Certification guide

How ATP certification actually works

The rules that decide whether you can sit the exam, what it costs, what passing means, and what you owe afterward. Summarized from the RESNA ATP Candidate Handbook, July 2026 edition.

Section 1

The exam

Questions

180

Multiple choice

Time limit

4 hours

Preceded by a 15-minute tutorial

Scaled score range

200–800

Converted from the raw number correct

Passing score

600

Same standard for every candidate and form

Preliminary result

Immediate

Pass/fail shown at the test center

Official notification

Within 4 weeks

Sent by RESNA after the exam date

The exam is closed-book, delivered through Prometric, and preceded by a non-disclosure agreement. A scaled score is not a percentage — it is a transformation of your raw number correct onto a fixed 200–800 scale, so scores stay comparable across different forms and dates.

600 is not 75%. Do not translate the passing score into a percentage of questions. RESNA sets the cut score through a standard-setting process, and only failing candidates receive a domain-by-domain breakdown.

Section 2

What the exam covers

  1. IAssessment of Need29%
  2. IIDevelopment of Intervention Strategies — Action Plan29%
  3. IIIImplementation of Intervention (Once Funded)23%
  4. IVEvaluation of Intervention (Follow-Up)19%

Professional Conduct appears in the job task analysis but carries no assigned exam weight. The four weighted domains sum to 100%, so roughly 58% of the exam sits in assessment and action planning — which is where your study time belongs.

Section 3

Whether you are eligible

Your degree sets both how much AT-specific training you need and how many hours of work experience you must document. Less directly relevant education means more of both.

Master's degree or higher in Special Education or Rehabilitation Science

AT training: None required

Experience: 1,000 hours within the past 6 years

Bachelor's degree in Special Education or Rehabilitation Science

AT training: None required

Experience: 1,500 hours within the past 6 years

Bachelor's degree in a non-rehabilitation science

AT training: 10 hours

Experience: 2,000 hours within the past 6 years

Associate's degree in Rehabilitation Science

AT training: None required

Experience: 3,000 hours within the past 6 years

Associate's degree in a non-rehabilitation science

AT training: 20 hours

Experience: 4,000 hours within the past 6 years

High school diploma or GED

AT training: 30 hours

Experience: 6,000 hours within the past 10 years

Not all AT work counts.

Hours must be paid, in-person service to consumers: evaluations, fittings and adjustments, training, and product development with direct consumer participation. Customer service, scheduling, order paperwork, billing and claims, telecom relay, research without consumer contact, and teaching providers do not count. When AT training hours are required, at least half must be CEUs from a recognized provider.

Section 4

Two ways in

Traditional pathway

You already meet the education and work-experience requirements.

  1. 1

    Pay the application fee and apply

    $125 for non-members, free for RESNA members. The fee is nonrefundable.

  2. 2

    Wait for staff review

    Allow up to 3 weeks. RESNA will contact you if documentation is missing.

  3. 3

    Sit the exam once accepted

    The $625 exam fee is paid separately.

Passing the exam makes you ATP certified immediately.

Work experience must be paid, in-person AT service delivery. Billing, scheduling, paperwork, relay services, and teaching without consumer contact do not count.

Accelerated pathway

You do not yet have the work experience — often new graduates.

  1. 1

    Apply with a plan

    Outline how you will finish the remaining education and experience. Review is free and takes 3–5 weeks.

  2. 2

    Pay the $625 exam fee

    You then have 90 days to sit the exam.

  3. 3

    Finish the requirements after the exam

    You have up to six years from passing to complete the remaining eligibility requirements.

Passing does NOT make you ATP certified — you become a “Candidate for the ATP.”

Candidate status must be renewed every two years: 20 hours of AT training (including at least 1.0 IACET CEU), a progress outline, and a $215 renewal fee.

Section 5

What it costs

  • ATP application

    Free for RESNA members; nonrefundable

    $125

  • ATP exam

    $625

  • Exam eligibility window extension

    One-time 90-day extension

    $150

  • Retest

    Within one calendar year of the last exam

    $300

  • Reschedule, 5–60 days before test date

    Collected by Prometric

    $75

  • Manual rescore

    Refunded if the result changes to Pass

    $200

  • Recertification, every 2 years

    $215

  • Inactive status

    Per certification held

    $50

  • Reinstatement

    $300

A candidate-cancelled exam forfeits the full $625 test delivery fee. Fees change — confirm current amounts with RESNA before you pay anything.

Section 6

If you do not pass

  • Attempts allowed

    Up to three times within any 365-day period.

  • Waiting period

    90 days before each retest attempt.

  • Reduced fee

    $300 for retakes within the initial 365-day period.

  • After a third failure

    A 365-day wait from the third attempt before reapplying, at the full $625 fee, under whichever eligibility rules are in effect then.

Appeals and rescoring

Pass/fail appeal

14 days

In writing, from the exam date

Manual rescore request

14 days

From the final result release date; $200

Rescore turnaround

Up to 30 days

Ineligibility appeal

$100

Refunded if the appeal succeeds

Failing alone is not grounds for appeal, and exam material is never released for review. Both the appeal and rescore windows are 14 days — short enough that waiting for a mailed result can close them.

Section 7

Keeping the credential

Certification term

2 years

From the date you passed the exam

Renewal fee

$215

Professional development

20 hours

Includes 1.0 IACET CEU (10 hours) minimum, plus 10 CECs / contact hours or more CEUs

Academic alternative

2 credit hours

Two AT-related academic credit hours satisfies 100% of the requirement

In-service cap

10 hours/year

Maximum product in-service training accepted as contact hours

Certification runs two years from the date you passed. Inactive status is available for $50 per credential if you file before your certification expires; a lapsed credential costs $300 to reinstate.

Confirm before you commit

This page summarizes the July 2026 Handbook so you can plan. RESNA updates requirements and fees, and the current Handbook always governs. Verify anything you are about to spend money or eligibility on.

Summarized from the RESNA ATP Candidate Handbook, July 2026. Practical Innovations Academy is not affiliated with or endorsed by RESNA and does not administer the ATP exam or determine eligibility. Nothing here overrides RESNA's published requirements.