Eligibility

• The RT exam is two tiered in the United States, which is administered by the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC).
• A Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) is required to pass the primary certification exam, followed by a written registry exam and a clinical simulation exam.
• To become an RRT both the written as well as the clinical simulation exam must be cleared, this is applicable for all graduates as of 2005.
• To be designated as a Neonatal-Pediatric Specialist (CRT-NPS or RRT-NPS) you need to pass the Neonatal/Pediatric Specialist exam.
• To be eligible for the NPS exam you need to be a CRT along with one years experience in Neonatal/Pediatric Respiratory Care, or RRT certified.
• You can also become a sleep study technician and receive the Registered Polysomnographic Sleep Technologist (RPSGT) credential.

Exam Registration

     •  You may wish to apply online at www.aavsb.org at a cost of $200.
     •  Otherwise, you may want to submit a paper application. However, you will be charged a slightly higher $220. You may obtain paper application forms by sending an email to vettech@aavsb.org.
     •  If you wish to sit for the examination in AZ, DE, GA, IL, MD, TN, OR or WA, you must apply to the state board before applying to AAVSB.  

Exam details

     •  Application for the exam can be completed online at the NBRC website.
     •  Application can be downloaded or found in the handbook.
     •  Exams can be given online in over 150 centers across United States and can be scheduled from Monday to Friday.
     •  CRT exams have 160 multiple choice question, of which 140 are scored questions 20 pretest questions


The RRT exam consists of two sections

1st part is 115 multiple-choice questions.

     •  Of these 115, 100 are scored
     •  15 questions are pretest questions.
     •  3 major Content areas are

     •  Patient data evaluation and recommendations (20 scored questions)
     •  Equipment application cleanliness (18 scored questions)
     •  Therapeutic procedure initiation and modification (62 scored questions).


The 2nd part of the examination is Clinical simulation Examination (CSE)

Exam Contents

Clinical Data 26 questions
Equipment 29 questions
Therapeutic Procedures 85 questions

RRT Exam

Clinical Data 28 questions
Equipment 12 questions
Therapeutic Procedures 60 questions.