What Is A CCC-A?

What Is A CCC-A?

The CCC-A, or Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology, is the national certification that verifies an audiologist has met a defined standard of academic preparation, supervised clinical training, and examination performance. It is not a license - states issue those separately - but it is the credential employers, insurers, and referral sources look for as proof that a clinician has cleared a recognized bar of competence in audiologic assessment and intervention.

If you landed here searching "what is a CCC-A," the short answer is this: it is the certification you earn from ASHA's certifying council after finishing a doctoral-level audiology program, completing supervised clinical practicum hours, and passing a single standardized exam. For a broader look at how this fits into the certification landscape, see What Is CCC-A? and CCC-A Meaning.

Who Awards It and Who Administers the Exam

The CCC-A is awarded by the Council for Clinical Certification in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, which operates under ASHA. The council sets the academic, clinical, and testing standards; it does not write or proctor the exam itself. That job belongs to ETS, which owns and administers the required test - Praxis Audiology (5343) - through 2026.

Starting January 11, 2027, exam administration transitions from ETS to PSI. This is a vendor change only: the content, format, and the 162 passing score remain the same. Candidates testing before that date sit with ETS; candidates testing after sit with PSI, but they are studying and being scored against the identical standard.

Praxis Audiology (5343): Format and Structure

Praxis Audiology (5343) is a computer-delivered exam made up of 120 selected-response questions, completed in a 2-hour session. "Selected-response" means every item is a multiple-choice-style question with one best answer among the options presented - there are no essays or clinical simulations to build.

One detail candidates often miss: the exam may include unscored (pretest) items mixed in with scored questions. You cannot tell which items count toward your final score, so every question needs your full attention regardless of how it "feels." The exam costs $146 to sit, separate from ASHA's certification application fees discussed below.

For a deeper breakdown of what makes this format challenging compared to other credentialing exams, read How Hard Is the CCC-A Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.

The Five CCC-A Exam Domains

Praxis Audiology (5343) is built around five content domains, each carrying a different share of the 120 questions. Knowing the weighting tells you where to invest study hours.

Because Assessment alone accounts for over a third of the exam, it deserves proportionally more review time than any other single area. A full walkthrough of each domain's subtopics and sample question angles is available in CCC-A Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 5 Content Areas.

Passing Score and What It Means

ASHA sets the passing score for Praxis Audiology (5343) at 162 on a 100-200 scale. That scaled score is not a simple percentage of items answered correctly - it reflects a statistical adjustment ETS (and later PSI) applies to account for question difficulty. The practical implication is that you should study to master concepts across all five domains rather than trying to calculate a raw-score cutoff.

Because the passing point does not change with the 2027 administration shift to PSI, candidates on either side of that transition are held to the same bar. For the full context on how the score is calculated and what it means for retake decisions, see CCC-A Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.

Registration, Fees, and Certification Costs

There are two separate cost buckets to plan for, and confusing them is a common mistake among first-time applicants.

• The exam itself: Praxis Audiology (5343) costs $146 per sitting, paid to the testing vendor (ETS through 2026, PSI from January 11, 2027 onward).
• Initial ASHA certification: Applying for the CCC-A costs $490 if you hold ASHA membership, or $446 if you apply without membership.

Neither fee guarantees the other outcome - passing the exam does not automatically grant certification, and applying for certification does not include your exam fee. Budget for both, and factor in that a retake means paying the exam fee again. A full cost breakdown, including ongoing maintenance expenses, is covered in CCC-A Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.

Requirements to Qualify

Before you're eligible to sit for Praxis Audiology (5343) as part of a CCC-A application, ASHA's council requires candidates to satisfy four standards:

• Doctoral degree: Completion of a doctoral-level audiology program from an accredited institution.
• Knowledge and skills: Demonstrated coursework and competency across the clinical knowledge areas the certification covers.
• Supervised clinical practicum: Documented, supervised clinical hours completed during training.
• Examination standard: A passing score of 162 on Praxis Audiology (5343).

These four pillars work together - you cannot substitute strong exam performance for missing practicum hours, or vice versa. If you're still early in your program and mapping out your eligibility timeline, CCC-A Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify walks through each standard in more depth.

Who Hires CCC-A Holders

The CCC-A is the credential most audiology employers expect as a baseline hiring requirement, since it signals that a clinician has cleared ASHA's academic, clinical, and testing standards. Typical settings that look for the CCC-A include hospital audiology departments, ENT and otolaryngology practices, pediatric diagnostic clinics, hearing aid dispensing practices, school district audiology programs, and university-affiliated clinics that also train the next generation of candidates.

Because job postings routinely list "CCC-A required" or "CCC-A eligible" as a screening criterion, understanding how the credential connects to career opportunities and long-term earning potential is worth exploring separately - see CCC-A Jobs and CCC-A Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis for that side of the picture, or Is the CCC-A Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 if you're weighing the investment against your career goals.

Maintaining the CCC-A After You Pass

Passing Praxis Audiology (5343) and receiving certification is not the end of the obligation. Holders maintain the CCC-A through annual dues or certification fees plus 30 hours of professional development every three years. That requirement includes at least 1 ethics hour, and - effective in 2026 - 2 hours specifically in person-centered, reflective, or collaborative practice topics.

Missing these renewal requirements can put certification status at risk, so it's worth building continuing-education tracking into your professional routine from day one rather than scrambling near a renewal deadline.

Mapping a Study Plan to the Domains

A generic study calendar won't help much here - what matters is aligning your weekly focus to domain weight. Since Assessment carries 35% of the exam and Intervention carries 25%, more than half your preparation time should live in those two areas, with lighter, review-style coverage of the remaining three domains.

For a more detailed week-by-week plan with specific resources and practice strategies, see CCC-A Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt. You can also review timed, domain-tagged practice questions on our practice test platform to see exactly where your weak spots sit relative to the 35%-weighted Assessment domain before exam day.

Frequently Asked Questions