ARRT (American Registry of Radiologic Technologists) is the credentialing body for medical imaging, and its certification and registration is what most employers and most state licensing boards require of radiologic technologists. Earning it takes three things: education, ethics and examination. Primary disciplines include radiography, nuclear medicine technology, radiation therapy, MRI and sonography. The application fee is $225. Registration is renewed annually for $65, and registrants must report 24 approved CE credits every two years.
| Cost | $225 application; $65 annual renewal; $200 exam re-application after a failed attempt |
| Duration | Typically a 2-year accredited imaging programme, then the exam |
| Issued by | American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) |
| Format | Computer-based discipline exam, after education and ethics requirements are met |
| Exam length | One discipline exam (radiography, nuclear medicine, radiation therapy, MRI or sonography) |
| Expiry | Registration renews annually; 24 CE credits due every 2-year biennium |
| Who needs it | Radiologic technologists, MRI and CT techs, nuclear medicine techs and radiation therapists |
| State licensure | Most states that licence radiologic technologists accept or require ARRT certification |
Sources: ARRT, Initial Requirements for Earning ARRT Credentials · ARRT, Fees · ARRT, Continuing Education · BLS OEWS 29-2034, Radiologic Technologists · ARRT initial requirements, fees and continuing-education policies. Reviewed July 2026 by the GlobalCybers team.
ARRT builds certification on three requirements: education, ethics and examination. Education means completing an ARRT-recognized programme in your discipline. Ethics means answering the ethics questions on the application, with an ethics review for issues such as criminal charges, academic violations or discipline by another regulator. Examination is the final step: a computer-based exam in your discipline, taken after the other two are satisfied.
ARRT is the entry gate rather than a bonus: most employers and most state boards require it before you can work at all. BLS OEWS May 2025 puts the radiologic technologist median (SOC 29-2034) at $80,110 across 230,490 employed:
GlobalCybers reimburses ARRT application fees after a successful permanent placement through our network.
The largest primary discipline: general X-ray imaging, positioning, exposure factors and image evaluation. This is the entry route for most imaging technologists.
ALARA, shielding, dose limits and monitoring for the patient, the technologist and the public. Consistently a heavily weighted content area.
MRI is available as both a primary and a postprimary route; CT, mammography, bone densitometry and interventional are earned as postprimary credentials once you hold a primary one.
Two further primary disciplines: nuclear medicine technology (radiopharmaceuticals and gamma imaging) and radiation therapy (treatment delivery for oncology patients).
Positioning, immobilisation, contrast administration, infection control and communication with patients who are frightened, in pain or unable to cooperate.
The ARRT Standards of Ethics govern the credential. The application's ethics questions and the ethics-review process (criminal charges, academic violations, regulator discipline) sit here.
Finish an educational programme recognized by ARRT in your chosen discipline, typically a two-year associate degree in radiography, nuclear medicine technology, radiation therapy, MRI or sonography. The programme documents your clinical competencies to ARRT as part of your application.
Answer the ethics questions on the ARRT application. If you have a criminal charge, an academic-integrity violation or discipline from another regulator, ARRT reviews it; you can file an Ethics Review Preapplication before you invest in the programme if you want a decision in advance rather than at the end.
Submit the primary application with the $225 fee. ARRT then issues your examination window. If you do not pass on the first or second attempt, re-application costs $200, so most candidates use their programme's exam-prep materials and practice exams before booking.
Pass the computer-based exam in your discipline to become certified and registered. Renew your registration annually for $65, with a deadline on the last day of your birth month, and report 24 approved continuing education credits every two-year biennium regardless of how many ARRT credentials you hold.
ARRT is a private credential, not a government licence, but the two are tied together. Most states that regulate radiologic technologists accept or require ARRT certification as the basis for their state licence or permit, and hospitals and imaging centers screen for an active ARRT registration before an interview. The practical consequence is that in most of the country you cannot be licensed, and therefore cannot be hired, without it, and letting the registration lapse can put a state licence at risk too.
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