How to Pass the SIA Door Supervisor Exam First Time
A practical plan for passing all four SIA door supervisor exams, with what to revise each day of the course, the topics that catch people out and tips for exam day.
The door supervisor course ends with four multiple choice papers: Unit 1 (72 questions), the door supervisor paper (50), conflict management (20) and physical intervention (30). Three need 70% and physical intervention needs 80%. None of them is a trick, but together they cover a lot of detail, so a little steady revision goes a long way.
Before the course
- Get your first aid sorted. You need an Emergency First Aid certificate valid for at least 12 months from the course start. Every Door Supervisor course we list includes it, taught in the first half of day one. If you book elsewhere, check before you pay.
- Read the questions out loud. If English isn't your first language, practise reading exam style questions. The SIA expects English at a level where you can follow the course and the papers comfortably.
- Try a mock test cold. Take the SIA Unit 1 mock exam in practice mode before day one. You won't know everything, but you'll see the style of the questions.
During the course
Each evening, spend 30 to 45 minutes on that day's topics while they are fresh:
- Read through your notes from the day.
- Do a quick round of ten questions on the matching mock test.
- Read the explanation for every question you got wrong, and write the key point down.
Short sessions every day work better than one long session the night before the exams.
The topics that catch people out
- Licensing law. Know the four licensing objectives in England and Wales, what makes ID acceptable proof of age, and the offences of selling alcohol to someone who is drunk or under 18.
- Searching. Searches happen with consent, as a condition of entry. Know what to do when someone refuses, withdraws consent or has a religious item or medical device.
- Citizen's arrest. Under section 24A of PACE it only applies to indictable offences. You must have reasonable grounds to believe the arrest is necessary to stop the person causing injury, suffering injury, causing loss of or damage to property, or making off. And it must not be reasonably practicable for a police officer to make the arrest instead.
- Drugs. Know the three classes, and that GHB is Class B. Some older course material still says Class C.
- Physical intervention. With an 80% pass mark you can only drop six questions. Know positional asphyxia and acute behavioural disturbance thoroughly.
In the exam room
- Read every option before you choose. Several will sound sensible.
- Answer everything. A blank answer scores nothing, and there is no penalty for a wrong one.
- Flag the questions you are unsure of and come back to them at the end.
- Watch the clock on Unit 1: 72 questions in 110 minutes is just over 90 seconds each.
Use mock tests the right way
Mock tests are most useful when you treat them as revision, not just a score. Start in practice mode to learn why each answer is right, then sit the full timed paper once you know the topics. When you can pass the SIA door supervisor mock test and the others comfortably two or three times running, you are ready.
Need to see how all the papers fit together? Read how many questions are in the SIA exam.