O&P Assistant FAQs

Your experience can be gained from any business that primarily provides orthotic and/or prosthetic patient care. A list of accredited facilities can be located using the ABC Directory.  If your experience is from a business that is not primarily engaged in orthotic and/or prosthetic patient care, your experience will be evaluated on an individual basis to determine whether it meets the intent of the requirement.

Use the Assistant Exam Candidate Self Assessment Checklist as a guideline for the areas you should focus on and the amount of time you should be spending in each area. You are required to submit an Assistant Competency Attestation Form completed by your supervisor to verify your experience.

No, the required number of hours must be completed on or before the application deadline.

No, your supervisor must be an ABC certified practitioner in the discipline in which you are applying. 

You have up to fourteen days to apply after the application deadline. You will be required to pay a non-refundable $100 late fee.

Please allow up to four weeks for your application to be processed. We will send you a notice of your eligibility status via email. You may also check your application status by logging in to your My ABC account.

Yes, the application and exam fees for another credential are due when you apply.  

Yes, application fees are required for each discipline. You must also submit two separate applications if you are applying for orthotics and prosthetics at the same time.

We will defer your exam fees to the subsequent cycle. If we do not receive the required documents by the deadline for the next cycle, your application will be denied, and a refund of your exam fee(s) will be issued.  It is your responsibility to reapply for eligibility with the required fees.

Both the application and exam fees are due with your application. All applications and payments must be submitted online.  The application fee is non-refundable.

We will email you an Authorization to Test letter with information on how to schedule a specific time, date and location with our testing provider, Prometric.

Availability at the testing centers is on a first come, first served basis. If you are having difficulty finding a location near you, please contact us at certification@abcop.org.

Yes, you can take more than one exam on the same day, space and time permitting.

• You have up to thirty days prior to the exam date to cancel the exam without incurring a penalty. 
• You will incur a $55 cancellation fee if you cancel less than thirty days from your scheduled exam date.
• If you cancel within 5 days of your exam date, you will forfeit your entire exam fee.

You will forfeit your exam fee and be required to re-register for the next available cycle.​ ​

Once your initial application is approved, you are eligible to take the exam a maximum of four times within a three-year period. If you fail the exam four times or if your eligibility period has expired, you must reapply for eligibility. Please reference the ABC Assistant Candidate Guide for more information.

You will receive an immediate on-screen pass/fail result when you finish your exam. You will receive an email with an official score report within 24 hours for the written exam.

You may re-register 24 hours after taking your exam for the next available exam cycle by the application deadline.

Certificates are mailed four weeks after the conclusion of the exam cycle.

If you have failed the exam four times or if your eligibility period has expired, you must reapply for eligibility. Please reference the ABC Assistant Candidate Guide for more information.

Once you are certified, you have a five-year certification cycle in which you must earn continuing education credits and submit an annual fee. See the Guide for Maintaining Certification for information discipline specific continuing education credit requirements.

Your annual renewal fee is $150 and is due by December 1st. The fee for your first year will be prorated.