The Indiana Hearing Aid Dealer credential — formally a Hearing Aid Dealer Certificate of Registration, issued under Indiana Code 25-20-1 through the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency (PLA) and its Committee of Hearing Aid Dealer Examiners — authorizes the holder to fit and dispense hearing aids in Indiana. Indiana requires both a written and a practical examination before registration: the written examination is the International Hearing Society (IHS) examination, taken by computer through IHS and passed before the practical, and the practical is administered by the Committee four times a year in Indianapolis in five sections. The PassProfessor Indiana Hearing Aid Dealer program prepares candidates for that examination set. The companion exam guide at /indiana-hearing-instrument-specialist-exam-guide/ works through the same verified facts in greater depth.
This program is part of the expanding PassProfessor catalog — join the notify list and we’ll email you when enrollment opens.
What this credential certifies
A registered Indiana Hearing Aid Dealer tests hearing for the purpose of fitting hearing aids, takes ear impressions, evaluates and troubleshoots hearing instruments, selects and fits instruments, and counsels the people who will wear them — and knows when a presentation must be referred for medical care instead of fitted. Indiana’s own practical examination maps that scope section by section: acoustics and hearing measurement, instrumentation, medical referral, live audiometric performance on a simulator, and the ear impression.
The credential is formally a certificate of registration, not a license, and Indiana law is exact about its necessity: it is unlawful to fit or dispense hearing aids in Indiana unless the person holds a valid dealer, temporary, or student certificate issued under IC 25-20-1 — licensed audiologists under IC 25-35.6 stand outside that requirement under their own credential. The certificate is the full, independent credential in its program, and it is not a diagnostic one: the dealer’s examined competence includes recognizing ear pathology and “red flag” presentations that require physician referral — recognizing them, referring them, and not treating them.
The examination at a glance
| Item | Verified position |
|---|---|
| Program | Indiana Hearing Aid Dealer — formally a Hearing Aid Dealer Certificate of Registration, for fitting and dispensing hearing aids in Indiana |
| Licensing authority | Indiana Professional Licensing Agency (PLA) — Committee of Hearing Aid Dealer Examiners; Indiana Code 25-20-1 (in the statute, “the board” is the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana, acting with the Committee) |
| Examination | Both a written and a practical examination, passed before registration. Written first: the International Hearing Society (IHS) examination adopted by the Committee as the written portion, computerised through IHS. Practical second: administered by the Committee four times a year in Indianapolis, in five sections — Audiometric Oral, Instrumentation, Medical Oral, Audiometric Response Simulator, and Ear Impression. No separate Indiana law examination is listed |
| Qualifications | At least 18 years of age; high school graduate or holder of a high school equivalency certificate or GED; no disqualifying conviction; passed the examination; and held a Student Hearing Aid Dealer certificate of registration at the time of applying for the dealer certificate (IC 25-20-1-3) |
| Fees | Application fee $60 (nonrefundable); renewal fee $40, due June 30 of even-numbered years (PLA published fee schedule) |
| Trainee tier | Student Hearing Aid Dealer Certificate of Registration — issued without the examination requirement to an applicant employed or directly supervised in fitting by a registered dealer; expires one year from issuance, reissuable once for one additional year at the board’s discretion |
| Continuing education | At least twenty (20) hours to renew, for a registrant who has held the certificate at least eighteen (18) months (IC 25-20-1-25) |
| Administrator note | PassProfessor is independent and is not affiliated with PLA, the Committee, or the International Hearing Society |
Not the student certificate: two Indiana documents that are routinely confused
Indiana runs this credential with a mandatory supervised on-ramp, and the statute makes the sequence a qualification, not a suggestion. The Student Hearing Aid Dealer Certificate of Registration is issued on the same conditions as the dealer certificate except for the examination requirement, and only to an applicant employed or directly supervised in fitting by a registrant holding a valid registration; the supervising dealer named on the certificate is responsible for the student’s acts. It expires one (1) year from issuance and may be reissued once, for one (1) additional year only, at the board’s discretion. The Hearing Aid Dealer Certificate of Registration itself requires — among the qualifications in IC 25-20-1-3 — that the applicant held a student certificate when applying for the dealer certificate, and that the applicant has passed the examination. A candidate cannot reorder Indiana: student registration first, supervised fitting inside it, then the written examination, then the practical, then registration.
What the examination covers
Indiana examines in strict sequence — the written examination gates the practical — and a complete preparation addresses each in its own register.
The written examination — the IHS examination, first. PLA states the rule plainly: all applicants must pass a written and practical examination prior to being registered, and the written examination must be passed before the practical may be taken. The Committee has adopted the International Hearing Society (IHS) examination as the written portion; it is now a computerised examination through IHS, and once the application is complete the Committee makes the candidate eligible and IHS provides the scheduling directions and the study guide. The written examination is intended, in the Committee’s words, to identify entry-level professionals whose knowledge and clinical skills meet or exceed basic expected professional standards — the profession’s general knowledge base: sound and hearing science, audiometric evaluation, instrument technology, selection and fitting.
The practical examination — five sections, Committee-administered. The practical is administered four times a year in the conference center of the Indiana Government Center South, 402 West Washington Street, Indianapolis. A candidate who passes the written examination is automatically scheduled for the next practical. Its five sections are these. Audiometric Oral (30 minutes): basic acoustics, hearing measurement, audiogram configurations, basic anatomy and physiology of the ear — outer, middle, and inner — etiology of hearing loss, and hearing aid fitting protocol, with limited interaction with the examiner allowed. Instrumentation (30 minutes): the candidate evaluates ten (10) hearing instruments and determines defects or operational malfunctions, referring to a list of possible problems and choosing up to two (2) defects for each instrument. Medical Oral: determination of medical referral prior to fitting, identifying possible ear pathology from audiograms, the “red flag” concerns that require physician referral, and common types of medical treatment for ear pathology. Audiometric Response Simulator (30 minutes): on an audiometer similar to those used in most offices, the candidate performs pure tone air and bone conduction and masking when required; the simulator’s operation is reviewed in detail before the examination. Ear Impression: the candidate brings all necessary materials, including a “subject,” follows sanitary procedures, and produces an impression appropriate for a person with a severe hearing impairment — taking up to two (2) impressions and choosing the better one.
What makes this examination demanding
The first demand is the gate. Nothing about the practical can be rehearsed in the examination room before its turn comes: the written examination must be passed first, applications and written results must be received at least two (2) weeks before a practical sitting to be approved for it, and the practical itself is offered only four times a year — so a written failure does not cost a week, it costs a quarter. The second demand is format variety. In a single practical day the candidate answers orally, diagnoses instruments by hand, reasons about medical referral, performs audiometry on a simulator, and takes an impression on a subject the candidate brought. Knowledge that exists only as reading survives none of those formats intact; each section must be prepared in the format in which it is examined. The third demand is consequence design. A failed written examination means the application is denied and the candidate reapplies — and a candidate who has failed twice must, for the third attempt, appear personally before the Committee with their Indiana licensed Hearing Aid Dealer supervisor/trainer before sitting again. A failed practical likewise denies the application, with one mercy: the candidate retakes only the segments that were failed. Indiana rewards the candidate who prepares as if each attempt matters, because repeat attempts are built to become progressively more formal.
The route, in order
Step one — qualify and obtain the Student Hearing Aid Dealer certificate. The applicant must be at least 18, a high school graduate or equivalency/GED holder, and employed or directly supervised in fitting by a registered dealer, and applies through PLA with the $60 nonrefundable application fee and the education evidence listed. The student certificate runs one year, reissuable once for one additional year. Step two — apply for the dealer certificate while holding the student certificate. IC 25-20-1-3 counts holding the student certificate at application among the dealer qualifications, alongside age, education, the conviction standard, and passage of the examination; an application incomplete for one (1) year is abandoned and a later application is treated as new. Step three — pass the written examination. With the application complete, the Committee makes the candidate eligible; IHS issues the authorization, directions, and study guide, and the computerised IHS examination must be passed before the practical. Step four — sit the practical in Indianapolis. Passing the written examination schedules the candidate for the next practical automatically; the candidate attends the Indiana Government Center South sitting with section requirements met — including impression materials and a subject — on one of the Committee’s four annual dates (the published 2026 dates are January 14, April 8, July 22, and October 14). Step five — registration: with both examinations passed and the qualifications met, the certificate issues. Holders licensed elsewhere who meet the reciprocal requirements in IC 25-1-21-5 apply on PLA’s parallel track, with official license verifications.
Staying registered: the working credential
The Indiana certificate runs on a fixed biennial clock: registrations expire June 30 of even-numbered years, the renewal fee is $40, and renewal notices are sent approximately ninety (90) days before expiration to the address or email of record — the Committee’s duty is performed when the notice is sent, so a stale address is the registrant’s risk. A registrant held for at least eighteen (18) months must complete at least twenty (20) hours of continuing education to renew, using only hours earned after the last renewal (or, on a first renewal, after issuance), in courses approved by the Committee, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, or the International Institute for Hearing Instrument Studies. A certificate expired for three or more years must be reinstated — on PLA’s published terms, a $100 total, with 20 hours of continuing education from the last two years and a letter of work history. The dealer who treats the examinations as the end of the regulatory relationship misreads Indiana; they are the entrance to a registered practice with a biennial rhythm of education and renewal.
What the PassProfessor program will cover
Built to the Indiana examination set, component by component. The program is organised on Indiana’s published structure: the IHS written examination’s professional knowledge first — because Indiana examines it first — then the Committee practical section by section: audiometric knowledge examined orally, instrumentation diagnosis performed on real instruments, medical referral reasoning, audiometric performance on the simulator, and the ear impression produced to the severe-impairment standard the section sets.
The route, taught as part of the subject. Indiana candidates lose quarters, not weeks, to sequence: a student certificate expiring before the dealer application is filed, a written result landing inside the two-week practical deadline, a third written attempt that requires a Committee appearance nobody planned for. The program teaches the student → written → practical → registration sequence as PLA publishes it, so the candidate’s certificates, applications, and sittings are planned as one timeline.
Independence, stated plainly. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider, not affiliated with PLA, the Committee of Hearing Aid Dealer Examiners, or the International Hearing Society. This program is not a PLA or Committee course, confers no certificate, and satisfies no supervision requirement; the state alone registers, and candidates apply, train, and test through PLA and IHS.
Tell me when enrollment opens. The Indiana Hearing Aid Dealer program is in the works as PassProfessor expands its catalog of health examination preparation, and enrollment is not yet open. Leave an email address and PassProfessor will write to you when the program is ready — and only about this program. No date is promised, because the program will open when it meets the standard described above, not before.
Frequently asked questions
Who registers Indiana Hearing Aid Dealers?
The Indiana Professional Licensing Agency (PLA), through the Committee of Hearing Aid Dealer Examiners, under Indiana Code 25-20-1. The credential is formally a Hearing Aid Dealer Certificate of Registration.
What examinations does Indiana require?
Both a written and a practical examination, passed before registration. The written examination is the International Hearing Society (IHS) examination adopted by the Committee, computerised through IHS, and it must be passed before the practical. The practical is administered by the Committee four times a year in Indianapolis. No separate Indiana law examination is listed.
What are the five sections of the Indiana practical?
Audiometric Oral, Instrumentation, Medical Oral, Audiometric Response Simulator, and Ear Impression — covering acoustics and audiogram interpretation, diagnosis of defects in ten hearing instruments, medical referral judgement, live pure tone air and bone conduction with masking on a simulator, and an ear impression taken on a subject the candidate brings.
Must I hold a student certificate before I can become a dealer?
Yes, in the statute’s own terms: IC 25-20-1-3 includes, among the dealer qualifications, having held a Student Hearing Aid Dealer certificate of registration at the time of applying for the dealer certificate. The student certificate requires employment or direct supervision by a registered dealer, runs one year, and may be reissued once for one additional year.
What are the basic qualifications for the dealer certificate?
At least 18 years of age; high school graduation or an equivalency certificate or GED; no conviction of an act that would ground discipline or of a crime with a direct bearing on the ability to practice competently; passage of the examination; and the student-certificate holding described above.
What do application and renewal cost?
The application fee is $60, nonrefundable. Renewal is $40, due June 30 of even-numbered years. A certificate expired three or more years is reinstated on PLA’s published terms at a $100 total, with recent continuing education and a work-history letter.
What happens if I fail the written examination?
The application is denied and you reapply to retake it. If you have failed twice, applying for a third attempt requires a personal appearance before the Committee, together with your Indiana licensed Hearing Aid Dealer supervisor/trainer, before you may sit again.
What happens if I fail part of the practical?
The application is denied and you reapply to retake the examination — but you are required to retake only the segments of the practical examination that you failed. Retake applications must be in at least two weeks before the practical sitting.
How much continuing education does renewal require?
A registrant who has held the certificate at least eighteen (18) months must complete at least twenty (20) hours of continuing education to renew, in courses approved by the Committee, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, or the International Institute for Hearing Instrument Studies.
Is there a published Indiana passing score I should aim at?
No passing score for the written or practical examination was published on the PLA sources verified for this program, and none is printed here. PLA requires both examinations to be passed; the honest preparation target is each section’s full scope at working standard.
Is PassProfessor affiliated with PLA, the Committee, or IHS?
No. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider. The state alone registers dealers; the Committee administers the practical; IHS provides the written examination.
When does enrollment open?
The program is in the works and enrollment is not yet open. Leave an email address on this page and PassProfessor will write to you when the program is ready — and only about this program.