> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.evalezy.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Open an exam > Opens a draft exam so it accepts submissions. The exam needs at least one question, and every rubric must add up to its question's max marks. Opening an exam that is already open changes nothing. **Scope:** `evaluation:write` ## OpenAPI ````yaml /api-reference/openapi.json post /exams/{examId}/open openapi: 3.0.1 info: title: Evalezy AI Evaluation API version: v1 description: >- Create exams, register candidates, submit scanned answer copies or typed answers, and read question-wise AI marks with feedback. Results are drafts until you finalize them. Server-to-server only: never ship an API key inside a browser or mobile app. English answers only for now (Hindi and regional languages are on the roadmap). contact: name: Evalezy email: hello@evalezy.com url: https://evalezy.com servers: - url: https://api.evalezy.com/v1 description: Production security: - ApiKey: [] tags: - name: Exams description: Create, open, edit and look up exams. - name: Questions description: Add, edit and remove the questions of an exam. - name: Rubrics description: Marking criteria and model answers for long-answer questions. - name: Choice groups description: Internal choice ("attempt any N of M"). Beta, enabled on request. - name: Candidates description: >- Your students, keyed by your own external_id, and their exam registrations. - name: Uploads description: Presigned uploads for scanned answer copies (PDF). - name: Submissions description: Submit a copy or typed answers for a candidate and track its evaluation. - name: Results description: Question-wise marks, feedback and the checked (annotated) copy. - name: Review description: Teacher overrides, approval, finalize and unfinalize. - name: Credits description: Credit balance, rate card and price quotes. - name: Account description: Check which institute and scopes an API key has. paths: /exams/{examId}/open: post: tags: - Exams summary: Open an exam description: >- Opens a draft exam so it accepts submissions. The exam needs at least one question, and every rubric must add up to its question's max marks. Opening an exam that is already open changes nothing. **Scope:** `evaluation:write` operationId: openExam parameters: - name: examId in: path required: true schema: type: string format: uuid description: Exam id (UUID). - name: Idempotency-Key in: header required: false schema: type: string maxLength: 255 example: exam-cbse-sci-10a-2026-10-14 description: >- Optional. Any unique string of 1-255 printable ASCII characters (a UUID works). Retrying with the same key within 48 hours replays the first response with `Idempotent-Replayed: true`. responses: '200': description: OK content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Exam' '401': $ref: '#/components/responses/Error401' '403': $ref: '#/components/responses/Error403' '404': $ref: '#/components/responses/Error404' '409': $ref: '#/components/responses/Error409' '422': $ref: '#/components/responses/Error422' '429': $ref: '#/components/responses/Error429' components: schemas: Exam: type: object properties: id: type: string status: type: string mode: type: string title: type: string external_ref: type: string conducted_on: type: string subject: type: string level: type: string board: type: string answer_language: type: string feedback_language: type: string instructions: type: string blind: type: boolean total_marks: type: number format: double paper_max: type: number format: double question_count: type: integer format: int32 dashboard_url: type: string questions: type: array items: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Question' choice_groups: type: array items: $ref: '#/components/schemas/ChoiceGroup' candidates: type: array items: type: object additionalProperties: type: object rubric: $ref: '#/components/schemas/RubricSummary' quote: type: object additionalProperties: type: object stats: type: object additionalProperties: type: object warnings: type: array items: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Warning' opened_at: type: string finalized_at: type: string created_at: type: string updated_at: type: string class: type: string Question: type: object properties: id: type: string label: type: string parent_label: type: string section: type: string type: type: string text: type: string max_marks: type: number format: double negative_marks: type: number format: double options: type: array items: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Option' correct_options: type: array items: type: string answer: type: object model_answer: type: string rubric: type: object additionalProperties: type: object word_limit: type: integer format: int32 expects_diagram: type: boolean assess_language: type: boolean tags: type: object additionalProperties: type: object external_id: type: string rubric_version: type: integer format: int32 rubric_sync: type: string warnings: type: array items: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Warning' ChoiceGroup: type: object properties: id: type: string label: type: string question_labels: type: array items: type: string question_ids: type: array items: type: string attempt: type: integer format: int32 policy: type: string RubricSummary: type: object properties: version: type: integer format: int32 locked: type: boolean questions_with_rubric: type: integer format: int32 questions_without_rubric: type: integer format: int32 sync: type: string sync_error: type: object additionalProperties: type: object Warning: type: object description: >- A non-fatal note about the request, e.g. `auto_rubric` or `pages_beyond_vision_limit`. properties: code: type: string message: type: string field: type: string nullable: true Error: type: object description: >- Every error uses this envelope. Branch on `error.code`; the message is for humans. properties: error: type: object properties: code: type: string description: Stable machine code, e.g. `validation_failed`. example: validation_failed message: type: string description: Human-readable explanation. example: questions[1].max_marks must be a multiple of 0.5. request_id: type: string description: >- Quote this when you contact support (also sent as the X-Request-Id header). details: type: object description: >- Extra context. For `validation_failed`, `details.errors` lists every failing field. additionalProperties: true Option: type: object properties: label: type: string option_id: type: string text: type: string responses: Error401: description: Missing or invalid API key. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error' example: error: code: invalid_api_key message: The API key is not valid. request_id: req_4f9c2a7e1b3d4c8a9e6f0b2d5a7c1e3f Error403: description: >- The key lacks the required scope, or the API is not enabled for the institute. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error' example: error: code: insufficient_scope message: This API key lacks the evaluation:write scope. request_id: req_4f9c2a7e1b3d4c8a9e6f0b2d5a7c1e3f details: required_scope: evaluation:write Error404: description: Not found (ids of other institutes are also 404). content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error' example: error: code: not_found message: The resource was not found. request_id: req_4f9c2a7e1b3d4c8a9e6f0b2d5a7c1e3f Error409: description: Conflict with the current state. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error' example: error: code: conflict message: The request conflicts with the current state. request_id: req_4f9c2a7e1b3d4c8a9e6f0b2d5a7c1e3f Error422: description: The request is valid JSON but breaks a rule. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error' example: error: code: validation_failed message: questions[0].max_marks is required. request_id: req_4f9c2a7e1b3d4c8a9e6f0b2d5a7c1e3f details: errors: - field: questions[0].max_marks code: required message: max_marks is required. Error429: description: Rate limit or daily quota reached. Retry after the Retry-After header. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error' example: error: code: rate_limited message: Too many requests. Retry after 2 s. request_id: req_4f9c2a7e1b3d4c8a9e6f0b2d5a7c1e3f securitySchemes: ApiKey: type: apiKey in: header name: X-API-Key description: >- Your institute's API key, `vak_eval_` followed by 48 hex characters. An institute admin creates keys in the dashboard under Settings -> Integrations -> API keys. ```` This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.