See CCO’s COVID Response Center for details on how test sites are making accommodations for COVID.
Practical Examination Process
SCHEDULING A TEST
Candidates for the practical examination should contact their Test Site Coordinator to determine the date of the next scheduled practical exam. Candidates may also visit the Find Open Practical Test Sites page for a listing of upcoming open Test Sites.
APPLYING FOR PRACTICAL EXAMS
Candidates must apply for practical exams online. Upon submission of an application and payment, candidates will receive a confirmation email within one hour with an authorization code for each practical exam they are approved to take. Candidates have up to 180 days to take their practical exam before their authorization expires.
Please note the following requirements:
- Candidates will not be permitted to take a practical exam without their authorization code.
- Candidates must take the authorized practical exam by the expiration date. No extensions permitted.
- Applications cannot be cancelled, refunded, or transferred to another candidate.
- On test day candidates must bring a valid government-issued photo ID (passport, driver’s license) with date of birth.
TEST DAY
Candidates must report to the Test Site at the scheduled time. Candidates must present their Practical Exam Authorization code either as a printed document or electronically.
All candidates shall comply with Test Site requirements concerning personal protective equipment (PPE), which at a minimum shall meet OSHA requirements. Candidates must bring valid (not expired) government issued photo identification that includes date of birth to the test site on the day of the test administration.
Candidates are required to submit a digital passport-size head-and-shoulders color photo (without hat or sunglasses). Please coordinate with your Test Site Coordinator to either provide one in advance or have the photo taken the day of the exam.
PRACTICAL SCORING
Candidate performance on the Practical Examinations is recorded by Practical Examiners accredited by NCCCO. Examiner requirements include meeting NCCCO requirements for certification, passing the Written and Practical Exams, and successfully completing an accreditation workshop.
The testing procedure has been developed to provide the highest degree of standardization and reliability. The Examiner’s task is primarily to record the performance of the candidate.
A candidate may lose points either through operational errors or exceeding established optimum time limits. Candidates’ performances are scored off site at NCCCO facilities.
PRACTICAL SCORE REPORTING
All candidates receive score reports of their performance. Examination results are mailed to candidates approximately 12 business days after the receipt of Practical Examination score sheets by NCCCO.
Please note that while Practical Examiners are encouraged to expedite score sheets after each test administration, they may batch score sheets from several test administrations over a number of days. This means that candidates may receive their score reports from NCCCO more than three weeks after their test administration.
Both the Practical Examination and the scoring system have been validated and verified by NCCCO’s pilot testing program.
PRACTICAL EXAM HAND SCORE REQUESTS
Candidates not passing the examination(s) may request from NCCCO hand scoring of their answer sheets, provided the request is made in writing within three months of the test date. Requests must be accompanied by a processing fee of $25 for each test requested. Request(s) should be mailed to:
NCCCO—Practical Exam Processing
5250 S. Commerce Dr., Suite 100
Murray, UT 84107
(703) 560-2391
practicalexam@nccco.org
In the event that the hand scoring of a failing candidate’s answer sheet results in a passing score, the hand-scoring fee will be refunded in full.