What Does PASC Stand For?

The Short Answer: What PASC Stands For

On this site, PASC stands for Pediatric Audiology Specialty Certification. It is a voluntary, board-level credential for audiologists who work with infants, children and adolescents, offered through the American Board of Audiology (ABA). Successful candidates are entitled to use the designation Board Certified in Pediatric Audiology (BC-PA).

If you landed here from a search engine, the acronym probably appeared in a job posting, a continuing education flyer or a colleague's email signature. Other fields use the same four letters for entirely different things, so it is worth being precise: everything on PASC Exam Prep refers only to the audiology specialty certification described below. For a broader orientation, our explainers on what PASC is and the meaning of PASC cover the same ground from a slightly different angle.

What the Credential Actually Is

Pediatric Audiology Specialty Certification recognizes advanced, focused competence in the audiologic care of children. It is not an entry-level license, and it is not a general audiology certificate. It is a specialty layer for clinicians who already practice and who can document substantial pediatric experience.

Three features define it:

• It is specialty-specific. The content centers on pediatric populations, from early identification through school-age services.
• It is voluntary. No employer or state is automatically required to demand it, which is why many candidates weigh its value carefully. See our ROI analysis of the PASC certification if you are deciding whether to pursue it.
• It is independent of other certification. Under the current handbook and program page, general ABA certification, the CCC-A and professional membership are not prerequisites.

Who Awards It and What You Earn

The certifying body is the American Board of Audiology, which operates in association with the American Academy of Audiology. The ABA administers the application, the exam, the credential and the renewal process. When you pass, the designation you earn is BC-PA, and you may use it professionally alongside your degree, license and any other credentials you hold.

Because the credential is issued by a professional board rather than a government agency, it signals peer-validated expertise rather than legal permission to practice. Your state license remains the legal authority; PASC layers specialty recognition on top of it.

Why the Exact Name Matters

Searching for a certification by acronym alone can send you to the wrong place. Several unrelated credentials and organizations abbreviate to the same letters, and their exams, costs, dates and pass statistics have nothing to do with audiology. A fee quoted for one of them will not apply to yours.

To protect yourself, anchor every fact you collect to the full name, Pediatric Audiology Specialty Certification, and to the issuer, the American Board of Audiology. If a source cannot be tied to both, treat its numbers with suspicion. The authoritative references are the ABA handbook and the ABA program pages; our own guides to PASC certification and what PASC certification is are built from those sources.

Who Can Sit for It

The eligibility bar is deliberately high, because the credential is meant to reflect real pediatric practice rather than coursework alone. Under the current handbook, candidates need:

• A graduate audiology degree from a regionally accredited institution.
• An appropriate audiology license or work authorization. The handbook requires a permanent U.S. audiology license, or valid license/work authorization for international and U.S.-territory applicants.
• Paid, post-degree professional experience.
• 550 pediatric direct-patient hours and 50 pediatric case-management hours, accrued over two consecutive years within the preceding five years.
• Two professional references, one of whom must be a supervisor.
• An official transcript, documented experience and an ethics agreement.

Externship hours do not qualify toward the experience requirement. There is also a documented wording difference worth knowing: the live application specifies 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. Do not assume a larger threshold; when planning, confirm the current wording with the ABA before you submit. The full breakdown lives in our guide to PASC requirements and eligibility.

How the Exam Is Built

The exam is delivered through Prolydian with Proctor360 live remote proctoring. Older references to Examity delivery are outdated and should not override current instructions.

Scoring and Passing

Passing is criterion-referenced. The ABA uses modified Angoff standard setting and the overall raw score on the 100 scored items, with difficulty adjustment. That means there is no single universal passing percentage you can aim for. Our PASC passing score guide explains how to think about this without chasing a number that does not exist.

Because there is no guessing penalty, you should answer every item. For multiple-response questions, remember that two or three options are correct, so read the stem carefully for how many to select.

Testing Environment

Remote proctoring has concrete hardware and room rules. You need a desktop or laptop with a webcam and microphone, a private room, and current government-issued photo and signature ID that matches your registered name. Identity and room checks occur before you begin. Tablets, phones and Chromebooks do not meet the testing-device requirements, so do not plan to test from one.

Pass Rates in Context

The ABA's August 6, 2026 report gave a Spring 2026 first-time pass rate of 82.6%, while 20 of 25 candidates passed overall. These figures use different denominators and should not be blended. The reported 2025 first-time rate of 86.9% describes a different cohort and should not be treated as a 2026 figure. For interpretation, see what the PASC pass rate data shows and our look at how hard the PASC exam is.

The Six Content Domains

The exam blueprint divides scored content into six formal domains. The current handbook publishes scored-item allocations of 24, 21, 22, 16, 9 and 8 out of 100, and the ABA's November 13, 2023 revised-blueprint announcement published the matching percentage weights. These are exam content domains, not a study curriculum, so treat them as a map of what is tested rather than a syllabus order. Our complete guide to the six PASC content areas goes deeper.

Fees, Dates and Deadlines

The cost structure has two separate pieces: an application fee and an exam registration fee. The application is reviewed first, and exam registration follows once you are approved. Prices differ for Academy members and non-members.

These totals exclude membership dues. A second-certification application receives a USD 50 application-fee reduction. For the full financial picture, including what to budget beyond the exam itself, see the PASC certification cost breakdown.

The Next Exam Window

• Exam window: May 3-17, 2027
• Application deadline: March 9, 2027
• Exam registration: January 12-April 13, 2027

Notice the sequence: you must apply by March 9, 2027, but exam registration stays open until April 13, 2027. Missing the application deadline can push you to a later window even if registration is technically still open. Our PASC exam dates guide tracks scheduling details as they are published.

How Long Eligibility Lasts

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. These sources conflict, so use the current handbook as your working rule and confirm with the ABA if your timeline is tight. Once eligibility expires, you need a new application, documentation and fees.

Keeping the Credential Active

BC-PA is not a one-time achievement. Renewal occurs every three years and requires:

• 60 continuing education hours total
• Of those, 30 must be pediatric hours, 15 must be Tier 1 hours and 3 must be professional-ethics hours
• Continued ethics and licensure compliance
• A USD 360 renewal fee for either membership group

The pediatric, Tier 1 and ethics categories are subsets of the same 60-hour total, not additions to it. Excess hours do not carry forward into the next cycle, so there is no benefit to over-accumulating in one period. Planning your CE around these categories from the start of each cycle prevents a last-minute scramble.

Matching Your Prep to the Blueprint

This is the one place where scheduling logic is worth spelling out. Because the domains are weighted, your study calendar should reflect that weighting rather than treating every topic equally. A sample sequence for a candidate who works in clinical practice:

For a fuller plan, our PASC study guide expands this outline, and the PASC cheat sheet gives you a one-page review for the final days. You can also take timed questions in our PASC practice test to build comfort with the format before exam day.

Where the Credential Leads

Pediatric audiologists are employed across several settings, and the credential is most relevant where children are the core patient population:

• Children's hospitals and pediatric medical centers
• University-affiliated clinics and teaching programs
• Early hearing detection and intervention programs
• School systems and educational audiology roles
• Private practices with a pediatric focus

Because the credential is voluntary, its practical value depends on your employer and region. Some settings treat it as a differentiator in hiring and advancement; others do not require it at all. Our overviews of PASC jobs and the PASC salary guide discuss how to weigh this, and we deliberately avoid quoting earnings figures that the certifying body does not publish. If you want structured preparation, see our notes on PASC training or begin working through the practice questions on the main site.

Frequently Asked Questions