Turn your room into a PSI testing space

Short answer: Choose a quiet, private room with a closable door. Clear the desk and reachable area. Position the camera head-on, light your face from the front, remove prohibited items and extra electronics, and make sure you can show every wall, the desk, floor, ceiling, and yourself during check-in.

A bedroom or private home office can work when it has a door and no one else needs access. A kitchen, living room, open office, library, vehicle, outdoor area, or shared workspace is a poor fit because privacy and interruption are hard to control.

Before committing to the room, ask:

• Can I close the door for check-in and the entire exam?
• Can every person and pet stay out?
• Can I stop deliveries, calls, alarms, and announcements?
• Can the camera show all walls, desk, floor, and ceiling?
• Can I remain in the same chair and camera view without a break?
• Can the computer use reliable power and internet here?

Reduce the workstation to the equipment needed to run the exam. For the Illinois remote broker exam, the practical target is:

• The approved desktop or laptop.
• One active camera, movable when the computer is not.
• One active microphone and the computer's speakers.
• A connected power cable.
• A mouse and plain mousepad if needed.
• Your accepted ID for check-in, handled as the proctor directs.

Show the full desk during check-in, including beneath a laptop or keyboard. Empty nearby drawers, shelves, chair arms, and reachable floor space of anything that could look like a reference or device.

A bookshelf in the background does not automatically disqualify the room. PSI says background bookshelves are acceptable when you do not access them. The proctor can still direct you to change the setup, so keep the immediate testing area visibly clean.

Put the camera directly in front of you, near eye level, with a clear view of your face and eyes. Frame the working position so your hands remain visible without forcing you to sit unnaturally.

• Open any privacy shutter before the system check.
• Keep hair, hats, glare, and large accessories from blocking your face.
• Stabilize an external webcam so it cannot drift after the scan.
• Disconnect extra cameras before launch.
• Do not unplug the active camera while the exam is open.

A laptop user can move the entire computer for the scan. A desktop user needs an external webcam that can show the required views without disconnecting.

Confirm the computer itself meets the Illinois PSI remote system requirements before perfecting the room.

Place a lamp or other even light in front of you, aimed toward your face. Avoid a bright window or strong lamp behind you because the camera can turn your face into a silhouette. Remove glare from glasses and the screen without making the room dim.

Follow the check-in prompts and proctor directions. PSI's current room guidance says candidates should expect to show:

1. All four walls in a 360-degree sweep.
2. The entire desk surface.
3. The area underneath the laptop or keyboard.
4. The floor beneath and around the testing space.
5. The ceiling and upper room area.
6. Your wrists, ears, glasses, and other accessories.

Move slowly enough to produce a clear image. Do not conceal part of the room or rush past the desk. A check-in specialist reviews the setup before the proctor releases the exam.

Have one accepted, current, valid, unexpired government-issued ID with a photograph and signature ready. The first and last name must match the PSI booking. A U.S. military ID is not accepted for remote testing.

PSI may direct you to use a phone to capture the ID during check-in. That does not make the phone an allowed testing device. Keep it off the desk and out of reach once the proctor directs you to store it. Do not retrieve it to troubleshoot during the exam.

Review accepted documents in the Illinois PSI identification guide before exam day.

1. Tell everyone the room is unavailable until you announce otherwise.
2. Place pets in a different secure area with another caretaker.
3. Lock or block the door only when it is safe to do so.
4. Silence doorbells, smart speakers, alarms, and computer notifications.
5. Pause deliveries and put a clear do-not-disturb note outside.
6. Close windows if traffic, neighbors, or construction may be heard.
7. Ask others to avoid streaming so they protect your bandwidth too.

Another person entering can stop the examination. Build the setup around prevention, not an explanation you hope the proctor will accept afterward.

After release into the exam:

• Remain in the approved room and camera view.
• Keep your face, eyes, and hands visible as directed.
• Do not talk, whisper, read aloud, or mouth the questions.
• Do not cover your mouth or repeatedly look away from the screen.
• Do not reach for a phone, paper, calculator, food, or drink.
• Do not let anyone enter or communicate with you.
• Use the official chat or proctor channel if a problem occurs.

Breaks are not allowed for this remote exam. Use the restroom before launch and remain seated unless the proctor gives a specific instruction.

Run the PSI tutorial in this same room with the same equipment. A technically compatible computer in a different location does not prove this room's network, lighting, or camera setup will work.

Change to a test-center appointment when:

• You cannot prevent entry by another person or pet.
• The only available space is shared, public, or noisy.
• The room cannot support a complete camera scan.
• You need a restroom break during the exam.
• You rely on scratch paper or a physical calculator.
• Your power, internet, lighting, or equipment is unreliable.

Compare the formats in the Illinois PSI remote versus test-center guide and protect the current appointment-change deadline.

• PSI remote online proctored exam room setup guide
• PSI online proctoring system requirements
• PSI Illinois Candidate Information Booklet dated June 24, 2026
• PSI Illinois Real Estate Examination Program

Your appointment confirmation, check-in prompts, proctor instructions, and testing rules govern the booked session.