How to Pass the Rad Tech Boards

What "boards" means for rad techs

For radiography students, boards means the ARRT radiography exam: the certification and registration exam from the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists. You'll also hear it called the registry, the ARRT, the x-ray tech exam or the radiologic technologist certification exam. Passing it earns the R.T.(R)(ARRT) credential, and many states use it for their license, too.

It's 230 questions (200 scored), and you pass with a scaled score of 75. Our ARRT exam guide breaks down the 2027 content and scoring in detail.

From graduation to R.T.(R): step by step

1. Finish an ARRT-recognized program. Your program director confirms that you've completed the education and clinical competency requirements.
2. Apply to the ARRT and pay the fee. Apply early: you have to be found eligible within three years of graduating.
3. Ethics review, if it applies. Anything that needs an ethics review, such as some past legal or academic issues, can take months, so you can ask for a pre-application review before you even graduate.
4. Get your exam window and schedule. Once you're eligible, the ARRT gives you a window, and you book a date at a testing center inside it.
5. Take the exam. Bring two forms of ID with names that match your ARRT record. You'll see a preliminary score at the center; the official score is mailed within about three weeks.
6. Get licensed and start working. Check your state's licensing rules, since some states need a separate application even after you pass.

How to study for the boards

• Start with a diagnostic and spend most of your time on your weakest categories, weighted by how much each counts. Procedures alone is over a third of the exam.
• Practice on real radiographs. Image questions and image critique are a big part of the boards. The free X-ray Question of the Day is an easy daily habit.
• Know the math cold. The 15% rule, inverse square law and grid conversions are reliable points. See radiographic math.
• See the positioning, don't just memorize it. The 3D Positioning Simulator, C-arm simulator and fluoroscopy simulator let you practice the setup and see the result.
• Finish with full-length mocks. Two or three timed, exam-weighted mock exams in the last two weeks build stamina and show you're ready.

Most students do well with 6 to 10 weeks of steady study. The 30 Day Study Plan gives you a lesson, a quiz, flashcards and a review for each day if you'd rather follow a plan.

Keeping your credential

• Renew every year by the end of your birth month.
• Earn 24 approved CE credits every two years (your biennium).
• CQR every 10 years if you earned your credential on or after January 1, 2011.
• Follow the ARRT Standards of Ethics throughout your career.

Try three boards-style questions

Pick your answer, then open the explanation.

1. A patient's hand film shows the fingers overlapping and the metacarpals superimposed on what was ordered as a PA oblique. What went wrong?

   1. The hand was rotated too far, past 45°
   2. The CR was angled 15° cephalic
   3. The fingers weren't spread
   4. The SID was too short
   Show answer

   A. The hand was rotated too far, past 45° A PA oblique hand is rotated 45°. Over-rotating superimposes the metacarpals and overlaps the fingers. It's the kind of image critique question the boards love.

2. Which is the correct order for donning sterile gloves and gown in the OR (closed gloving)?

   1. Gloves first, then the gown
   2. Gown first, then gloves with the hands kept inside the sleeves
   3. Mask, gloves, then gown
   4. Either order is acceptable
   Show answer

   B. Gown first, then gloves with the hands kept inside the sleeves With closed gloving, you put on the gown first and keep your hands inside the sleeves while you put on the gloves, so bare skin never touches the outside of the gown or gloves.

3. The exposure indicator shows the image was overexposed, but the image itself looks fine on the monitor. What's the main concern?

   1. The image needs to be repeated
   2. The patient received more dose than needed
   3. The detector was damaged
   4. The grid was upside down
   Show answer

   B. The patient received more dose than needed Digital processing rescales an overexposed image so it looks normal, so the image can look fine. The exposure indicator tells you the patient got more radiation than needed: adjust the technique next time instead of repeating a diagnostic image.

Frequently asked questions