ARDMS Exam Retake Policy

If you didn't pass SPI or an ARDMS specialty exam, here's what the ARDMS exam retake policy says about when you can apply again, when you can actually test, and what it costs.

The short answer

• SPI, Abdomen, OB/GYN, Breast, Adult Echo and Vascular Technology: you can reapply 72 hours (3 days) after the failed attempt. Your retest can't be sooner than 60 days after the failed exam date, and ARDMS says that wait cannot be waived.
• Fetal Echo, Pediatric Echo, Pediatric Sonography and Musculoskeletal Sonography (MSKS): these are windowed exams. You retake at the next administration, subject to the applicable waiting period and the eligibility dates on your Exam Confirmation Letter (ECL).
• Every retake is a new application at full price: $275 for SPI and $300 for each specialty, per the current fee schedule.
• The exam you already passed still counts, as long as you pass the other one before your 5-year deadline.
• The official retake guidance sets a waiting period. It doesn't state a maximum number of attempts.

Castleport Test Prep Editorial Team · Last verified October 28, 2026: retake and reapplication rules, fees, document requirements, exam windows, the 5-year rule, score-report policies and the cited SPI outline, checked against Inteleos/ARDMS sources.

Your retake dates

Applying, booking and testing are three separate steps, and each opens at a different time. This trips up a lot of people: you can pay for a retake well before you're allowed to sit for it.

Sources: Retake and reapply guidelines, Exam Confirmation Letter, Schedule or change an exam.

Work out your retake dates

For year-round exams, add 60 calendar days to the date you took the failed exam to find the minimum retest date. Reapplication requires 72 elapsed hours; a date three days later is a reference point, not permission to apply at midnight. For windowed exams, use the next administration and your ECL.

These examples don't guarantee an open seat on that day, and the dates on your ECL are the ones that count. The five-year calculation is explained below if you have already passed the other required exam.

Example dates for year-round exams

*Wait the full 72 hours after your exam before reapplying. These are illustrative date calculations using the rules checked above; the table cannot determine the eligible time of day.

ARDMS says your new eligibility period starts 60 days from the last date you took the exam. Once your new ECL arrives and scheduling is available, you can book an appointment within its eligibility dates—even while you're still waiting to take the exam. If booking is blocked, compare the ECL dates and exam window and contact Inteleos about anything that doesn't line up.

Which retake track is your exam on?

Source: Inteleos Exam Calendar 2026 (PDF) and the individual exam pages linked above.

A windowed exam has three different periods: when you can apply, when approved candidates can register (book), and the exam window when you can actually test. For a new application, missing the application period means waiting for a later cycle. The general minimum wait and the dates on your ECL still apply to a windowed retake.

2026 windows for windowed exams

*The calendar lists January 25, 2027 for MSKS Cycle 2, while the MSKS exam page describes results at the test center. Confirm the release timing for your administration with Inteleos.

The table above covers the 2026 cycle. Check your exam's current page and its linked official calendar before planning a later administration; the absence of later dates from this table does not mean those dates are unpublished.

APCA examinations, such as PVI and MSK, have their own fees and pages and aren't covered here.

How to reapply after a failed attempt

1. Confirm which exam you're repeating. Use the exam code on your score report and find its track in the table above.
2. For a year-round exam, wait 72 hours, then apply in the Inteleos portal. Log in at myportal.inteleos.org. ARDMS accounts now live in this Inteleos portal; on your first sign-in there, Inteleos tells existing users to choose "Forgot Password." For a windowed exam, confirm the unsuccessful result and check that the next application period is open first.
3. Submit the application and full fee, plus any documents your situation needs. See the two notes below. If you use testing accommodations, request them with this application.
4. Read your new Exam Confirmation Letter. Check the exam name and eligibility dates. If Inteleos asks for more documents instead, sort that out before you plan a test date.
5. Book with Pearson VUE inside your eligibility dates. The scheduling guidance lists 90-day eligibility for on-demand exams; for a windowed exam, use its published administration and the exact dates on your ECL. To reschedule or cancel, call Pearson at 877-258-9220 at least 96 hours before your appointment.

If something doesn't line up, such as no available dates or eligibility dates you don't understand, ask through the Inteleos contact page.

Do you need another Clinical Verification form?

For RDMS, RDCS and RVT specialty exams, if you were previously approved for a specialty, you're a re-applicant: you submit a new application and fee, and there are no additional requirements unless you don't have a valid Clinical Verification (CV) form on file. A signed CV form is valid for one year from the date your sponsor signed it, so a form from your first attempt may have lapsed. Paperless-program documentation has its own validity dates; check the status in your account and your program instructions. For MSKS, follow the requirements on the MSKS exam page.

If your CV form is still valid, the application is approved automatically and you can usually schedule within a day (or when the window opens for a windowed exam). If it isn't valid, submit a current one with the application. In the portal, go to Application Center, then Clinical Verification Form.

SPI never requires a CV form.

Sources: SPI and specialty prerequisites (PDF), "Reapplicant" row (page 2), SPI notes (page 3) and Pathway 2–Student notes (page 4); Retake and reapply guidelines.

Do your testing accommodations carry over?

Not automatically. Submit the Testing Accommodations Request Form every time you apply. If you were approved before and your supporting documents are still in date, that form is all you need. The supporting documents must be dated within the past five years. (Accommodations policy)

How much an ARDMS retake costs

Each fee includes a $100 non-refundable processing fee; it isn't added on top. If you test at a center outside the United States, Canada or Mexico, the schedule adds a non-refundable $50 fee when you book. The current fee schedule lists no reduced retake price. (Exam Fee Schedule, PDF)

Don't let the new fee go to waste. If you never book inside your eligibility dates, your result shows as "Expired" (results and scoring). If you've booked but need to back out, cancel through Pearson at least 96 hours ahead. Then wait 24 hours and request a refund in the portal under Application Center, then MY Examination/Application Status (exam refunds). Refund eligibility, deadlines and amounts depend on the exam. The $100 processing fee isn't refunded.

Is score verification worth $35? You can request it within 30 days of getting your scores by submitting the completed, signed form and $35 fee (score verification). The official score-verification form says a changed result is unlikely. Our take: unless something about your result looks plainly wrong, that $35 is usually better spent on preparation.

How many times can you retake an ARDMS exam?

The current official retake guidance doesn't state a numerical limit, either per year or lifetime. It describes the waiting period and the requirement to apply and pay again (retake guidelines).

You'll see "three attempts a year" or "three strikes and you're out" repeated online. We couldn't find either rule in the official retake guidance reviewed for this page. If the portal won't accept a new application, ask Inteleos directly which rule applies to your record.

How a failed exam affects your 5-year deadline

To earn RDMS, RDCS, RVT or RMSKS, you must pass SPI and a matching specialty within five years of each other, in either order. Failing one doesn't erase the one you've already passed.

The period runs by calendar year. Inteleos's own example: pass your first exam on June 6, 2026, and you have until December 31, 2031 to pass the second. If the deadline passes first, you must retake the exam you already passed. (5-Year Rule)

Two exceptions matter here:

• The rule doesn't apply when you're adding a specialty to a certification you already hold.
• If you've passed SPI and keep your status active, you can earn additional ARDMS credentials without retaking SPI (SPI exam page).

If you're close to the deadline, compare it with your minimum retest date and, for a windowed exam, the next administration. If the earliest permitted test date falls after your deadline, contact Inteleos before reapplying to confirm which examinations you must repeat. With an inactive status or an older physics exam, check your record with Inteleos before you plan around it.

Windowed exams: plan around the score gap

For FE, PE and PS, results are released about 60 days after the exam window closes. For example, Cycle 2 2026 Pediatric Sonography candidates tested September 15–October 8, and the published calendar schedules their score release for December 7, 2026. The MSKS source conflict is noted beside its calendar date above.

That gap means your result date and the next cycle's application period both matter to your retake plan. If you sat a windowed exam this cycle, don't pause your studying while you wait. If you need a retake, you'll want to be ready to apply as soon as the next application period opens.

Missed your appointment instead of failing?

That's a different process from a failed attempt. A no-show or an expired eligibility period isn't a scored fail. If you have a documented reason, you can file an appeal within 30 days of the missed appointment or the eligibility expiration.

Don't reapply before you get a decision. If you do, the appeal is no longer valid. If the appeal isn't granted, the exam fee is forfeited and you apply again.

Submit an appeal in any of these ways:

• Upload it in the portal under My Resources → Upload Documents → "Pearson Appeals"
• Email appeals@inteleos.org
• Use "Submit an Inquiry" on the exam in MyPortal

(Appeals process)

An 8-week plan for the 60-day wait

This plan is a study suggestion from us, not an ARDMS requirement. Use your score report, not a gut feeling about what went wrong, to decide where your time goes. Start when your unsuccessful result is available; the retake waiting period still runs from the examination, not from the start of this plan. (Windowed-exam candidates often have longer than eight weeks; stretch weeks 2–5 to fit.) Use the content outline effective on your retest date.

Worked example: SPI. The current SPI content outline, version 24.1, splits the exam approximately like this:

Say your report identifies both Doppler and transducers as weaker areas. Doppler gets weeks 2–3, because it accounts for roughly five times as many questions. The weights tell you where the questions are, not how hard each area will feel, so the smaller weak area still gets real time in weeks 4–5.

Other retake questions

Can the 60-day wait be waived?

No. The official guidance says it cannot be waived. ARDMS explains that the wait gives you time to prepare and limits repeated exposure to exam questions. A job offer, graduation date or a near-passing score doesn't change it.

If I fail my specialty, do I have to retake SPI?

Failing the specialty does not by itself require another SPI attempt. Your SPI pass stays valid toward the credential as long as you pass the specialty within your 5-year deadline.

Will my sonography program find out?

Program directors can request school reports, but those reports do not include individual raw scores or the names of candidates who failed. They include passing candidates' names and aggregate results (school-report policy).

Is my score a percentage?

No. ARDMS reports a scaled score from 300 to 700, and 555 passes. It isn't the percentage of questions you got right, and it isn't graded on a curve (SPI scoring).

Sources

Checked October 28, 2026:

• Inteleos: Retake and reapply guidelines
• Inteleos: Exam Fee Schedule (PDF)
• Inteleos: Exam Calendar 2026 (PDF)
• Inteleos: Schedule or change an exam and Exam Confirmation Letter
• Inteleos: SPI and specialty prerequisites (PDF)
• Inteleos: 5-Year Rule
• Inteleos: Accommodations and Appeals process
• Inteleos: Notification of results and scoring, Score verification and Exam refunds
• Inteleos exam pages: SPI, FE, PE, PS, MSKS, and the SPI content outline v24.1 (PDF)
• Inteleos: Exam Score Verification Form (PDF) and School Reports
• Additional Inteleos exam-format sources: Abdomen, Adult Echocardiography and Breast

How we check exam information: our methodology.

Castleport Test Prep is an independent exam prep publisher. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by ARDMS, APCA, Inteleos or Pearson VUE. Exam and credential names identify the subjects discussed; trademarks belong to their respective owners. Fees, windows and policies change. Your Exam Confirmation Letter and the Inteleos portal are the final word on your own application.