Step 5: Apply for the NBCOT® Exam
Once you are approved by the OTED, you will need to start the NBCOT® exam application.
How Do I Apply?
Create a MyNBCOT account on the NBCOT® website.
Confirm that you are eligible to take the exam (meaning that you have completed the required education and documentation in the previous steps).
Start your application. You will find the application on the website after you create the account. There will also be a character review questionnaire that you need to answer.
To successfully continue the application, you will be asked to send a copy of the following from a primary source (e.g., the school registrar’s office):
Your degree/s
The official final transcript
Verification of academic credential form (if applicable). Access form here.
Program Director Form. Access form here.
Course syllabi.
OT license (if applicable). Access form here.
Note: You will need to pay for the application fee, the exam itself, and you get one free state transfer of your score.
Applications & Costs
The online exam application is now valid for six months (Due to the COVID-19 pandemic), and has a fee of $515 USD. (The fee to reapply for the exam after an initial attempt is $385 USD).
You can apply with a paper application, download here. The fee is $555 USD. (reapplication fee is $415 USD)
Please know that the processing time will increase when you submit a paper application.
Once you’ve submitted all of that and paid the fees, you will need to wait for approval to schedule the exam. Within 3 business days, if your application is complete and approved, you will receive an Authorization to Test (ATT) letter to your email. This letter will include details on how to move on and schedule for the exam.
Make sure you save the ATT letter, because you will need it when you take the exam.
Note: The ATT letter is only active for 90 days, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ATT letter is currently valid for 180 days, meaning that you will need to schedule and take the exam within 180 days. If you are not able to apply for the exam within that period, you can request to reissue the ATT letter for an additional 90 days, and this must occur while the original ATT letter and exam application are still valid. Otherwise, If the ATT letter expires, you will need to request an ATT letter reissue and pay a fee of $85 USD.
Candidates who do not take their exam within three months of the date they apply (Now it is 6 months due to COVID-19, but the exception could change) will need to submit a new application with exam application fee.
You can choose not to complete the application process until you are ready to take the exam within 3-6 months. Note that the 6-month timeframe may change back to 90 days by the NBCOT now that the pandemic restrictions has lessened in most areas.
Scheduling the Exam
Once you receive the ATT letter, you can choose a location and schedule your exam through www.prometric.com.
All the above steps and more are explained here in the NBCOT® Certification Exam Handbook. This handbook is very important and includes a lot of good information!