CTP Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling

Why There Is No Fixed Calendar of CTP Exam Dates

Candidates searching for "CTP exam dates 2026" often expect a list of national test days, the way some professional exams publish two or three fixed sittings a year. The Certified Transplant Preservationist credential, offered by the American Board for Transplant Certification (ABTC), does not work that way as described in the public sources reviewed for this article. Testing is computer-based and delivered at PSI test centers, which means the practical question is not "which Saturday is the exam?" but "when does my authorization window open, and what appointment slots are open at a PSI center near me?"

That distinction matters for planning. Your calendar is built from three things: when your application is approved, when your individual examination-eligibility window starts and ends, and the appointment availability at your chosen PSI location. If you are still confirming whether you qualify at all, start with our guide to CTP requirements and eligibility before worrying about dates, because the 12-month organ-preservation work experience and supervisor attestation come first.

The Application-to-Exam Timeline, Step by Step

Because there is no shared exam day, the useful way to think about dates is as a sequence of milestones you control or must track:

1. Confirm eligibility. You need 12 months of organ-preservation work experience. It does not have to be your full-time responsibility, but it must be attested by a supervisor or employer, so line that person up early.
2. Submit the application and pay. The application fee is $150 and the examination fee is $495, for $645 per attempt. Applications and certification records use the designation ROC-P.
3. Receive approval and your authorization details. This is where your personal eligibility window is established.
4. Schedule with PSI. You book a computer-based appointment at a PSI test center within your window.
5. Sit the exam. 110 questions, two hours, closed book.

The supervisor attestation is the most common source of avoidable delay, because it depends on another person's schedule. Request it before you pay anything, so the clock on your window does not start while you are waiting on paperwork.

The 90-Day Eligibility Window and Its Source Caveat

ABTC provides a 90-day examination-eligibility window. In plain terms, once you are authorized, you have a bounded period in which to take the exam. If you do not test in that period, you should expect to lose the authorization and, because fees are nonrefundable and apply again on reapplication, you would pay again.

Here is the part most "exam dates" pages gloss over: public instructions differ on what starts that 90-day clock. Depending on which document you read, it may be described as beginning at payment, at application approval, or at eligibility confirmation. Those are not interchangeable. A few days or weeks can separate them, and that gap can decide whether your planned appointment falls inside the window.

The table is a way to frame the question, not a statement of which trigger is correct. Your individual authorization dates control.

Scheduling the Appointment at a PSI Test Center

The exam is delivered at PSI test centers on a computer. Once you are authorized, you choose a center and a slot. Availability varies by location and by how close you are to busy periods, so a few practical rules apply:

• Book early in your window. Do not wait until week ten to discover that your nearest center is full. Booking early also leaves room to reschedule if something changes.
• Match the name on your registration to your identification. You must present two forms of identification on test day, and a mismatch is an easy way to lose an appointment and a nonrefundable fee.
• Check the international option if relevant. Candidates testing under international administration pay an additional $225 surcharge on top of the $645, so factor that into both budget and timing.

For a full look at what each attempt costs and where the money goes, see our breakdown of CTP certification cost.

Fees, Surcharges, and the Cost of Missing Your Window

Dates and dollars are linked for this credential because fees are nonrefundable and are charged again if you must reapply. Missing your window is therefore not just an inconvenience; it is a second payment.

If you are weighing whether the investment pays off, our analysis in Is the CTP certification worth it? treats the question without assuming a guaranteed pay premium, and the CTP salary guide covers earnings context.

What the Exam Day Looks Like: Format and Logistics

Knowing the format helps you schedule sensibly, for example by avoiding a night shift before your slot. The exam contains 110 multiple-choice questions: 100 scored items and 10 unscored pretest items. You have a two-hour limit. Each question has four options and one best answer. It is closed book, calculators are prohibited, and you need two forms of identification.

Pacing works out to roughly a minute per question with a modest cushion, since two hours across 110 items leaves little room to linger. Because ten items are unscored pretest questions and you cannot tell which, treat every question as if it counts.

What the exam draws on

Scheduling is easier when you know how much content you must cover. The five official domains and their scored-item allocations, drawn from the ABTC Candidate Handbook's Examination Content Outline for CTP, are below. These are count-based allocations out of 100 scored items, not issuer-published percentage weights.

Organ Recovery is the largest block at 30 of 100 scored items, followed by Organ Preservation at 25. For a deeper walk through each area, read the complete guide to all five CTP content areas.

Planning Backward From Your Authorization Dates

This is the one place general scheduling logic helps, and it is tied directly to the domain allocations above. Once you have confirmed your window, count backward from your appointment and allocate study time in proportion to scored items, front-loading the heaviest domains so they get the most repetition.

Adjust the number of weeks to the days you actually have inside your 90-day window, and keep the final week free for a timed rehearsal rather than new material. Our CTP study guide expands on resources and methods, and the CTP cheat sheet is useful for last-week review. When you want timed repetition, the practice test site offers original practice questions that are not represented as protected exam items.

If you hold a PSI Self-Assessment Examination, note the public listing describes it as a $60, 30-question exam with 60-day access and one scored attempt. Because that is one scored attempt and 60 days of access, time it deliberately: take it when you have covered most domains, not on day one. That listing is the only part of the product reviewed here, so treat it as a checkpoint rather than a guarantee of readiness.

Retake Timing and the Three-Attempt Rule

Dates matter after a failed attempt too. Retakes require a 90-day interval before you can test again. After three unsuccessful attempts, 20 Category 1 CEPTCs are required before you may reapply. Each new attempt costs the full fee structure again, since fees are nonrefundable and apply to reapplications.

Use the 90-day gap productively: request whatever feedback is available, identify whether you lost points in the heavy Organ Recovery and Organ Preservation blocks, and rebuild your plan around those. If you are worried about difficulty, our difficulty guide discusses what makes the exam challenging.

After You Pass: The Three-Year Renewal Calendar

Your next important date arrives soon after your first. Certification is valid for three years. Renewal requires 60 CEPTCs, including at least 20 Category 1 and 10 Category 2 points, or successful re-examination. The single-certification renewal fee is $395.

Build renewal into your calendar from the day you pass, not in year three. Spreading continuing-education points across the cycle avoids a scramble, and it keeps the re-examination route (with its own fees and window) as a backup rather than a necessity. For what the credential means in practice, see our overview of CTP certification and, for employer demand, CTP jobs. The renewal rules draw on ABTC's Recertification page and its Recertification Requirements document, reviewed August 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

For a plain-language introduction to the credential itself, you can also read what CTP certification is, or return to the full article on CTP exam dates as a reference while you plan. Public sources for this article were reviewed on October 5, 2026; always verify current dates, fees, and policies directly with ABTC and PSI before you apply.