NBCOT Exam Results: Release Dates, Scores, and Next Steps

Your NBCOT exam result for the occupational therapy OTR or COTA exam appears in MyNBCOT, under Application History. To make a scheduled release date, you must test at least three days before it; if you tested on a Degree Verification Form (DVF), NBCOT must also have approved your official final transcript before that date.

NBCOT score release dates: November–December 2026

These are the scheduled 2026 release dates remaining as of November 4. Dates can change, and a transcript or complaint hold can delay one person's result.

Source: NBCOT's 2026 scoring calendar (PDF) and scoring page. The right-hand column applies NBCOT's three-day rule, and NBCOT says there are no exceptions.

Example: You test Tuesday, November 17. That's only two days before the November 19 release, so you miss it. There's no release on November 26, so December 3 is the next scheduled release you can qualify for, subject to holds or schedule changes.

What time do scores post? NBCOT's calendar doesn't promise a release time. No exam result is given at the test center. NBCOT scores the exam afterward and runs quality checks before release.

Year-end: December 22 is the last scheduled release of 2026, and you must test by December 19 to be in it. Testing is closed December 20, 2026 through January 3, 2027, and resumes January 4. January 4 is the date testing resumes; check the official calendar for 2027 score releases.

By the Castleport Test Prep Editorial Team. Release dates and results rules last verified November 4, 2026, against NBCOT's scoring calendar, scoring page, and Certification Exam Handbook.

How to check your NBCOT result

1. Sign in to MyNBCOT. If you can't get in, use the password-reset link on that page.
2. Go to Application History and open the result for your exam.

NBCOT emails you when your result is posted, whether you passed or not. The result itself is in your account. NBCOT won't give scores by phone, fax, or email.

Don't read anything into how many emails you got or when they arrived. The posted result is the only answer.

Open MyNBCOT to check your result

Why your NBCOT result might be missing

A missing result doesn't tell you whether you passed. Work through this table from the top.

Transcript timing: NBCOT's transcript review can take up to 10 business days, and longer in busy periods. Reviews happen in the order received. The transcript must be your official final transcript showing the degree title and the date it was awarded. It must come by USPS mail from your school's registrar or through a secure transcript service to transcripts@nbcot.org. NBCOT doesn't accept transcripts emailed directly by a registrar. See NBCOT's transcript instructions and Handbook, pp. 15–16.

About complaints: the complaint row only applies if you already filed one. You had to report the problem at the test center and email credentialingservices@nbcot.org within 24 hours of the incident. Administrative or technical exam-day complaints sent after your result posts aren't acknowledged. For a late result, use the account-help route in the table. (Handbook, p. 30)

What your NBCOT score means

• 450 or higher passes. Scores run from 300 to 600, and the line is the same for OTR and COTA.
• It's a scaled score, not a percentage. NBCOT converts the number of questions you got right onto a common scale, so different versions of the exam can be compared. A 450 means the same thing on every form. Dividing your score by 600 tells you nothing.
• You're measured against a fixed standard, not other test takers. Expert panels set the passing standard using the Modified Angoff method, which defines the minimum competence for safe entry-level practice. Each new exam form is statistically equated to that standard.
• Only your total score counts. No domain has its own passing line.
• Some questions don't count. Each exam includes unscored field-test questions, and you can't tell which ones they are.

So a 449 is a fail. But the one-point gap doesn't tell you how many more correct answers you'd have needed, and you can't derive a percent-correct target from the scaled score.

Source: NBCOT, Foundations of the Certification Examinations.

If you passed

NBCOT emails you when the result posts. You then get a congratulatory letter with your overall score. A separate email explains how to download your digital certificate, wallet card, and digital badge. Your certification number is in MyNBCOT.

If that certification email hasn't arrived within five business days of your score, email info@nbcot.org with your full name and certification number. (Handbook, p. 31)

Passing alone doesn't authorize you to practice. NBCOT certification and a state license are separate, and practicing without a license or permit is illegal. Find your regulator in NBCOT's state board contact list (PDF), and follow that board's application steps.

Your first certification renewal falls four years from the year you passed, in the January–March window. For example, if you pass in 2026, you renew in January–March 2030. (Handbook, p. 34)

Sending your score to your state board

You order a Score Transfer in MyNBCOT. If you already added one for that board to this exam application, you've already requested it.

• Who needs one: Check your board's requirements before ordering. Hawaii's OT application and OTA application require NBCOT verification of certification sent directly to Hawaii's Occupational Therapy Program instead of a Score Transfer.
• Cost: one transfer is free only if you added it to your exam application. Every other transfer costs $35, including one ordered after you applied.
• Timing: if you ordered it before testing, it goes out within 2–3 business days after your exam is scored. If you order it now, it goes out within three business days of your request. "Sent" isn't the same as your board processing your license.
• No changes after submission: a transfer can't be canceled, refunded, or switched to a different state.
• SSN match: if the Social Security number NBCOT has doesn't match the one your board has, the board can't see your score, and you'll have to pay for a new transfer.
• Check whether your board needs one per attempt. Ask yours.

Sources: NBCOT Score Transfer service, exam Score Transfer page, Handbook, pp. 16–17.

Review NBCOT's Score Transfer instructions

If you didn't pass

NBCOT emails you when the result posts. A performance feedback report then appears in MyNBCOT. It shows:

• your overall scaled score
• the average score of new graduates who recently passed
• a domain-level chart of your relative strengths and weaknesses
• NBCOT's guide to reading the report, plus an FAQ

Read the overall score first; it's the only thing that decided the result. Then use the domain chart to choose where to spend extra review time. Each domain rests on fewer questions than the full exam, so treat the chart as a direction, not a precise measurement. Keep reviewing your stronger domains too.

NBCOT's online sample fail reports come from a 2017 exam and show an older set of domains. Use your own report's domain names, not the sample's. (OTR sample, COTA sample)

On a temporary or limited permit? NBCOT tells you to contact the board that issued it right away to find out whether it's still valid. (Handbook, p. 31)

When you can retake the NBCOT exam

Reapply through your existing MyNBCOT account; a duplicate account costs $35. You'll pay the application fee again and get a new Authorization to Test (ATT) letter. You don't need to resend your transcript unless NBCOT asks.

You can reapply 30 days before your next eligible exam date. Check your MyNBCOT dashboard for the date you can reapply. After eligibility is approved, you'll receive a new ATT with a 90-day testing window that can't open before your waiting period ends. Then schedule your exam with Pearson. (Handbook, pp. 33–34)

The table above reflects NBCOT's current handbook.

Retake date examples (last exam Wednesday, November 4, 2026):

These count calendar days. Your actual appointment also depends on eligibility approval, your new ATT, and Pearson availability. Check your MyNBCOT dashboard for your reapplication date.

Two things to redo on a retake application:

• Score Transfer: the free transfer doesn't carry over. If your board needs one, add it to the new application before you pay.
• Name change: if your legal name changed, request the change in MyNBCOT before reapplying, so your new ATT matches your ID.

Can you appeal an NBCOT result?

Yes, but failing alone isn't grounds for an appeal.

• Your letter must give the specific reasons for the appeal and why it should be granted.
• It must arrive within 14 days of the date your result posted. Send it by traceable mail with signature confirmation to: NBCOT, Attention: Vice President, Credentialing Services, One Bank Street, Suite 300, Gaithersburg, MD 20878. NBCOT doesn't accept email appeals.
• An administrative or technical exam-day problem you didn't report at the test center (and to NBCOT within 24 hours of the incident) doesn't qualify.
• NBCOT responds within 21 business days of receiving your appeal. A further written appeal must reach NBCOT by traceable mail within 21 days of your receiving that response.
• NBCOT won't release exam questions or content during an appeal.

Full checklist: Handbook, p. 32.

Who else sees your NBCOT result

Source: Handbook, pp. 18 and 31–32.

Looking for NBCOT results by school?

NBCOT publishes pass rates by program in its School Performance Data lookup. Its passing rate counts new graduates who passed during the testing year regardless of how many attempts they took, so it isn't a first-attempt pass rate.

Quick questions

Can I see which questions I missed? No. If you didn't pass, your report shows your overall score and domain-level feedback. NBCOT doesn't release exam content, even during an appeal.

Does a higher passing score matter? For certification, no. A 451 and a 560 both pass.

Sources

Checked November 4, 2026:

• NBCOT — Scoring and 2026 year-end schedule
• NBCOT — 2026 Scoring Calendar (PDF)
• NBCOT — Certification Exam Handbook (PDF), pp. 15–19 and 30–34
• NBCOT — After your exam
• NBCOT — Foundations of the Certification Examinations
• NBCOT — Apply (transcripts)
• NBCOT — Score Transfer service and exam Score Transfer page
• NBCOT — School Performance Data
• NBCOT — State board contact list (PDF)
• Hawaii — OT application (PDF) and OTA application (PDF), p. 2
• NBCOT — Verification of Certification and Verify Credentials

Use your MyNBCOT account for your individual application and result status; contact NBCOT if it conflicts with the current handbook.

Castleport Test Prep is an independent exam prep publisher. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc. (NBCOT). Exam and credential names identify their subjects; trademarks belong to their respective owners.