BOC exam info: dates, format, scoring

ATC exam facts

2027 exam dates

You can test only inside a window, and each window has two deadlines before it: the application, which must be approved first, and then registration with payment.

• Exam January 2–16, 2027; apply by December 7 and register December 4–16 (5 p.m. CT); results February 1–15.
• Exam March 20–April 3, 2027; apply by February 22, register February 19–March 3.
• Exam May 22–June 5, 2027; apply by April 26, register April 23–May 5.
• Exam July 24–August 7, 2027; apply by June 28, register June 25–July 7.
• Exam October 2–16, 2027; apply by September 7, register September 3–15.

Once registration closes, Meazure Learning emails a link to pick a test center, date and time. The board revises dates between exam years, so recheck the candidates page before you apply.

Format and item types

It is one sitting, and you can move back and forth through the whole exam. Beside standard multiple choice there are three stand-alone types:

• Multi-select: choose every correct option; partial credit applies.
• Drag-and-drop: place or order elements; partial credit applies.
• Hot spot: click the right region of an image.

A focused testlet is one clinical scenario followed by several items about it, in any of those types. Some items are experimental: the board does not print how many, but the 125 items of the PA8 weighting table leave about 50 of the 175 unscored.

How the cut score works

Scores run 200–800, and the cut sits at 500 of 800. A panel of certified athletic trainers set the standard on the first PA8 form by a modified Angoff study; later forms are Rasch-equated to that form (2024–25 exam report, p. 1). Because forms differ in difficulty, no fixed count of correct answers passes every form. Every scored item weighs the same, and a wrong answer costs nothing beyond the missed point.

National pass rate

2024–25: first-time 74.6% · retake 29.3% · all 56.2%.

2023–24, the first PA8 year: first-time 68.7% · retake 29.1% · all 52.4%.

PA7 years, 2017–18 to 2022–23: first-time 61.6–77.8%.

These national figures come from Table 1 of the board’s exam year report. A university page that advertises a near-perfect rate is quoting its own program’s three-year rate, a different number. The 2025–26 percentages are not out yet, but an August 2026 board presentation puts the first-time mean scaled score at 534.3, down from 550.1, so a lower first-time rate is likely.

Results and retakes

• When: 2–4 weeks after the window closes.
• What you see: a pass shows only “pass”, with no number. A fail shows the scaled score and a report by domain, which is what you plan a retake from.
• Retakes: unlimited for 1 year, but only for the next open window each time. After that year, you apply again under the rules then in force.
• After a pass: 1 year after results to finish the file, or the result is voided.

Keeping the ATC: renewal

Certification runs in a two-year reporting period; the current one ends January 31, 2028. The continuing-education load depends on when you were certified: 40 CEUs under CPC Renewal or 50 under Legacy Renewal if you were certified before 2026, 20 under CPC Renewal if you were certified in 2026. On top of that you keep ECC certification current throughout the reporting period and pay the annual fee, $50 / $65 a year (maintain certification).