What is live proctoring?
In live proctoring, a trained person watches candidates in real time while they sit an online exam and can step in during the exam instead of only reviewing a recording afterward. On Proctorly, live online proctoring is added on top of everything the other levels already do: identity checks, AI monitoring for known threats and human review of every flag.
The evidence record and your decision process stay in place when a live proctor is watching. Anything the proctor sees during the exam is recorded on the same timeline, reviewed with a reason and passed to your institution only if it may be an incident. Neither a live proctor nor an automated flag imposes a sanction.
Two levels of live remote proctoring
Proctorly has two live assurance levels, and you can choose them per exam.
Live pop-in
A live proctor watches a group of candidates. When a signal fires, such as a second device in view or a candidate leaving the frame, the proctor steps in by chat or audio, and every flag is still reviewed and recorded. Live pop-in suits higher-stakes sittings like competitive entrance exams, where you want a person ready to act in the moment.
Live dedicated
Here a proctor watches a small group for the whole exam, beginning with a live check-in where the proctor confirms each candidate’s identity. Live dedicated suits certification and licensing exams, where boards expect a person to have watched the sitting, and it pairs well with photo ID capture and active liveness. See how identity verification for online exams works at each level.
How a live-proctored exam runs
- Before the exam. Your team sets the paper, the rules and the assurance level. Candidates book a slot (if you allow self-booking) and receive their exam link, which says whether the exam also needs the Proctorly desktop app on Windows.
- Check-in. The candidate’s face is verified and photo ID is captured if the exam asks for it. At the Live dedicated level, the proctor confirms identity in a live check-in.
- The sitting. The exam runs in a locked browser session. The AI watches for known threats, and on-screen reminders nudge candidates before anything is flagged, while the live proctor watches and steps in by chat or audio when needed.
- Review. Every flag, whether the AI raised it or the proctor noted it, gets a recorded decision with a reason in the reviewer console.
- Decision. Your institution receives reviewed cases with clips, timeline and reasons, and decides through its own committee and appeal process.
Throughout, your exam office can follow every sitting in the exam-day control room and see who has started, who has been flagged and who needs help.
Proctoring as a Service: our people, your rules
With Proctoring as a Service, our trained proctors and reviewers handle the review or live proctoring for your exams.
- Hours. Available 24×7 during exams, so candidates in different time zones and late evening slots are covered.
- Language. Review and proctoring in English.
- Staffing. One proctor for every 40 candidates.
- Review speed. 95 of every 100 flags reviewed within 5 minutes. The rest are still reviewed, just later, and institutions can set their own turnaround.
- Candidate support. Candidates can reach support 24×7 during exams through the help link on the exam screen.
Your institution names who makes the final decision and how candidates appeal. Our people review and record, and they don’t change marks, set your policies or impose sanctions.
Live, reviewed or recorded: choosing the right level
Human proctoring comes in several forms, and how much human attention an exam needs depends on what is at stake.
| Level | Who watches | When a person sees it | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recorded | Your staff, after the exam | When they open a flagged case | Quizzes, internal assessments |
| Every flag reviewed | A Proctorly reviewer | Each flag, usually within minutes | End-semester exams, entrance exams |
| Live pop-in | A Proctorly proctor watching a group | In real time, when a signal fires | Higher-stakes sittings |
| Live dedicated | A Proctorly proctor watching a small group | In real time, throughout | Certification and licensing |
Many institutions mix levels across one exam season, using Recorded for weekly quizzes, Every flag reviewed for end-semester papers and a live level for entrance or professional exams. Our page on human review proctoring explains how review works at every level.
Live proctoring software and service on one platform
Some institutions want live proctoring software to run with their own invigilators, and others want the whole service. The platform is the same in both cases. The exam runs inside Proctorly, identity checks and flags land on one timeline, and every case keeps its evidence pack and tamper-evident audit trail.
This matters when a result is challenged. Whoever watched the exam, your staff or ours, the appeal panel gets the same kind of record: what was flagged, what the proctor or reviewer saw, the reason they gave and who decided. Ask us which parts of live proctoring your own staff can run on the platform for your exams.
More services from the same team
Proctoring is our lead service, but an exam season needs more than proctors. You can add these services on their own or together.
Exam Operations as a Service
Our team runs the exam cycle with you, covering scheduling, candidate support on exam day, incident handling and results. It suits exam offices running a large season with a small team, where timetables, identity checks, review, marking and results all land on the same people.
Question Bank and Test Development
Subject experts build and review outcome-mapped questions, which go straight into your Proctorly question bank, ready for papers. See our question bank software.
Content as a Service and Program Launch as a Service
For institutions using AcademicOS, our team works with your faculty to build course content and launch online programs. Faculty approve everything before learners see it. Course drafts are built in Studio, our AI course creator.
Frequently asked questions
What is live proctoring, and how is it different from recorded proctoring?
In live proctoring, a trained person watches candidates in real time and can step in by chat or audio during the exam. In recorded proctoring, the session is recorded and flags are reviewed afterward. On Proctorly, both use the same identity checks, AI flags and evidence record, and Live pop-in and Live dedicated add a watching proctor for higher-stakes exams.
Does the live proctor decide whether a candidate cheated?
No. A live proctor can remind a candidate of the rules or ask them to adjust the camera, and records what they see. Each flag gets a reviewed decision with a reason, and possible incidents go to your institution, where a committee makes the finding through your own process. Neither a proctor nor an automated flag imposes a sanction, and an ended session is never treated as a finding of misconduct.
When are your live proctors available, and in which language?
Our proctors and reviewers are available 24×7 during exams, in English, with one proctor for every 40 candidates. At the review levels, 95 of every 100 flags are reviewed within 5 minutes, and the rest are still reviewed, just later. Send us your exam calendar and time zones and we’ll plan coverage around them.
Can we use live proctoring for some exams and recorded review for others?
Yes. You choose the assurance level for each exam on one platform. Many institutions use Recorded for quizzes, Every flag reviewed for end-semester exams, and Live pop-in or Live dedicated for entrance, certification or licensing exams. Candidates use the same exam link and devices at every level, and your exam office sees every sitting in one control room.
How do we get a quote for live proctoring services?
Book a demo and share your exam calendar, the number of candidates per sitting and the exams you want proctored live. We’ll propose an assurance level for each exam and a setup plan, then quote for the services you need before you commit. There’s no free trial, because every exam needs setup, but you can watch a full walkthrough first.