United States
Hong KongCan you write in your books?
Permanent index tabs and highlighting are permitted. Loose notes are not. For written annotation beyond tabs and highlighting, verify against the current bulletin rather than assuming.
A question worth getting right before you spend weeks preparing books you cannot bring.
Permitted
Permanent index tabs, and highlighting. Both are standard preparation and both are expected.
Color coding by book and by category falls within this, and it is worth doing.
Not permitted
Loose notes or paper of any kind, and books outside the approved list.
Rules on written annotation are specific and they change. The bulletin governs, and a book refused at the door is a book you sit without. Fifteen minutes reading the current version is cheaper than finding out on the day.
Why loose notes are excluded
Because a summary sheet would be a different examination. The open-book format tests whether you can find your way around the references, and a one-page crib would replace that skill.
Which is why your index has to live inside the books.
The night-before check
Go through every book. Remove receipts, sticky notes and anything tucked between pages. Confirm nothing has been written in beyond what is allowed.
Twenty minutes, and it prevents the worst possible start to a long day.
Tabs are the safe ground
Everything a candidate actually needs can be done with tabs and highlighting. A tab reaching a provision, labeled in your own words on the tab itself, does the work an annotation would. Check the bulletin. Tabs do the work.
That is worth knowing because it means you never have to test the boundary. Build the index out of tabs and the question of what may be written does not arise.
Common questions
Can I write in my NASCLA books?
Permanent index tabs and highlighting are permitted. For anything beyond that, check the current bulletin.
Can I bring notes?
No. Loose notes and paper are not permitted.
Why are notes excluded?
A summary sheet would replace the navigation skill the open-book format tests.
Is color coding allowed?
Yes, as part of tabbing and highlighting, and it saves time on every lookup.
What should I check the night before?
Every book, for receipts, sticky notes and anything written in beyond what is permitted.