- The CCC-A exam is Praxis Audiology (5343): 120 selected-response questions, 2 hours, $146.
- Passing score is 162 on ASHA's 100-200 scale - memorize this number, not a percentage.
- Assessment is the largest domain at 35% of the exam; prioritize it in your final review.
- Initial ASHA certification costs $490 with membership or $446 without it, separate from the exam fee.
Exam Snapshot: Praxis Audiology (5343)
Before you touch a single practice question, lock in the mechanics of the exam itself. The CCC-A - the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology awarded by ASHA's Council for Clinical Certification in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology - requires passing the Praxis Audiology test, code 5343, which ETS owns and administers through 2026.
- Format: 120 computer-delivered, selected-response questions
- Time limit: 2 hours
- Fee: $146 per attempt
- Passing score: 162 on ASHA's 100-200 scale
- Note: The test may include unscored items mixed in with scored questions, so every item deserves your full attention - you won't know which ones count toward your score
If you want a deeper walk-through of how this scoring system works, the CCC-A Passing Score 2026 guide breaks down exactly what 162 means in practice, and the CCC-A difficulty guide puts the format in context against other clinical certification exams.
The Five CCC-A Domains at a Glance
Praxis Audiology (5343) is built around five weighted content areas. Knowing the exact names and weights lets you allocate review time proportionally instead of studying everything equally.
Domain 1: Foundations of Audiology (20%)
Covers the anatomical, physiological, and acoustic principles underlying clinical practice.
- Auditory and vestibular system anatomy and physiology
- Psychoacoustics and the physics of sound
- Genetics and etiologies of hearing loss
Domain 2: Prevention and Screening (10%)
Focuses on identifying risk and catching hearing loss early across the lifespan.
- Newborn hearing screening protocols
- Occupational and recreational noise exposure prevention
- School-age and adult screening procedures
Domain 3: Assessment (35%)
The single largest domain and the one that should anchor your entire review schedule.
- Pure-tone and speech audiometry interpretation
- Immittance testing, otoacoustic emissions, and auditory evoked potentials
- Vestibular and balance function assessment
- Differential diagnosis based on test-battery patterns
Domain 4: Intervention (25%)
Covers management planning once a diagnosis is established.
- Hearing aid selection, fitting, and verification
- Cochlear implant candidacy and post-implant management
- Aural rehabilitation and counseling approaches
Domain 5: Professional and Ethical Responsibilities (10%)
Tests knowledge of scope of practice, documentation, and ethical decision-making.
- ASHA Code of Ethics application to clinical scenarios
- Scope of practice and supervision requirements
- Documentation, billing, and interprofessional collaboration
For item-level breakdowns and sample question phrasing inside each of these five areas, see the CCC-A Exam Domains 2026 guide. Since Assessment alone represents more than a third of the exam, it should receive roughly a third of your total study hours - not an equal fifth like the other domains.
Key Takeaway
Rank your study time by domain weight: Assessment (35%) and Intervention (25%) together make up 60% of the exam. Review these two domains first and most often.
Registration, Fees, and the 2027 PSI Switch
The exam fee and the certification fee are two separate payments, and confusing them is one of the most common budgeting mistakes candidates make.
| Item | Cost | Paid To |
|---|---|---|
| Praxis Audiology (5343) exam | $146 | ETS |
| Initial ASHA certification (with membership) | $490 | ASHA |
| Initial ASHA certification (without membership) | $446 | ASHA |
The exam itself is currently administered by ETS, but that changes on January 11, 2027, when administration transitions to PSI. This is a delivery-vendor change only - the content, question format, and the 162 passing score remain unchanged. If your exam window falls near that transition date, double-check which vendor's scheduling system and test-center network apply to you.
A full accounting of every fee - including what happens if you need to retake the exam or maintain certification long-term - is laid out in the CCC-A Certification Cost 2026 breakdown. If you're still weighing whether the investment pays off relative to your career goals, the CCC-A ROI analysis is worth reading before you register.
Certification Requirements Checklist
Passing Praxis Audiology (5343) is only one of four pillars ASHA requires before it grants the CCC-A. Candidates must satisfy all of the following:
- Doctoral-degree standard: completion of an accredited doctoral program in audiology
- Knowledge-and-skills standard: demonstrated mastery of the knowledge and skills outlined by ASHA's certification standards
- Supervised clinical practicum standard: completion of required supervised clinical hours during training
- Examination standard: a passing score of 162 or higher on Praxis Audiology (5343)
Missing any one of these four pillars means certification cannot be granted, regardless of exam performance. If you're early in your program and still mapping out eligibility, the CCC-A Requirements 2026 guide walks through each standard in more depth, and CCC-A Training resources can help you identify gaps before you apply.
Maintaining the CCC-A After You Pass
Earning the credential is not a one-time event - ASHA requires ongoing maintenance to keep it active.
- Annual dues or certification fees to remain in good standing
- 30 professional-development hours every three years
- Of those 30 hours, 1 hour must be dedicated to ethics
- Effective in 2026, 2 hours must cover designated person-centered, reflective, or collaborative topics
Final-Week Review Plan by Domain
In the days before your test date, don't restart broad studying - condense. A short, domain-weighted review schedule keeps your final week focused on what the exam actually tests, rather than generic last-minute cramming.
Assessment (35%)
- Re-drill audiogram and test-battery interpretation scenarios
- Review immittance, OAE, and evoked-potential result patterns
Intervention (25%)
- Revisit hearing aid fitting/verification workflows
- Review cochlear implant candidacy criteria and rehab counseling approaches
Foundations (20%) + Screening (10%)
- Refresh anatomy, psychoacoustics, and etiology facts
- Review screening protocols across age groups
Professional & Ethical Responsibilities (10%)
- Reread the ASHA Code of Ethics highlights
- Review scope-of-practice and documentation scenarios
Full Timed Simulation
- Take a full 120-question, 2-hour practice run under real time pressure
- Review missed items by domain, not just by question number
Notice the time allocation mirrors the domain weights: Assessment and Intervention combined get roughly two-thirds of the week because they're worth 60% of the exam. A structured week-by-week ramp-up covering the full study period - not just the final week - is available in the CCC-A Study Guide 2026.
Running a full timed simulation on our practice test platform before test day is the single best way to confirm your pacing holds up across all 120 questions, unscored items included.
Common Last-Minute Pitfalls
- Confusing the exam fee with the certification fee. $146 gets you into the testing room; $490 (or $446 without membership) is the separate certification application cost.
- Studying all domains equally. Spending the same number of hours on Screening (10%) as on Assessment (35%) is a common - and costly - misallocation.
- Overlooking the ethics and person-centered CE hours. These aren't optional line items; they're required components of your 30-hour renewal cycle, with the 2-hour person-centered/reflective/collaborative requirement newly effective in 2026.
- Ignoring unscored items. Since scored and unscored questions are mixed and indistinguishable, slowing down on "easy-looking" questions late in the test can cost you time on questions that do count.
- Not checking which vendor administers your test date. ETS runs the exam through 2026; PSI takes over January 11, 2027. Confirm before you schedule.
If you're trying to gauge realistically how much preparation this exam demands relative to your background, the CCC-A Pass Rate 2026 data and the CCC-A difficulty guide are useful reality checks before you set a test date. And once you're certified, the CCC-A Salary Guide 2026 and CCC-A Jobs resources outline where the credential opens doors.
FAQ
You need a scaled score of 162 or higher on Praxis Audiology (5343), which is scored on ASHA's 100-200 scale.
The exam has 120 computer-delivered, selected-response questions, and you have 2 hours to complete it. Some items may be unscored but are not identified as such.
Assessment, which makes up 35% of the exam - the largest single domain. Intervention at 25% is the second priority.
No. The Praxis Audiology exam costs $146, paid to ETS. Initial ASHA certification is a separate cost of $490 with membership or $446 without it.
No. Starting January 11, 2027, PSI administers the exam instead of ETS, but the content and the 162 passing score remain unchanged.
You must pay annual dues or certification fees and complete 30 professional-development hours every three years, including 1 ethics hour and, effective in 2026, 2 hours in designated person-centered, reflective, or collaborative topics.