Frequently Asked Questions

Generally speaking, yes, we sell all of the textbooks for each exam. On occasion,  recommended textbooks on the syllabus are out-of-print. Most out-of-print textbooks can be purchased from specialty retailers but typically you will have to pay a significant premium to do so.

The SOA and CAS no longer specify all of the required textbooks for each exam. For the first four exams, actuarial students are now given suggested textbooks or Option A/B/C textbooks as well as the required texts. It is our understanding that this change was made based on the academic theory that it helps boost students’ learning of the material.

All of the required textbooks should be purchased/borrowed for each exam. There is no substitute for the underlying textbook material. Suggested textbooks and the Option A/B/C textbooks are listed because the SOA and CAS have determined that they cover the exam material thoroughly. Our recommendation is to purchase/borrow a Suggested/Option A/B/C textbook that has a corresponding solutions manual. Many, but not all, of the textbooks have helpful solutions manuals. The use of solutions manuals are optional – depending upon the textbook about half of all actuarial students purchase the corresponding solutions manual.

There are many study manuals and other supplemental materials available to actuarial students to help them with the exams. These materials are a “must have” because they significantly cut your study time and improve your chances of passing the exam(s). All study manuals provide you with detailed outlines of the material, and most provide sample problems/exams with detailed solutions. Samples of the manuals are provided by most publishers and these are available as you browse the material listed on our website for each exam. Descriptions of each manual are also provided in this section. All study manuals are produced by well-known and well-respected actuarial educators and publishers.

In addition, the Actuarial Bookstore offers the widest possible array of other helpful tools including flashcards, practice problem/exam & solution sets, DVD seminars as well as registration for live and online seminars. Product descriptions of all products are provided and many samples of each product are also available.

Please note: the Actuarial Bookstore also sells SOA/CAS approved calculators. Please see this FAQ section for important information regarding calculators.

We do not sell these materials. Study notes are only available from the SOA or the CAS.

Our website has complete descriptions on nearly all of our products and where ever possible, we have also listed product samples provided by the publishers. These samples are available for review as you browse the material listed on our website for each exam. After reviewing this information, if you feel that you need further help, please contact us.

Only the approved calculators described in the following paragraphs may be brought into the examination room. Candidates may use the battery or solar-powered models of the following Texas Instruments calculators:

BA-35
BA II Plus
BA II Plus Professional
TI-30X II (IIS solar or IIB battery)
TI-30X
TI-30Xa

TI-30XSMV Multi-View

The CAS/SOA logos are not required on the calculator. Candidates may use more than one of the approved calculators during the examination. For those using the BA II Plus, BA II Plus Professional, or TI-30X II (IIS solar or IIB battery) models, candidates will be required to show examination proctors that the memory has been cleared prior to the start of the examination. Calculator instructions cannot be brought into the examination room.

Any unauthorized calculator brought to the examination center will be confiscated for the duration of the examination. Candidates using a calculator other than the approved models will be subject to examination disqualification or other disciplinary action.

It is the candidate's responsibility to see that the calculator used during the examination is in good working order. Supervisors will have a spare approved calculator available for a candidate whose calculator may malfunction. It will not be distributed to a candidate without a calculator or whose unauthorized calculator has been confiscated.

Most electronic study aids are delivered as an embedded link within minutes of receiving your email order confirmation. If you do not receive this 2nd email with its link then one of following  things has typically happened: 1. Your company has blocked the delivery of this item; or 2. Your internet service provider has blocked the delivery of this item; 3. You have provided an invalid email address as the ship to email address on your order; or, 4. The electronic item is delivered via email as an attachment directly from the author of the product. Please allow up to 72 hours for delivery of this information.

We are quite experienced in getting around these problems. One way or another, you will receive your attachment. Please contact us and we will solve this problem promptly.

Some electronic products are accessed via a website and require a separate username and password; please allow up to 72 hours to receive an email with instructions from the author/company on how to gain access to the material.  Be sure to check any junk, spam or bulk folders for delivery of any electronic material in case they are misfiled.

Yes. The Actuarial Bookstore registers actuarial students for many different seminars. These actuarial seminars are available for purchase in their specific exam category (along with the textbooks) or by selecting “Exam Registration” on the Exams Listing section of our website.

The Actuarial Bookstore offers all our customers, large and small, very competitive prices. Full time university/college students are eligible for discounts on a number of study materials including online courses. Products eligible for a student discount will be clearly noted with an outline of the terms and conditions of those discounts on their product description page. Students must call the bookstore to purchase items eligible for discounts; discounts cannot be applied to online orders. If you are not a student but are purchasing for a large number of actuarial students, please visit our corporate accounts page.

The Actuarial Bookstore accepts on-line, telephone, fax, regular mail or email orders. The fastest way to order is to place your order on-line. However, telephone, fax and email orders are almost always processed within 1 business day.

Order forms are available for download on our Print Order Form page .
Given security concerns we do not recommend email orders. Credit card information received in this manner is not secure. Your Actuarial Bookstore account information is password-protected for your privacy and security. The Actuarial Bookstore uses industry-standard SSL-encryption to protect data transmissions.

If an item is on backorder, it is not listed on the “Your Order Has Shipped” email confirmation. We send as many shipping confirmations as necessary for each order. Shipping confirmations indicate that the shipment will be leaving the warehouse that same business day. Please see this FAQ section for additional details regarding delivery of backordered items.

We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express/Optima debit and credit card payments. Your credit/debit card will be charged at the time your order is placed not the day that the order is shipped. Please note that we may not accept credit card orders from certain countries.

We also accept check/money order payments. All checks/money orders must be in U.S. funds, drawn on a U.S. or Canadian bank and be made payable to “The Actuarial Bookstore”. Please include a completed and valid order form with your payment and send both to: PO Box 69, Greenland, NH 03840. Electronic (bank/wire) transfers are not accepted.

Corporate account customers may be eligible to order using purchase orders. Please contact us for details.

Many actuarial study materials are not available at the start of each “exam season”. The reason for this is that the SOA and CAS often do not release the syllabus information to the authors/publishers until 6 or 7 weeks prior to the start of the new exam season. This leaves the authors/publishers very little time to update and publish the revised study manuals. Depending upon the publisher and the number of revisions required, most manuals are available for shipment by June 1 st to 15 th for the Fall Exams and December 1 st to 15 th for the Spring exams.

The Actuarial Bookstore attempts to let all customers know the expected availability date prior to purchase.  We cannot control whether or not these dates will be met however, we do try to contact our customers if significant delays are expected. Most pre-orders are filled the very same day we receive the inventory at our warehouse. For this reason, we strongly urge customers to pre-order because shipments are made on a first-to-order, first-to-ship basis. If you do not pre-order, further delays are possible. Please note, when you pre-order your credit card is charged at the time to order is placed not when the item is shipped.

The Actuarial Bookstore has developed its website to be universally browser-friendly. We no longer require that our customers use Internet Explorer.

The Actuarial Bookstore automatically confirms all orders and shipments via email. These confirmations are sent electronically within seconds of the order being properly processed or shipped. Assuming you provided us with an accurate email address, you should receive confirmation within minutes of completing your order. If you did not receive this confirmation and feel you entered your email address correctly, please be sure to check your junk, spam or bulk email folders. You may also contact us.

If an item is on backorder, it is not listed on the “Your Order Has Shipped” email confirmation. We send as many shipping confirmations as necessary for each order. Shipping confirmations indicate that the shipment will be leaving the warehouse that same business day. Please see this FAQ section for additional details regarding delivery of backordered items .

If you register for one of the many live seminars the Actuarial Bookstore offers for purchase, we will simultaneously email registration confirmation to both you and the seminar provider. You should receive this confirmation within minutes of registering using our website. If you register over the telephone, fax or by regular mail, confirmation will be emailed the same day that payment is received. Please contact us if you have not received an email confirmation by the following business day.

Please contact us immediately if you want to cancel your order. Our operations are highly efficient. Within seconds of completing your order, it is sent to the warehouse for fulfillment. During regular business hours, orders are processed for shipment very quickly. The sooner you contact us, the better chance we have of stopping the shipment.

DRM stands for Digital Rights Management. DRM-protected content has been encrypted and assigned specific user permissions to uphold the copyright of that property and prevent non-approved use. DRM protections outline specific usage terms including duration of access, printing, downloading, copying, sharing, and the number of devices a user is permitted to use. DRM encryption may not be removed from digital materials; attempts to do so are a violation of Eureka! terms and conditions and can result in incident reports. Incident reports may be distributed to employers and/or professional membership organizations to notify them about members’ breaches of their Professional Code of Conduct.

Eureka! is an eReader program built exclusively for use with DRM protected documents distributed through ArchiMedia Advantage, Inc. learning platforms. Eureka! is supported for use on most devices: web-browser, iOS and Android mobile applications, as well as Mac and PC desktop applications.

You will receive immediate access to the Eureka! browser eReader when you click on the cover image thumbnail of your content on the Actuarial Learning product page (not the version with brand logo plus a title appearing in a gold or blue bar.) Look for a Eureka! logo (a purple Sigma icon with a gold crown) to find buttons for you to click and download the desired mobile and/or desktop applications for Eureka!. As with any software, Eureka! will undergo regular updates and improvements, so please check regularly to make sure you are using the most current version of the software. (To find the mobile applications directly in the Google Play or App Store, search “Eureka Viewer” or “Eureka ArchiMedia”.) The Eureka! eReader and its applications are provided free of charge.

DRM content licenses are fulfilled through the Actuarial Learning platform once the product access keycode has been activated there. Access keycodes typically get delivered by email and, for most products, are sent to the “ship to” email address of your order. For some printed materials (primarily ACTEX and ASM study manuals and some ACTEX textbooks) the access keycode for that product is printed on a brightly colored interior page (manuals) or beneath a scratch-off label on the cover of the shipped product (textbooks).

Keycodes for some pre-order materials are held until the new edition on pre-order is “in stock”. However, if your pre-order includes temporary access to an earlier edition of material, for example, a keycode is sent to your “ship to” email address shortly after your order is confirmed.

First, verify you order includes access to digital material. Confirm the keycode won’t be provided as a printed code on the cover or an interior page of a print-only order. Check that the item is “in stock” or if it is pre-order, that you should receive digital access to an earlier edition of the material.

If you are certain a keycode should be delivered, double-check that the “ship to” email address on your order is spelled correctly. Confirm that messages from the vendor bookstore are not inadvertently being filtered into junk, spam, or bulk folders. Contact your Vendor if you need to make corrections to misspelled “ship to” email addresses and/or request that a keycode be resent.

No. DRM protected materials are not accessible using other secured or unsecured digital formats. Some products may be available for purchase in a printed format as well. If you unable or unwilling to use the required software, please check the product listing on the Vendor website to review purchase options before placing your order.

Yes. Users may utilize DRM content offline, for 5 days at a time, using the Windows or Mac desktop application, the Android mobile application, or the iOS mobile application.

Once the product keycode has been activated on Actuarial Learning, the digital content is available for viewing online and offline. For offline access, please install the Eureka! mobile or desktop application of your choice and login to the application using the same username and password credentials as your Actuarial Learning and bookstore account logins. Once you are logged into the application, actively licensed digital material will appear in a list of thumbnail view on the opening page. Select and download the material you want to read offline. If your offline access comes to exceed the limited time, you will receive a notice to reconnect to the internet to gain additional time for use, online or offline.

The Eureka! eReader provides tools to take notes, make comments & add annotations (such as underline, cross out, and highlight text) within the application. Touchscreen devices allow you to add hand-written notations on the document. These marks or annotations are recorded but do not change or edit the source document. Annotations will sync across devices, but use caution if simultaneously using online and offline versions of the same content interchangeably, because annotations can be lost; annotations made to an offline version of a document will overwrite annotations made to the online version as soon as the offline reconnects to the internet and sync. Overwritten annotations cannot be recovered in the software or applications. Contact technical support ( support@actuarialuniversity.com ) as soon as possible (no more than 5 days from an overwrite incident) to inquire whether recovery is possible. The less time and fewer changes made since the incident, the greater likelihood information may be recovered.

Web Browser eReader: Supported Browsers

• Chrome (all versions)
• Firefox (all versions)
• Safari (all versions)
• Edge (all versions)
• Internet Explorer (version 10 and up)
• Android Chrome (version 59 and up)
• Mobile Safari (version 11 and up)

Windows Desktop Application

Support for Windows 10 only

Mac Desktop Application

Requires macOS 10.15 or later & Mac with Apple M1 chip

Android Mobile Application

Requires Android 6.0

iOS Mobile Application

iPhone:Requires iOS 8.0 or later

iPad:Requires iPadOS 8.0 or later

For assistance navigating each variation of the Eureka eReader, choose the corresponding guide sheet:

WebViewer

iOS application

Android application

Mac desktop application

Windows desktop application

Your document permissions must include printing rights in order to print. If you are unsure, check the “digital terms and conditions” notes for the document on actuarialuniversity

Content “Notes” that have been added to a document are able to be printed regardless of the printing rights for the published content. “Notes” made to a document with printing rights will not appear embedded or entered onto a document page in printed format. When printed, notes always render separately from the primary document.

Print functionality is only available through the PC and Mac Desktop Applications. To print, please follow these steps:

1. Login to actuarialuniversity and enter the digital access keycode
2. Download and install the appropriate desktop offline application for your device
3. Login to the application with the same username and password as your Vendor account with the bookstore and actuarialuniversity.com
4. Select and open the document you wish to print in the application
5. Once the document has opened within the application, click the printer icon in the top, right-hand corner of the Eureka! desktop offline application screen
6. Choose “document” to print from the material or “notes” for the notes, if any, you added.
7. In the printer dialogue box, enter the page or range of pages and click “print”. (Please be aware that use of virtual printers are prohibited and all attempts to alter or remove DRM encryption are violations of copyright law. Copyright violations are closely monitored and get reported to employers and/or professional membership organizations, to be recorded as a breach of professional codes of conduct and can be grounds for further discipline, including expulsion or termination.)
8. Annotations other than “Notes” are not available for printing.

Whether your DRM license permits printing of the document or not, you are permitted to print your “Notes”, following these instructions:

1. From within the PC or Mac Desktop Offline Application, click the print button in the upper right-hand corner of the document screen and chose “Print Notes.” Notes are printed with the title of the manual at the top and appear as a list, by page. The manual itself will not be printed along with the notes.
2. Printing notes is only available within the PC or Mac desktop offline application.
3. Annotation, other than “Notes”, are not available for printing.

DRM content licenses provide you with access to material for a set period of time. Content that has expired will not appear in your list of documents within the Eureka! application. To see a complete list of your digital tools, both active and expired, visit your home page (“My Learning Tools”) on actuarialuniversity

We certainly hope you don’t encounter such issues. But software and applications do get updated often as a reflection of our technical team’s continuous improvements and refinements to the program. If Eureka! won̵t open, crashes, or you see an error when attempting to open material you know has not expired, please go to www.archimediaadvantage.com/eureka and make sure that you are working with the most up-to-date version of the application. If you are up to date, try restarting your computer or device and proceed to try opening the app/material again. If the issue persists, please contact support@actuarialuniversity.com

Most U.S. and international orders are shipped, partially or completely, within 1 business day of receiving your order. Delivery to most US, Canadian and worldwide locations takes between 2 – 5 business days (not including the day the order is shipped). Delays in shipping and delivery of your order will occur if items are backordered. For US orders with backordered items, we frequently partial-ship your order and send additional shipments as soon as the backordered materials become available. Most international orders are held until all backorders items are in stock so orders ship complete. The decision to partial-ship an order is at the complete discretion of the Actuarial Bookstore. Please see our shipping information section (listed in the top navigational bar) for additional details.

The Actuarial Bookstore tries our very best to keep all materials in-stock at all times. There are times, however, when products become temporarily unavailable. Most often these delays are less than 1 week. If delays are expected to be greater than 1 week, we are likely to partial-ship US orders. The remaining backordered items are shipped the same day we receive the inventory at our warehouse. Backordered items are sent via standard shipping to U.S. customers and via Worldwide Express to international customers regardless of whether expedited shipping is selected at the time of your order.

Depending upon the publisher and the number of revisions required, most pre-ordered manuals are available for shipment by June 1 st to 15 th for the Fall Exams and December 1 st to 15 th for the Spring exams. The Actuarial Bookstore attempts to let all customers know the expected availability date prior to purchase. We cannot control whether or not these dates will be met however, we do try to contact our customers if significant delays are expected. Most pre-orders are filled the very same day we receive the inventory at our warehouse. For this reason, we strongly urge customers to pre-order because shipments are made on a first-to-order, first-to-ship basis. If you do not pre-order, further delays are possible. Pre-ordered items are sent via standard shipping to U.S. customers and via Worldwide Express to international customers.

The Actuarial Bookstore ships to nearly every country in the world. Notable exceptions are Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, North Korea, and select African countries. Most international shipments are sent via Worldwide Express. If your country does not appear in our SHIP TO section of our checkout process, please contact the bookstore for shipping quotes as additional charges will apply.

Nearly all orders are shipped by a trackable delivery method and the Actuarial Bookstore includes this tracking number in our shipment confirmation emails. Orders of BPP or "Print on Demand" items are sent from separate locations and shipment confirmation emails are not available for these items. If you haven’t received a 2nd email confirming the shipment of your order for items shipping from our warehouse, you order has not yet shipped. Tracking numbers are not assigned until the day the order is shipped.

Please note:  There is a delay between when the delivery company assigns the number (at the warehouse pick-up) and when this number is posted on its website. Orders placed earlier in the day are typically posted on the shippers or USPS websites that same evening. If your tracking number does not appear by the next business day, please contact us.

A signature is required for all shipments sent to commercial addresses. A signature is not typically required if your order is delivered to a residential address. However, if the delivery person believes that the location presents the risk of theft/loss, a signature may be required and a note will be placed on your door. If you are concerned about the security of the delivery location, please have your order shipped to a commercial address. The Actuarial Bookstore is not responsible for the contents of the package once it delivered (with or without signature).

The Actuarial Bookstore does not offer alternative international shipping methods. We are very experienced in international shipping. Over the years, the Actuarial Bookstore has found that Worldwide Express offers our international customers the best overall value, balancing cost with the need to assure customs-cleared delivery in a timely fashion.
It may be possible to have orders shipping on a personal or corporate shipping account so please contact us to make arrangements.

Standard Returns:
Actuarial Bookstore offers a full refund for most items returned within 30 calendar days of the date that the order was delivered. Items that state on the cover the are NON-REFUNDABLE will be be eligible for return. Unless previously approved by the Actuarial Bookstore, all returns must be made within calendar 30 days. Please note, BPP products must be returned to the address provided on the specific product description; BPP products returned to the Actuarial Bookstore Returns address below will not be eligible for refund.

Return Policy for Bundled Packages:

The cost savings associated with our bundled packages (EDGE Deluxe Savings Package for FAP, Carmody Jam Deluxe Package) is lost if you return one or more items of the package. If a package gives you a savings of $28, and you decide to return a part of this package, your refund will be less $28. If the entire package is returned, you will receive a refund equal to the package price that you paid.

Damaged/Defective Returns & Shipping Discrepancies:

Customers must notify the Actuarial Bookstore within 5 business days of the receipt of the order regarding any damage, defective products or shipment discrepancies to be eligible for a damage refund or a replacement order. Returns of these items often require special procedures. Customers are responsible for verifying the contents and quality of delivered orders upon receipt. Please contact us promptly if there are any concerns or problems with your shipment.

To be eligible for this return policy, returned books and/or other study materials must be free of any noticeable wear or damage. Returned software, audio CDs and DVDs must be unopened and accompanied by its original documentation to be eligible for a refund. Electronically distributed study materials and GV Ramanathan Practice exams are not eligible for refunds.

For your convenience, your packing slip has our standard returns address noted at the bottom of the page. Most returns should be sent to the following address:

Please include a copy of the packing slip and please write a brief explanation for your return on this packing slip. (Example: “Item not needed.”) We ask this so that the warehouse knows who is returning the items and to make sure that damaged items are not placed back on our shelves for resale.

Important: Please make sure to pack the items very well with plenty of material to minimize the shifting of the contents of the box. Items that are returned damaged are not eligible for refund. Some covers get bent back easily so it is important that the items are packed well enough to not shift during shipment.

You may wish to consider sending your return by a trackable method (non-express) such as UPS Ground. Paying additional for tracking service and shipping insurance is completely at the customer’s discretion and will not be refunded by the Actuarial Bookstore. Please do not ship returned via USPS Media Mail as delivery is unlikely to arrive at the Returns location within the 30 day return period.

The Actuarial Bookstore processes customer returns once a week. Nearly all customer returns are completed within two weeks of receipt of the items at the warehouse. If you paid by credit card, we will refund the same credit card used for payment. An email notification of this credit will be sent to you the day the refund is processed. Check payments are refunded by check directly to the person or company who paid for the order. Refunds are typically sent to the bill to address associated with the order.

Return item shipping is typically the responsibility of the customer. However, if the Actuarial Bookstore made an error in shipping or the items arrived damaged/defective, we will reimburse you for your return expenses (for non-express methods of shipping), provided the Actuarial Bookstore has been notified of the error/damage/defect within 5 days after delivery of the shipment.
Paying additional for tracking service and shipping insurance is completely at the customer’s discretion and will not be refunded by the Actuarial Bookstore.