Frequently asked questions

In order to pursue the Pillar Two Award, you must hold an address and bank account in an eligible country. You must also hold an email address.

No. As the Pillar Two Award is open to international tax professionals and students in countries around the world, from a range of professional and academic backgrounds, there are no prerequisite qualifications that you need to hold in order to be eligible.

However, we advise that the Pillar Two Award is roughly equivalent to approximately a Level 5 UK qualification (which broadly equates to the second year of a UK undergraduate degree).

Student registration for the Pillar Two Award costs £125.

When you register onto the qualification and pay this fee, you will then have two years in which to pass the exam and complete the qualification.

Student registration for the Pillar Two Award is valid for two years.

You will therefore have two years, or up to four exam attempts, in which to sit and pass the exam without having to renew your student registration.

Should you be unable to sit or pass your exam during the two-year registration period, you will be able to re-register for a further two years; however, the full student registration fee will again be payable.

Yes. The Pillar Two Award is a separate, standalone qualification and does not form part of the main ADIT qualification, so you will need to register separately (and pay the student registration fee) in order to pursue the Pillar Two Award.

To complete the Pillar Two Award, you must successfully sit and pass one exam. The exam will last for 3 hours and 15 minutes, and will consist of eight questions (of which you are required to answer five).

The exam consists of a mixture of theoretical, essay-based and practical, scenario-based questions.

Once your Pillar Two Award student registration application has been processed and approved, you will be eligible to enter for the exam during the next available exam session.

You can find the exam timetable here.

Exam entry for the Pillar Two Award costs £275.

As with the main ADIT qualification, exams for the Pillar Two Award are delivered online and remotely, via a dedicated online exam system running on your laptop or desktop computer.

You will be able to sit the exam at your choice of location, such as your home.

You can find more information about online ADIT exams here.

The Pillar Two exam is available to sit every six months, in June and December.

The first exam sitting will take place in June 2026. You can find the exam timetable here.

Yes, if you are unsuccessful you will be able to re-enter and retake your exam during the next available exam session.

You will be able to retake your exam as many times as needed during the two-year period of your Pillar Two Award student registration; as the exam is held every six months, it is therefore possible to attempt the exam up to four times without having to renew your registration.

Each exam entry incurs the full exam entry fee, so you will need to pay to retake your exam.

No. The Pillar Two Award is a separate, standalone qualification and does not form part of the main ADIT qualification.

To achieve the main ADIT qualification, you must complete three ADIT modules.

You can prepare to sit the Pillar Two exam either via self-study, or by enrolling with a recognised course provider.

The total learning time necessary to study for and complete the Pillar Two Award is dependent on a number of factors, including the candidate’s background, knowledge and experience of international taxation and the BEPS Pillars, and the study method(s) selected. However, candidates are likely to spend an average total study time of approximately 100 hours in preparation for the Pillar Two Award exam.

The Pillar Two Award is not accredited or regulated by Ofqual, so is not listed on the UK’s Regulated Qualification Framework (RQF), the earlier Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) and National Qualifications Framework (NQF), or any other country’s national qualification framework.

However, if we were to apply a notional level to the Pillar Two Award, it would be approximately Level 5 on the UK framework (which broadly equates to the second year of a UK undergraduate degree).

You can find the syllabus for the Pillar Two Award, which shows the topics that you will need to learn in preparation for the exam, here.

The syllabus will be updated annually in October, with the new syllabus to apply to the following year's exams.

So, for example, the next syllabus update will take place in October 2026 and will apply to the 2027 exams.

Yes. When you have successfully passed the exam, you will be recognised as having achieved the Pillar Two Award and you will automatically receive your qualification certificate in the post, free of charge.

If you lose your qualification certificate after receiving it, or need a replacement copy, please email us. There is a fee of £70 for replacement certificates, including courier delivery to your nominated address. Payment is accepted via bank transfer.

You may also request an electronic copy of your qualification certificate, free of charge.