning 15, monitoring and measurement 12 |

## Before the day

- [ ] The standard is a hard copy, tabbed (PECB rule for the copy; tabs are our suggestion)
- [ ] Paper exam: course materials and notes printed, since no electronic devices are allowed (our reading; confirm with your partner)
- [ ] Online exam: you have practiced moving around your materials in the PECB Exams app (our suggestion)
- [ ] Timed lookup test: pick topics at random from your index and find each one. A question gets 2 minutes 15 seconds on average, so if a lookup eats a large share of that, fix the tab or the index (our suggestion)
- [ ] Valid ID ready: national ID card, driver's license or passport (PECB rule)
- [ ] Plan to be there, or present online, 30 minutes before the start (PECB rule)
- [ ] Nothing from inside an exam goes into your notes or index. Disclosing exam content breaks PECB's Code of Ethics (PECB rule)