Under certain prescribed conditions, currently registered students in good standing may receive course credit by taking an examination without formally enrolling in a course. Students must be registered either in the current quarter or semester, or in the spring quarter or semester prior to a summer session in which the examination is taken.

The petition is subject to the approval of the instructor giving the examination, the chair of the department/academic unit offering the course, and the dean department involved. Full instructions for the Credit by Examination process are found in the Petition for Credit by Examination form.

The final result of a student’s work in an examination for credit shall be reported to the Registrar in terms of the following grades: A, B, C, D, F, P, NP, S, U. The "I" grade (incomplete) is not acceptable. Optional P/NP or S/U grading is subject to approval by the appropriate dean. This approval must be attached to the petition before submitting it to the University Registrar’s Office.

To earn credit through the credit by examination process, the examination must be given by a UC Davis instructor and be for a course listed in the General Catalog. Students are not eligible to take a credit by examination in a quarter in which they are not currently enrolled.