American Orthoptic Council

Testing is coordinated through JCAHPO

The American Orthoptic Council (AOC) was founded in 1935 with the main purpose of establishing standards for orthoptists in the United States. Besides examining and certifying individual orthoptists, the AOC also is responsible for setting and monitoring standards for the education of orthoptists, and grants accreditation to orthoptic programs in the United States. It encourages and helps to provide continuing education for recertification, and establishes guidelines for the professional and ethical conduct of certified orthoptists.

Written Qualifying Examination For The Certificate Of Orthoptics

After satisfactorily completing 24 months of orthoptic training in an AOC accredited program, and upon the recommendation of the supervising orthoptists with whom they have trained, students are eligible to sit for the American Orthoptic Council certifying examinations.

Requirements

Before scheduling an examination appointment, you must have already:

  1. Met the AOC’s specific eligibility requirements;
  2. Received an examination authorization email/letter notifying you that you are eligible to sit for the examination and providing you with your Candidate ID.

Scheduling

Scheduling of an appointment can be accomplished one of two ways. You can call the Pearson VUE call center at 888-879-9099. An agent will assist you in finding the best center location during the third week in June for your examination. You may also schedule your own appointment using the online scheduling tool on this page. You will be notified by email when your account has been activated after Pearson VUE receives your authorization to test. This email will identify your user name and password to enter the scheduling system.

After you schedule your test, Pearson VUE will send a confirmation letter listing your test date, your testing time, the address and phone number of the test center, and directions to the test center.

NDA Agreement

You will be required agree to an NDA Agreement (PDF, 57 KB) that will be presented at the beginning of your examination. Failure to read/accept the agreement within the allotted 5 minutes will result in your examination ending and a forfeit of your examination fees. Please take a moment to review the agreement now so that you are familiar with it when you sit for your examination.

Last updated 2020-04-29