- What "Qualifying" Means for PASC
- No Prerequisite Credential Required
- Degree and License Requirements
- The Pediatric Hours Requirements
- Documentation You Must Assemble
- The 2,000-Hour Wording Discrepancy
- Fees, Deadlines and the Next Window
- The Five-Year Testing Eligibility Window
- Exam-Day Technical and ID Requirements
- Matching Your Experience to the Six Domains
- After You Qualify: Renewal Basics
- Frequently Asked Questions
- PASC is voluntary, awards BC-PA, and does not require general ABA certification, CCC-A or professional membership.
- You need 550 pediatric direct-patient hours plus 50 pediatric case-management hours across two consecutive years within the past five.
- Externship hours do not count toward the pediatric hour requirements.
- The next window is May 3-17, 2027; the application deadline is March 9, 2027.
What "Qualifying" Means for Pediatric Audiology Specialty Certification
Pediatric Audiology Specialty Certification (PASC) is offered by the American Board of Audiology (ABA) and awards the designation Board Certified in Pediatric Audiology (BC-PA). Unlike an entry-level credential, PASC is built for audiologists who already practice with children and can document it. Qualifying is therefore a two-step process: first you prove that your degree, license, work history and pediatric caseload meet the handbook standard, and only then do you sit for the 120-question exam.
This guide walks through each eligibility requirement as it appears in the current ABA handbook and program pages, flags the places where ABA's own materials conflict, and shows how to line up your experience with the exam's six content domains. If you are still orienting yourself to the credential, start with What Is PASC Certification? and then return here for the specifics.
No Prerequisite Credential Required
One of the most common misunderstandings is that you must already hold another certification before applying. Under the current handbook and program page, you do not. PASC is voluntary and independent of other certification. General ABA certification, the CCC-A and professional membership are not prerequisites.
Membership does affect what you pay, because Academy members receive lower application and exam fees, but it is not a condition of eligibility. The full cost picture is covered in PASC Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Degree and License Requirements
Graduate audiology degree
You must hold a graduate audiology degree from a regionally accredited institution. The application asks for an official transcript, so request it early; registrar turnaround is one of the most common causes of avoidable delay.
License or work authorization
The current handbook requires an appropriate audiology license or work authorization:
- U.S. applicants: a permanent U.S. audiology license.
- International and U.S.-territory applicants: a valid license or work authorization appropriate to where you practice.
A temporary or provisional license is not the same as the permanent license the handbook describes for U.S. applicants, so confirm your status before you pay any fees.
Professional experience and ethics
Eligibility also requires paid post-degree professional experience, documented experience, two professional references (one of whom must be a supervisor) and an ethics agreement. Treat the ethics agreement as a real commitment rather than a formality: continued ethics and licensure compliance is also a renewal condition.
The Pediatric Hours Requirements
This is the core of PASC eligibility and the part that separates it from a general audiology credential. The handbook requires two categories of pediatric experience:
| Requirement | Amount | Time frame |
|---|---|---|
| Pediatric direct-patient hours | 550 hours | Over two consecutive years within the preceding five years |
| Pediatric case-management hours | 50 hours | Over two consecutive years within the preceding five years |
| Externship hours | Do not qualify | Not counted toward either category |
Two details deserve emphasis. First, the two-consecutive-year span must fall inside the five years before you apply, so a strong pediatric stretch from a decade ago will not carry you. Second, externship hours are explicitly excluded. If you are a recent graduate whose pediatric exposure was concentrated in your fourth-year externship, those hours will not satisfy the requirement, and you will need qualifying post-degree pediatric work first.
What counts as case management?
The 50 case-management hours are separate from direct patient contact. Candidates should be prepared to document work that reflects the profession's coordination role with children and families.
- Coordinating care across medical, educational and early-intervention providers
- Family counseling and follow-up planning around diagnosis and intervention
- Documentation and tracking that supports a child's longitudinal care
These activities map directly onto Domain 3 of the exam, which is why your logged case-management work doubles as early exam preparation.
Documentation You Must Assemble
A complete application draws on several documents. Gather them before you open the application so you are not waiting on third parties near the deadline:
- Official transcript from your regionally accredited graduate program.
- License or work-authorization evidence matching the handbook requirement for your location.
- Documented experience showing your pediatric direct-patient and case-management hours.
- Two professional references, including a supervisor.
- Signed ethics agreement.
Ask your supervisor-reference early and tell them what the application is for. A reference who understands that you are documenting pediatric caseload is more likely to produce a letter that supports your hours.
The 2,000-Hour Wording Discrepancy
ABA's own materials phrase the overall professional-hours expectation in two slightly different ways, and it is worth knowing both so you are not surprised.
| Source | Wording |
|---|---|
| Live application | A minimum of 2,000 professional hours within two years |
| Handbook | Two years of post-degree, full-time (2,000) hours |
This 2,000-hour professional-experience expectation is distinct from the 550 and 50 pediatric hour requirements. Think of the 2,000 hours as your overall post-degree work base, with the pediatric hours as a required subset of what you do within that period. For the broader context on how these requirements fit the credential, see the PASC requirements overview.
Fees, Deadlines and the Next Window
Qualifying is also financial and calendar-bound. The application and the exam registration are separate line items, and ABA offers a combined first-time rate.
| Item | Academy member | Non-member |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | USD 125 | USD 160 |
| Exam registration fee | USD 395 | USD 440 |
| Combined first application and exam | USD 520 | USD 600 |
These figures exclude membership dues. An applicant seeking a second ABA certification receives a USD 50 reduction in the application fee.
Key dates for the next cycle
- Exam registration: January 12 to April 13, 2027
- Application deadline: March 9, 2027
- Exam window: May 3-17, 2027
Notice that the application deadline falls before the end of the registration period. Your application must be approved before you can test, so do not treat the April registration close as your real deadline. For scheduling strategy across windows, see PASC Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
The Five-Year Testing Eligibility Window
Once your application is approved, you do not have unlimited time. The current handbook permits testing and retakes for five years, beginning on the first day of the next testing window after application approval. An older FAQ counts the five years from the first test date instead.
If your eligibility expires before you pass, you must submit a new application, documentation and fees. That makes your first attempt valuable. Candidates weighing readiness should read How Hard Is the PASC Exam? and PASC Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows before committing to a window.
Exam-Day Technical and ID Requirements
Meeting the eligibility criteria gets you a seat; meeting the delivery requirements lets you actually sit in it. Testing uses Prolydian with Proctor360 live remote proctoring. Older Examity delivery language in superseded materials should not override the current Prolydian/Proctor360 instructions.
- Device: a desktop or laptop with a webcam and microphone. Tablets, phones and Chromebooks do not meet the testing-device requirements.
- Environment: a private room, with identity and room checks before you begin.
- Identification: current government photo/signature ID matching your registered name exactly.
- Rules: English-only and closed book, with no calculators, notes, dual monitors or ordinary breaks.
Approved accommodations are governed separately from the standard rules, so if you need one, begin that process well before the application deadline. The exam itself is 120 questions (100 scored plus 20 unscored beta items) in 2 hours 30 minutes, with four options per question. Single-answer items have one correct choice; multiple-response items have two or three. There is no guessing penalty, so leaving an item blank gives you no advantage. A deeper look at scoring appears in PASC Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
Matching Your Experience to the Six Domains
Your eligibility hours and your exam preparation overlap more than most candidates realize. The scored-item allocations in the handbook are 24, 21, 22, 16, 9 and 8 out of 100, and the issuer's November 13, 2023 blueprint announcement publishes the matching percentages. Use your own caseload to identify where you are strongest and where your experience is thin.
Domain 1: Assessment and Diagnosis of Auditory and Vestibular Disorders (24%)
The largest domain. Daily diagnostic work with children is your best preparation, but vestibular content may be less familiar if your clinic rarely evaluates balance in pediatric patients.
Domain 3: Case Management and Counseling (22%)
Your 50 logged case-management hours are directly relevant. Review family counseling frameworks and care-coordination principles alongside your documented experience.
Domain 2: Habilitation/Rehabilitation (21%)
Strong if you fit and manage amplification and other devices for children regularly; weaker if your role is primarily diagnostic.
Domain 4: Medical Audiology (16%)
Clinics embedded in hospitals or working closely with otolaryngology tend to build this naturally. Others should plan deliberate review.
Domain 5: Professional and Regulatory Issues (9%) and Domain 6: Educational Audiology (8%)
The smallest domains, but candidates working in clinical settings sometimes underestimate educational audiology because it sits outside their daily practice.
The current handbook/live-page wording controls the Domain 1 heading used here; the 2023 announcement adds "patients with" to that heading, a wording difference rather than a content change. For a complete breakdown of what each area tests, see PASC Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 6 Content Areas.
A domain-weighted preparation order
Because the domains are formal exam content areas rather than a curriculum sequence, you can order your preparation by gap rather than by number. A reasonable approach: start with whichever of Domains 1, 3 and 2 your daily work covers least, since together they account for the bulk of scored items, then work through Domain 4 and finish with the smaller Domains 5 and 6. Our PASC Study Guide 2026 lays out a fuller plan, and you can test yourself with questions on the main practice test site.
After You Qualify: Renewal Basics
Eligibility does not end at the exam. BC-PA renewal occurs every three years and requires 60 CE hours total, continued ethics and licensure compliance, and a USD 360 fee for either membership group. The CE categories are subsets of the same 60-hour total, not additional hours:
- 30 pediatric hours
- 15 Tier 1 hours
- 3 professional-ethics hours
Excess hours do not carry forward into the next cycle. Because renewal also depends on your ethics agreement and licensure staying in good standing, the compliance commitments you make on the application continue for as long as you hold the designation. For the career case, see Is the PASC Certification Worth It?, and if you are researching roles that value the credential, PASC Jobs covers where it tends to matter.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Under the current handbook and program page, PASC is voluntary and independent of other certification. General ABA certification, CCC-A and professional membership are not prerequisites. Older materials describing other-certification prerequisites have been superseded.
No. Externship hours do not qualify toward either the 550 pediatric direct-patient hours or the 50 pediatric case-management hours. Those hours must come from qualifying post-degree work over two consecutive years within the preceding five years.
It is 2,000. The live application states a minimum of 2,000 professional hours within two years, while the handbook phrases it as two years of post-degree, full-time (2,000) hours. There is no 4,000-hour threshold, so disregard any source claiming one.
The current handbook permits testing and retakes for five years, beginning on the first day of the next testing window after approval. An older FAQ counts from the first test date, but the current handbook controls. After eligibility expires, you need a new application, documentation and fees.
For the May 3-17, 2027 window, the application deadline is March 9, 2027, and exam registration runs January 12 to April 13, 2027. Because approval is required before testing, treat the March deadline as your working cutoff rather than the April registration close.