The National Exam consists of three parts.
Multiple choice
The first part contains 60 multiple-choice questions. Each question has four answer choices. There is no penalty for guessing; a student's score is equal to the number of questions answered correctly. One and a half hours (90 minutes) are allotted for this first part.
Free response
The second part contains 8 free response questions. Complete written explanations and calculations are required for full credit on a question. Partial credit is awarded. One hour and 30 minutes (90 minutes) are allowed for this section as well.
Lab practical
Beginning in 1994, the lab practical was added to the National Exam. It contains two tasks to be performed by each student with only the specified materials. Past tasks have included chromatography, titration and qualitative analysis.