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PSI and Pearson VUE enforce the same core conditions: one person, one screen, a cleared desk, no leaving your seat, no talking. If you have tested successfully with one, you will not be caught out by the other's principles. The differences are in the software you install, the mechanics of check-in, and the details of what each permits on the desk.
Those details are exactly where candidates who switch platforms get tripped up, because they carry over assumptions that no longer apply.
You do not choose. The certification vendor does, and some vendors use different platforms for different exams. ISACA certifications such as CISA, CISM, and CRISC are commonly delivered through PSI. Some CompTIA and Microsoft exams have used PSI alongside or instead of Pearson VUE at various points.
Check your booking confirmation rather than assuming. The platform determines which software you install and which rules apply, and getting this wrong means preparing for the wrong check-in.
Both platforms require a dedicated application that locks down your machine for the session. PSI's is usually branded around its Bridge platform; Pearson VUE's is OnVUE.
Practical similarities: both take over the screen, block other applications, require administrator rights to install, and refuse to run alongside screen sharing, remote desktop, or virtual machine software. Both require a single display.
Practical differences worth preparing for: the platforms support slightly different operating system versions at any given time, and each has its own quirks with antivirus and endpoint security software. A machine that runs one will usually run the other, but "usually" is not a reason to skip the system check. Run the check for the platform you will actually use.
Pearson VUE check-in is largely self-service at the start: you submit photographs of yourself, your ID, and your workspace, then wait in a queue for a proctor to review them and release you.
PSI check-in more often involves connecting to a live proctor earlier in the process, who walks you through identity verification and the room scan interactively rather than reviewing submitted photographs.
Neither is harder, but they feel different. The PSI approach gives you a person to ask questions of sooner. The Pearson VUE approach front-loads the paperwork and back-loads the wait. Either way, arrive 30 minutes early, because both can take longer than expected at busy times.
Both require a government-issued photo ID that matches your registration name exactly, physical rather than digital, unexpired, and legible on camera.
The failure mode is identical on both platforms and worth repeating: a name mismatch cannot be fixed at check-in. If your account says one name and your ID says another, correct it in advance with the vendor.
Some vendors require a second form of identification. That requirement comes from the vendor, not the platform, so check your appointment confirmation rather than the platform's general guidance.
Both platforms scan your workspace, and both look for the same things: additional screens, paper, people, and anything within reach that could hold information.
Expect on either platform to show the desk surface, underneath the desk, the walls around you, and often your ears and wrists. PSI's scan is more often guided live by the proctor; Pearson VUE's more often begins with photographs you capture yourself.
The preparation is the same regardless. Clear the desk completely, unplug the second monitor rather than switching it off, provide a plain background, and put your phone in another room.
This is where assumptions carried between platforms cause problems.
Pearson VUE commonly permits one small erasable whiteboard, subject to the vendor. PSI has historically been more likely to permit laminated note sheets provided with specific instructions, and its rules on writing surfaces differ from Pearson VUE's.
Water is usually permitted on both in a clear, unlabelled container, but both defer to the vendor, and some vendors prohibit it.
Prohibited on both, without exception worth relying on: phones, smartwatches, headphones and earbuds of any kind, paper, notebooks, food, and additional monitors.
The rule to internalise: never assume a permission transfers between platforms or between vendors. Check the candidate agreement for your specific exam.
Both PSI and Pearson VUE set platform rules. Your certification vendor sets its own rules on top, and where they conflict, the vendor's rule is what gets enforced against you. A vendor can prohibit something the platform allows.
This is also true of consequences. If your session is terminated, the platform records what happened, but the vendor decides whether you forfeit the fee, wait before retaking, or face a ban. Appeals go to the vendor.
Candidates working across several certifications often use both. A short habit prevents most problems:
That last point is the cheapest insurance available. If you cannot remember whether your whiteboard is permitted, sit the exam without it.
Platform capabilities, permitted items, and check-in procedures change over time and are ultimately governed by your certification vendor. Confirm the current rules in your vendor's candidate agreement and your appointment confirmation before test day.
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