The Nevada Hearing Aid Specialist license, issued by the Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensing Board under chapter 637B of the Nevada Revised Statutes, authorizes the holder to engage in the practice of fitting and dispensing hearing aids in Nevada. Both licensing examinations come from the International Hearing Society — the ILE Written Examination, which must be passed first, and the IHS Practical Examination, administered individually by Board-appointed proctors in Reno, Carson City, and Las Vegas. The PassProfessor Nevada Hearing Aid Specialist program prepares candidates for that examination pair. The companion exam guide at /nevada-hearing-instrument-specialist-exam-guide/ works through the same verified facts in greater depth.
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What this credential certifies
A licensed Nevada Hearing Aid Specialist engages in the practice of fitting and dispensing hearing aids: testing hearing for the purpose of fitting, taking ear impressions, selecting and fitting instruments, and counseling the people who will wear them. The Board’s examination page states the gate plainly — hearing aid specialists who engage in that practice in Nevada, or who treat a person in Nevada, must pass the prescribed examinations prior to issuance of a license. The work is clinical measurement joined to a physical craft, and Nevada examines it in the two registers the craft divides into: knowledge, tested in writing, and skill, tested in person.
The license is Nevada’s full dispensing credential, reached — for most candidates — through the apprentice license, the trainee tier described below. It is not a diagnostic or medical credential, and it carries no separate certification prerequisite: candidates should note in particular that Assembly Bill 177 (2025) removed the former additional requirement of NBC-HIS certification from NRS 637B.193, so no national board certification is a current Nevada requirement for this license — the examinations prescribed under NRS 637B.194 are the examination gate. Preparation planned around a certification Nevada no longer requires is preparation misdirected.
The examinations at a glance
| Item | Verified position |
|---|---|
| Program | Nevada Hearing Aid Specialist, the Board license to engage in the practice of fitting and dispensing hearing aids in Nevada |
| Licensing authority | Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensing Board; Nevada Revised Statutes chapter 637B and Nevada Administrative Code chapter 637B |
| Examinations | Both examinations from the International Hearing Society (IHS): (1) the ILE Written Examination — upon application, Board staff submit an ILE candidate authorization form to IHS, which emails scheduling instructions; score report issued immediately on completion with pass/fail and domain-level results; and (2) the IHS Practical Examination — scheduled by the Board office after the written examination is passed, administered individually by Board-appointed proctors in Reno, Carson City, and Las Vegas; the written examination must be passed before the practical is scheduled |
| Laws and regulations portion | NAC 637B.0373 provides the examination must consist of a written portion and a practical portion and may also include a portion testing familiarity with NAC chapter 637B, NRS chapter 637B, and other federal laws and regulations relevant to fitting and dispensing in Nevada — an authorized component, described here exactly as the regulation frames it |
| Fees (state-published, NAC 637B.030) | Application fee $150; fee for a standard license $100; examination fee $200 |
| Practical retake | A candidate who does not pass the practical may reschedule through the Board office but must wait at least 30 days for a retake (NAC 637B.0373(4)) |
| Trainee tier | The apprentice license is the trainee tier; an apprentice may apply to convert toward the standard license upon completion of 18 months of the apprenticeship period for purposes of scheduling and taking the examinations |
| Administrator note | PassProfessor is independent and is not affiliated with the Nevada Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensing Board or the International Hearing Society |
Not the license: the apprentice license and the temporary license
Nevada’s documents are easy to merge, and the Board keeps them distinct. The apprentice license is the trainee tier: the apprentice trains under a sponsor in the Board’s in-service training structure, and may apply to convert to a standard Hearing Aid Specialist license upon completion of 18 months of the apprenticeship period for purposes of scheduling and taking the written and practical examinations — the written still to be passed before the practical is scheduled. The apprentice license is a route into the credential, never the credential itself. The temporary license is a different instrument for a different candidate: an applicant who holds a current equivalent license in good standing in another U.S. state, territory, or D.C. may obtain a temporary license, good for one year, to begin practicing immediately while completing the examinations — the holder must have attempted the written examination at least once to renew at six months, and must have passed both examinations within one year to convert. Only the standard Hearing Aid Specialist license, issued after both examinations are passed, is the full credential this program addresses.
What the examinations cover
Nevada examines in two registers, both through the International Hearing Society, in a fixed order — and its regulation authorizes a third element whose status candidates must understand exactly.
The ILE Written Examination — knowledge, first. Upon receipt of a license application, Board staff submit an ILE candidate authorization form to IHS; the candidate then receives an email from IHS with instructions for scheduling, paying for, and taking the examination, and may schedule as soon as the eligibility notice arrives. Its territory is the occupation’s general professional knowledge: the science of sound and hearing, audiometric testing, hearing instrument technology and selection, fitting and verification, and counseling and follow-up. The result mechanics are unusually immediate: the Board and the candidate receive the score report immediately upon completion, in an emailed PDF containing the pass/fail decision and domain-level results — the Board is not authorized to release the candidate’s actual score and may relay only pass or fail status. A candidate who does not pass is notified by the Board, with IHS, regarding a retake; a candidate who passes is notified by the Board and the practical scheduling begins.
The IHS Practical Examination — skill, in person, individually. Upon passing the written examination, the Board office contacts the candidate by email to schedule the practical. Examinations are administered on an individual basis in Reno, Carson City, and Las Vegas by Board-appointed proctors; Board staff make every effort to schedule in a timely manner but may be limited by proctor or candidate availability. The logistics are the candidate’s: bring a portable audiometer and an adult who will serve as the test subject — who may not be a person who would be a candidate for the examination in the foreseeable future — pay the practical examination fees in advance (an unpaid examination is cancelled), and complete the informed-consent and waiver form with the proctor and the test subject at the sitting. Pass/fail is communicated directly by the proctor. A candidate who does not pass may reschedule through the Board office but must wait at least 30 days for a retake.
The laws and regulations portion — authorized, exactly as framed. NAC 637B.0373(1) provides that the examination must consist of a written portion and a practical portion, and may also include a portion that tests the familiarity of an applicant with the provisions of NAC chapter 637B and NRS chapter 637B and all other federal laws and regulations relevant to the practice of fitting and dispensing hearing aids in Nevada. NAC 637B.0356 likewise contemplates proof of passing an examination on laws and regulations relevant to the practice area accompanying an application. The accurate statement is the regulation’s own: Nevada authorizes such a portion. It is described here as authorized and possible — never as a guaranteed third examination — and the prudent candidate learns the two chapters anyway, because they govern the practice from the first day of licensure whether or not they are separately examined.
What makes this examination pair demanding
The first demand is the practical’s individual format. There is no cohort and no fixed examination day to plan around: the sitting is one candidate, one proctor, one test subject the candidate supplies, and one portable audiometer the candidate brings — in Reno, Carson City, or Las Vegas, on a date the Board office can arrange around proctor availability. Every element of that sentence is a way for an unprepared candidacy to stall: a test subject who turns out to be a future candidate, fees unpaid before the scheduled date (the examination is cancelled), equipment not in hand. The second demand is sequence discipline: the written examination must be passed before the practical is scheduled, so written preparation cannot be deferred, and the practical’s 30-day minimum retake interval means a failed sitting costs at least a month plus rescheduling time. The third demand is currency: Nevada’s route was revised in 2025, when AB 177 removed the former NBC-HIS certification requirement from NRS 637B.193 — material and advice built on the older statute will misdirect a candidate twice over, adding a certification that is no longer required and distracting from the examinations that are. None of these demands is hidden; the Board publishes the mechanics on its examination page, and all three punish improvisation rather than ignorance.
The route, in order
Step one — apply to the Board. File the license application (published application fee $150, NAC 637B.030); Board staff submit the ILE candidate authorization form to IHS. Apprentices follow the conversion variant: upon completion of 18 months of the apprenticeship period, an apprentice may apply to convert toward the standard license for purposes of scheduling and taking the examinations. Step two — sit and pass the ILE Written Examination, scheduled through IHS on the eligibility email; the score report, with pass/fail and domain-level results, issues immediately on completion. Step three — the Board schedules the practical: the Board office emails the passing candidate, an individual sitting is arranged with a Board-appointed proctor in Reno, Carson City, or Las Vegas, practical fees are paid in advance, and the candidate attends with a portable audiometer and an eligible adult test subject. Step four — pass the IHS Practical Examination; a candidate who does not pass reschedules through the Board office after at least 30 days. Step five — the license: on receipt of the passing scores, Board staff notify the candidate of any additional information, documentation, or payment needed, and the standard Hearing Aid Specialist license issues (published standard license fee $100; examination fee $200 under the NAC 637B.030 schedule). Temporary-license holders from other states run the compressed variant: attempt the written examination within the first six months to renew, pass both within the year to convert.
Staying licensed: the working credential
The Nevada license is held inside the framework the examinations sample: NRS chapter 637B and NAC chapter 637B continue to govern the specialist’s practice — client records, case history and minimum procedures for a prospective hearing aid candidate, the duties owed on every sale and fitting, and the Board’s continuing-education requirements for renewal of a standard license. The Board’s examination page also preserves the credential’s history for returning practitioners: one or both examinations may be waived for a former Nevada licensee seeking reinstatement or relicensure who passed them within the last five years or who is currently licensed and practicing in another state, under Board policy — a reminder that a passed Nevada examination remains an asset on the record. The specialist who treats the examinations as the end of the regulatory relationship misreads Nevada; they are the entrance to it.
What the PassProfessor program will cover
Built to the Nevada examination pair, component by component. The program is organised on the Board’s two IHS examinations as the Board publishes them: the ILE written examination’s professional knowledge, prepared with its authorization-and-scheduling mechanics; and the IHS practical examination’s performed skills — audiometry with the candidate’s own audiometer, impressions, and fitting — prepared as an individual performance before a proctor, with the test-subject and fee logistics rehearsed as part of the subject.
Nevada law, taught at its authorized weight. The two chapters — NRS 637B and NAC 637B — and the relevant federal framework are taught as the laws-and-regulations territory NAC 637B.0373 authorizes the examination to include, and as the practicing specialist’s daily standard in any case: present in the program at full seriousness, described in this catalog exactly as the regulation frames it.
The route and its currency, taught as part of the subject. The program teaches the application → written → practical → license sequence as the Board publishes it, including the apprentice conversion at 18 months, the temporary license’s one-year conversion terms, and the current statute after AB 177 (2025) — with no NBC-HIS certification presented as a Nevada requirement, because it no longer is one.
Independence, stated plainly. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider, not affiliated with the Nevada Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensing Board or the International Hearing Society. This program is not a Board course, confers no license, and satisfies no apprenticeship requirement; the Board alone licenses, and candidates apply and test through the Board and IHS.
Tell me when enrollment opens. The Nevada Hearing Aid Specialist 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 issues the Nevada Hearing Aid Specialist license?
The Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensing Board, under Nevada Revised Statutes chapter 637B.
What examinations does Nevada require?
Both from the International Hearing Society: the ILE Written Examination and the IHS Practical Examination. The written examination must be passed before the practical is scheduled.
Is there a third, laws-and-regulations examination in Nevada?
NAC 637B.0373 authorizes one: the examination must consist of a written portion and a practical portion and may also include a portion testing familiarity with NAC chapter 637B, NRS chapter 637B, and other relevant federal laws and regulations. It is described here exactly as the regulation frames it — authorized, not presented as a guaranteed separate examination.
Is NBC-HIS certification required for the Nevada license?
No. Assembly Bill 177 (2025) removed the former NBC-HIS certification requirement from NRS 637B.193. The current requirement is passing the examinations prescribed under NRS 637B.194.
Where is the practical examination held, and what must I bring?
It is administered individually by Board-appointed proctors in Reno, Carson City, and Las Vegas. Candidates must bring a portable audiometer and an adult test subject who is not a person who would be a candidate for the examination in the foreseeable future; practical fees must be paid before the scheduled date or the examination is cancelled.
How quickly do I learn the written result?
Immediately: the Board and the candidate receive the score report on completion, an emailed PDF with the pass/fail decision and domain-level results. The Board may relay only pass or fail status, not the candidate’s actual score.
What happens if I do not pass the practical?
The proctor communicates the result directly. You may contact the Board office to reschedule, but you must wait at least 30 days for a retake, under NAC 637B.0373(4).
What are the state-published fees?
Under the NAC 637B.030 schedule: application fee $150, standard license fee $100, and examination fee $200.
When may an apprentice take the examinations?
An apprentice may apply to convert toward the standard license upon completion of 18 months of the apprenticeship period, for purposes of scheduling and taking the written and practical examinations — written before practical, as for every candidate.
Is there a published passing score for the Nevada examinations?
NAC 637B.0373 provides that the Board will establish the passing score; no numerical passing score is published on the Board sources verified for this page, and none is printed here.
Is PassProfessor affiliated with the Board or IHS?
No. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider. The Board alone licenses; IHS provides both examinations.
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.