CCC-A Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify

Who Sets CCC-A Requirements and Why They Matter

The Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology (CCC-A) is awarded by the Council for Clinical Certification in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, operating under the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Because this council controls every eligibility rule, the requirements you'll read below aren't suggestions from a study blog - they're the exact gatekeeping standards that determine whether you can practice as a certified audiologist in the United States.

If you're just starting to research this credential, it helps to first understand what is CCC-A and how it differs from a state license. This article focuses specifically on eligibility: the degree, the practicum hours, the documentation, and the national exam you must pass to qualify.

The Four Pillars of CCC-A Eligibility

ASHA's Council for Clinical Certification structures CCC-A eligibility around four standards. Miss any one of them and your application stalls, regardless of how strong the others are.

Each of these pillars has its own documentation trail, and applicants frequently underestimate how much administrative tracking is involved compared to the exam itself. The exam is a single afternoon; the degree and practicum requirements span years of coursework and clinical placements that must be verified by your program.

Doctoral Degree Requirement

CCC-A applicants must hold a doctoral degree in audiology. This is the academic foundation the Council uses to confirm you've received graduate-level instruction across the full scope of clinical audiology practice - not just exam-relevant content, but the coursework that underlies the knowledge and skills standard described next.

Your program should map its coursework directly to ASHA's certification standards, so before you're anywhere near exam day, your degree program has already been building the foundation tested in Domain 1 (Foundations of Audiology) and beyond.

Knowledge and Skills Documentation

Beyond coursework, ASHA requires documented evidence that you've acquired specific knowledge and skills across the profession - commonly referred to as the KASA standard. This isn't a separate test; it's paperwork your academic program completes and certifies on your behalf, confirming you've been exposed to and evaluated on the competencies the Council expects every certified audiologist to possess.

Supervised Clinical Practicum

The supervised clinical practicum standard requires hands-on clinical experience under qualified supervision before certification is granted. This is where classroom knowledge becomes clinical judgment: administering assessments, interpreting results, and delivering intervention under the direct oversight of a credentialed supervisor.

This practicum experience directly feeds into two of the exam's heaviest domains - Assessment and Intervention - because the scenarios you'll face on Praxis Audiology (5343) mirror the clinical decision-making you practice during supervised hours. Candidates who treat practicum as a checkbox rather than an exam-prep opportunity often find the exam's applied-reasoning questions harder than expected.

Passing Praxis Audiology (5343)

The national examination standard is satisfied by passing Praxis Audiology (5343), owned and administered by ETS through 2026. Here's exactly what you're signing up for:

• Format: 120 computer-delivered, selected-response questions
• Time limit: 2 hours
• Fee: $146 per attempt
• Passing score: 162 on the 100-200 scale
• Note: The test may include unscored items mixed in with scored questions, so every question should be treated as though it counts

Because unscored items are indistinguishable from scored ones, pacing matters as much as content mastery. With 120 questions in 120 minutes, you have roughly one minute per item on average - tight enough that you can't afford to get stuck reasoning through unfamiliar phrasing on any single question. For a deeper breakdown of exactly what 162 means and how ASHA calculates it, see this guide to the CCC-A passing score.

What the Exam Domains Demand From You

Praxis Audiology (5343) is organized into five weighted content domains. Understanding the weighting isn't academic trivia - it should directly shape how many study hours you allocate to each area.

Because Assessment alone accounts for over a third of the exam, it deserves proportionally more of your review time than any other single area. For a full breakdown of subtopics within each domain, see this complete guide to all five CCC-A exam domains.

Registration, Fees, and Application Mechanics

Meeting the eligibility standards is only half the process - you also need to budget for the associated costs. Initial ASHA certification costs $490 if you hold ASHA membership, or $446 if you apply without membership, in addition to the $146 Praxis Audiology (5343) exam fee paid separately to the test administrator.

These figures are the certification fees; they don't include your academic program's tuition or any state licensure fees, which are governed separately from the CCC-A. For a fuller accounting of every fee across the certification lifecycle, read the detailed CCC-A certification cost breakdown.

The 2027 Shift to PSI

Mark this date if you're planning your timeline into next year: on January 11, 2027, administration of Praxis Audiology (5343) transitions from ETS to PSI. The exam content and the passing point of 162 remain unchanged - only the company running test-day logistics changes. If your target test date falls near this transition, double-check registration procedures directly with the current administrator rather than relying on older instructions, since scheduling portals and testing-center logistics may shift during the handover.

Keeping the CCC-A After You Earn It

Eligibility doesn't end at the exam. Certification holders maintain the CCC-A through annual dues or certification fees plus 30 professional-development hours every three years. Within those 30 hours, ASHA requires 1 hour specifically in ethics, and - effective in 2026 - 2 hours in designated person-centered, reflective, or collaborative-practice topics.

Sequencing Your Requirements: A Practical Timeline

Because eligibility is layered - degree, KASA documentation, practicum, and exam - the order in which you tackle exam preparation matters. Once your practicum hours and coursework are substantially complete, a focused final stretch on Praxis Audiology (5343) content makes sense.

For a week-by-week study methodology built specifically around this weighting, see the full CCC-A study guide for passing on your first attempt. And if you're still gauging how demanding the exam feels relative to your current knowledge base, this difficulty guide to the CCC-A exam walks through what makes certain domains harder than others.

You can build timed familiarity with the selected-response format using full-length CCC-A practice tests before committing to an official test date - a low-stakes way to confirm your pacing works under real time pressure.

Who Actually Requires This Credential

Employers across hospitals, private audiology clinics, school districts, and hearing-healthcare chains list the CCC-A as a hiring prerequisite because it signals that a candidate has met ASHA's full standard - degree, practicum, and national exam - not just a state license. If you're evaluating career paths before committing to the exam investment, browsing current CCC-A jobs postings is a practical way to see how consistently employers reference the credential, and structured CCC-A training programs can help you map your remaining coursework and practicum hours against employer expectations.

Frequently Asked Questions