{"id":50479,"date":"2026-10-02T11:08:52","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T10:08:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rsgb.org\/main\/?page_id=50479"},"modified":"2026-10-11T09:56:03","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T08:56:03","slug":"certificate-of-competency-test-structure","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/rsgb.org\/main\/operating\/morse\/how-the-rsgb-can-help-me\/certificate-of-competency-test-structure\/","title":{"rendered":"Certificate of Competency &#8211; test structure"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-50627\" src=\"https:\/\/rsgb.org\/main\/files\/2026\/09\/Morse-web-page-update-image.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"213\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rsgb.org\/main\/files\/2026\/09\/Morse-web-page-update-image.png 640w, https:\/\/rsgb.org\/main\/files\/2026\/09\/Morse-web-page-update-image-300x100.png 300w, https:\/\/rsgb.org\/main\/files\/2026\/09\/Morse-web-page-update-image-150x50.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Applying for <\/strong><strong>the test is a simple two-stage process<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><strong>Step 1 \u2013 <\/strong>When a candidate is ready to be tested, they should click the button below to complete the application form.<br \/>\n\n<!-- iframe plugin v.2.9 wordpress.org\/plugins\/iframe\/ -->\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/thersgb.org\/iframes\/morse-test-application.html\" width=\"30%\" height=\"40\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n<br \/>\nThe application form includes the option for a candidate to express a preference for either a face-to-face or an online test.<\/h4>\n<h4><strong>Step 2<\/strong><strong> \u2013 <\/strong>The Morse Test Coordinator will contact an Approved Assessor and email contact details to the candidate who can then get in touch with the assessor and arrange the test.<\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Test structure<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4>The lowest speed for which the Certificate is issued is <strong>5wpm<\/strong>.<\/h4>\n<h4>This has been chosen as the threshold to encourage learning the Code, to provide early confidence and to encourage moving forward to higher speeds.<\/h4>\n<h4>It is specifically designed for those who are most comfortable with this rate of progress.<\/h4>\n<h4><strong>There is, however, no barrier to those who wish to enter the scheme at a higher speed.<\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4>Tests are available for <strong>10, 12, 15, 20, 25 and 30 wpm<\/strong>.<\/h4>\n<h4><strong>The Certificate of Competency Morse test will:<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h4>Require the receiving and sending of <strong>QSO<\/strong> Text*, for <strong>three minutes<\/strong> with no more than <strong>four uncorrected errors<\/strong> and<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h4>Require the receiving and sending of numbers, in five-figure groups, for<strong> one minute<\/strong> with no more than <strong>three uncorrected errors<\/strong>.<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>*The <strong>QSO<\/strong> Text section of the test will include <strong>QSO<\/strong> abbreviations, some numbers, as well as the more commonly used punctuation marks such as oblique stroke, question mark, comma, and full stop.<\/h4>\n<h4>Success in this test will merit issuing the Certificate of Competency, after which further certificates can be obtained for a successful test at a higher speed.<\/h4>\n<h4>A requirement of every test taken\u2014regardless of speed\u2014will be that all sending by the assessor must be pre-recorded, or generated by suitable computer software, application or keyer, at guaranteed speeds to ensure integrity of the testing process and thus prevent appeals in this regard.<\/h4>\n<h4>Sending tests may be taken using equipment chosen by the candidate and appropriate for the speed being examined, including straight keys, paddles, bugs and semi-automatic keys, etc.<\/h4>\n<h4><strong>Keyboard-generated<\/strong> Morse is not acceptable for sending tests.<\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What happens during a test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h4>This will be via an online sound and video program such as <strong>Skype<\/strong>, <strong>Zoom, Webex<\/strong> or similar<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h4>The candidate and assessor must ensure that the video cameras are sited so that the assessor and candidate have a clear view of each other\u2014in particular, the assessor must be able to watch the candidate keying during the sending part of the test<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h4>In the event of a failure of video during the test, it may continue using sound only, at the discretion of the assessor<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h4>On completion of a successful test, the Morse Test Coordinator will email a printable Certificate of Competency to the candidate<\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>It should be noted that the RSGB will not pay any expenses incurred by the candidate in connection with undertaking a Morse test.<\/h4>\n<h4>If any of this causes any difficulties, please contact the <strong>Morse Test Coordinator<\/strong> via<strong> <a href=\"mailto:morse.tests@rsgb.org.uk\">morse.tests@rsgb.org.uk<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n<blockquote>\n<h4 class=\"x_elementToProof\" style=\"text-align: left\"><b>The RSGB is always interested to hear from potential assessors for our CW Competency scheme.\u00a0<\/b><b>If you are interested in helping with the scheme and can do online tests at 30wpm, please contact morse.tests@rsgb.org.uk for further information.<\/b><\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Applying for the test is a simple two-stage process Step 1 \u2013 When a candidate is ready to be tested, they should click the button below to complete the application form. The application form includes the option for a candidate to express a preference for either a face-to-face or an online test. Step 2 \u2013 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20395,"featured_media":0,"parent":49850,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-50479","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rsgb.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/50479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rsgb.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rsgb.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rsgb.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20395"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rsgb.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50479"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/rsgb.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/50479\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51033,"href":"https:\/\/rsgb.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/50479\/revisions\/51033"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rsgb.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/49850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rsgb.org\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}