RTM Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling

How RTM Exam Scheduling Actually Works

Candidates searching for "RTM exam dates" often expect a published list of national testing days, the way some certifications run two or three fixed sittings a year. That is not how this credential works. The Registered Technologist - Mammography credential is earned through ARRT's postprimary pathway, and the exam is delivered by Pearson VUE at test centers. Your date depends on two things: when ARRT approves your application and opens your personal examination window, and when a Pearson VUE seat is available near you.

That means the planning question is not "which month is the exam?" but "when will I be eligible, and how do I time my application so the window opens when I am ready?" If you are still confirming whether you qualify at all, start with our RTM requirements guide, which covers eligibility and prerequisites in depth. If you want a refresher on what the credential is before planning dates, see What Is RTM Certification?

Your Eligibility Window Is the Real Calendar

Because RTM is a postprimary credential, several time-bound conditions must line up before you can sit for the exam. Each carries its own clock:

• Current ARRT certification and registration in Radiography. This must be in good standing when you apply. A lapsed registration stalls the entire process.
• Ethics compliance. You must meet ARRT's ethics requirements, which includes disclosure of certain legal or disciplinary matters.
• 16 hours of structured education completed within the 24 months before you apply, with at least one credit in each major content category.
• Verified clinical experience completed within the corresponding 24-month eligibility window.

Notice that two of those items are measured backward from your application date. Education that is too old will not count, and neither will clinical procedures logged outside the window. The practical effect is that your "exam date" is effectively set by when you finish the last of your documented requirements and submit. A candidate who completes the 16 hours early but drags out clinical logging can age out of the education window and have to repeat coursework.

Building the Clinical Timeline Backward From Your Application

The clinical requirement is the longest pole in the tent for most candidates, so it deserves the most careful scheduling. The requirements, effective September 1, 2025, include:

Daily logging limits shape your pace

You cannot compress the clinical work arbitrarily. A maximum of 16 mammographic procedures may be logged per day across mammograms, QC, image evaluation, and electives, and QC documentation is limited to one submission per day per test. If a QC activity requires many repetitions, you need that many separate days to document it. Build your timeline by counting the repetitions for your slowest QC activity first; that sets the minimum calendar length of your clinical phase.

Verification logistics

The candidate must be physically present for examinations and procedures, but a qualified clinical verifier does not need to directly observe the work and may verify remotely. For image evaluation, ARRT permits a HIPAA-compliant virtual meeting with a remote interpreting physician, provided you review the same images on a local monitor. In-person review is recommended. Scheduling the interpreting-physician sessions early matters, because physician availability, not your readiness, is often the bottleneck.

Application, Fees, and Reapplication Mechanics

Once your education and clinical documentation are complete, you apply through ARRT. The fee structure is straightforward:

For a fuller view of what the whole path costs, including education and any other expenses, see our RTM certification cost breakdown. Fees can change, so confirm current amounts on ARRT's fee page before you submit.

From approval to a seat

After ARRT approves your application, your examination window opens and you schedule with Pearson VUE. Choose your center and date as soon as the window opens. Popular centers and times fill up, and you want to leave room for a retake inside your window if needed. Because the clock on your attempts starts at the opening of the initial window rather than at your first sitting, delaying your first appointment burns time you may want later.

What the Appointment Looks Like on Test Day

Block out nearly three hours. The numbers are specific:

• 145 total questions: 115 scored and 30 unscored pilot questions. You will not know which are which.
• 150 minutes of examination answering time.
• 170 minutes for the full appointment, which adds the tutorial, nondisclosure agreement, and survey.

The exam is computer-based and closed book. Most items are single-best-answer multiple choice, though you may encounter alternative item formats and image-based questions, and the ARRT handbook also describes multiple-response and ordered-response formats. Basic and scientific on-screen calculators are available, and Pearson can supply a basic four-function calculator on request. Personal calculators are prohibited. You must answer each item before advancing, but you can flag items and return to them.

Pacing works out to roughly one minute per question if you use the full 150 minutes across all 145 items. Because image-based and multiple-response items take longer, flag and move on rather than letting any single question eat several minutes. For more on how the format feels in practice, read How Hard Is the RTM Exam?

Attempt Limits and the Three-Year Clock

ARRT allows three examination attempts within three years of the opening of the initial examination window. This is the single most important date-related rule to internalize. Two practical consequences follow:

1. The three-year clock starts when your window opens, not when you first test. Schedule your first attempt promptly.
2. If you need a retake, the $200 reapplication fee applies, and you must still fall inside the three-year limit.

The passing standard is a scaled score of 75 on ARRT's 1-99 range. This is not 75% correct, a distinction that trips up many candidates; our RTM passing score guide explains how scaled scoring works. For context on how candidates have fared, see the RTM pass rate analysis.

The September 2025 Blueprint and Why It Matters for Your Date

The exam content changed effective September 1, 2025. The controlling document is the Mammography Examination Content Specifications (board approved July 2024, V.2024.09.09). If you are planning a 2026 sitting, you are being tested on this revised blueprint, so study materials written for the older version may be out of step.

The three official major content categories, with scored-question allocations out of 115, are:

Procedures accounts for 65 of the 115 scored questions, so it should drive both your study allocation and your timing. For a deeper walk through each category, see the complete RTM exam domains guide.

A note on the 2025 pass statistics

ARRT's 2025 report gives two figures that describe different groups. The full-year first-attempt summary reports a rounded 91% passing among 1,865 candidates and spans the September blueprint change. The revised-exam first-time cohort for September 1 through December 31, 2025 had a 90.3% pass rate (n=567). The 90.3% is not the full-year rate. Neither number is a guarantee for you, but both suggest that well-prepared postprimary candidates generally do well.

Sequencing Your Prep Around the Exam Date

Once your window opens and you have a Pearson VUE date, work backward from it. A sensible RTM-specific sequence follows the weight of the blueprint, with the heaviest category getting the most calendar time:

Your clinical log is also a study asset. Having personally performed 75 independent exams and all nine QC activities means much of Image Production and Positioning will feel familiar; use practice questions to expose the gaps. For a full strategy, see the RTM study guide, and keep the RTM cheat sheet handy for last-week review. When you are ready to test yourself on realistic questions, try the RTM practice test.

After You Pass: Renewal and CQR Dates

Certification is not a one-time date; it creates recurring ones. Plan for these from the start:

• Annual renewal: $65 per year, regardless of the number of ARRT credentials you hold.
• Continuing education: 24 approved CE credits per two-year biennium, counted per biennium and not per credential.
• Ethics compliance: an ongoing requirement, not just an application hurdle.
• Continuing Qualifications Requirements (CQR): credentials earned on or after January 1, 2011 require CQR every 10 years, consisting of a professional profile, a structured self-assessment, and any prescribed CE. ARRT also permits accepting the maximum CQR CE prescription instead of taking the self-assessment.

If you are weighing whether the long-term upkeep is worthwhile, our analysis in Is the RTM Certification Worth It? and the RTM salary guide may help, and RTM jobs covers where credentialed technologists work.

Frequently Asked Questions