The North Carolina Hearing Aid Specialist license, issued by the North Carolina State Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters Board under Chapter 93D of the North Carolina General Statutes, authorises the holder to engage in the activities within the scope of practice of a hearing aid specialist in North Carolina. The PassProfessor North Carolina Hearing Aid Specialist program prepares candidates for the Board’s four-part licensing examination — the hearing-testing simulation, the ear-impression practical, the laws and rules examination, and the International Licensing Examination (ILE). The companion exam guide at /north-carolina-hearing-instrument-specialist-exam-guide/ works through the same verified facts in greater depth.
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What this credential certifies
The North Carolina Hearing Aid Specialist license certifies that its holder has completed one full year of apprenticeship under a Registered Sponsor and has passed all four parts of the Board’s licensing examination. Within the scope of practice the statute sets out at G.S. 93D-1.1, the licensed specialist evaluates and measures hearing by means of an audiometer or other means, interprets the results, selects and fits hearing aids, makes ear impressions, and provides the continuing care the fitting requires — and North Carolina law makes the boundary plain: it is unlawful to engage in any activity within that scope of practice without a license from the Board, as a Registered Apprentice working under a Registered Sponsor, or under the authority of another regulated profession.
The license is the Board’s own credential, examined the Board’s own way. North Carolina does not license on the national written examination alone: the ILE is one part — Part D — of a four-part Board examination whose other parts are North Carolina’s own tests of simulated hearing testing, performed ear-impression craft, and North Carolina law. The credential is likewise distinct from the trainee tier beneath it: the Registered Apprentice’s certificate permits the work only under a Registered Sponsor’s supervision — the apprenticeship is the route into the credential, never the credential itself.
The examination at a glance
| Item | Verified position |
|---|---|
| Program | North Carolina Hearing Aid Specialist, the license issued by the North Carolina State Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters Board for the scope of practice of a hearing aid specialist |
| Licensing body | North Carolina State Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters Board, under Chapter 93D of the North Carolina General Statutes; examination rules at 21 NCAC 22F .0105 |
| Examination | Four parts, all of which must be passed: Part A, knowledge of hearing testing through a computer simulation program; Part B, practical knowledge and ability to make an ear impression; Part C, knowledge of relevant laws, rules, and regulations governing hearing aid specialists — 50 multiple-choice questions, per the Board’s exam notice; Part D, the ILE as administered by the International Hearing Society (IHS). The Board offers the examination four times a year, in February, May, August, and November, with an exam registration deadline 45 days before the exam date |
| Passing standard | The Board’s rules publish no fixed numeric passing score — the Board reviews the qualifying examinations and determines the minimum performance criteria required for passing; no pass mark is stated on this page because the Board does not publish one in that form |
| Examination fees | $500 in Board fees for exam registration — a $425 exam fee and a $75 application fee, per the Board’s published application requirements; the Part D (ILE) examination fee is paid directly to IHS and is additional. Apprentice registration is $100 |
| Eligibility | Education equivalent to a four-year course in an accredited high school, passage of all four parts of the examination, and completion of one full year of apprenticeship under a Registered Sponsor — within 24 consecutive months, working under the sponsor’s supervision a minimum of 27 clock hours per week for 50 weeks and holding a valid apprentice registration certificate for 365 calendar days — subject to the statutory waivers the Board publishes |
| Trainee tier | Registered Apprentice: an apprentice registration certificate, issued on the F1 application once a Registered Sponsor is secured, permitting practice within the scope of a Hearing Aid Specialist only under the sponsor’s supervision |
| License term | Annual: renewal is due on or before March 31 each year, with 10 hours (1.00 CEU) of Board-approved Category 1 continuing education completed in the preceding calendar year and reported by January 10 |
| Administrator note | PassProfessor is independent and is not affiliated with the North Carolina State Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters Board or the International Hearing Society (IHS) |
Not the apprentice certificate: the trainee tier candidates routinely misread
North Carolina’s route begins with a person, not a form: the prospective apprentice must first secure a Registered Sponsor — a licensee of the Board approved as a sponsor, who under the Board’s published guidance has held that license for two years, or a permanently licensed audiologist who registers as a sponsor with the Board — and the Board does not help anyone find one. Only then does the apprenticeship begin, on the F1 application with its affidavit, calibration certificate, photograph, background check, and $100 fee. The apprenticeship is defined with unusual precision at 21 NCAC 22A .0401: within 24 consecutive months from the issuance of the initial certificate, the apprentice works under the sponsor’s supervision a minimum of 27 clock hours per week for 50 weeks, and holds a valid certificate for 365 calendar days. Supervision is tiered: the apprentice works under personal supervision unless and until Parts A, B, and C are passed, then moves to general supervision — which, in the Board’s position, does not require the sponsor’s presence at all times, though the sponsor remains accessible and accountable until Part D is passed. The certificate is a training status throughout: the apprentice’s own license exists only at the end of the route.
What the examination covers
The Board states the four parts at 21 NCAC 22F .0105, and the coverage below follows that rule in full.
Part A — hearing testing, by computer simulation. This part assesses the applicant’s knowledge of hearing testing through a computer simulation program: the audiometric encounter — test method, threshold determination, and the recording of results — examined in simulated form, so that the decisions inside a hearing test are tested even though no patient is present.
Part B — the ear impression, performed. This part assesses the applicant’s practical knowledge and ability to make an ear impression: the hands-on craft on which safe fitting depends, including the Board’s published safety expectations for the work — pre- and post-impression otoscopy, proper bracing technique for the instruments used, and infection control throughout testing, fitting, and repairs.
Part C — North Carolina laws, rules, and regulations. This part assesses the applicant’s knowledge of the relevant laws, rules, and regulations governing hearing aid specialists: Chapter 93D, the Board’s rules in 21 NCAC Chapter 22, and the federal regulation the scope of practice incorporates — examined as 50 multiple-choice questions, per the Board’s exam notice.
Part D — the ILE. Part D is the International Licensing Examination (ILE) as administered by the International Hearing Society (IHS), assessing five knowledge areas the rule names: patient assessment; interpretation and application of assessment results; hearing devices; the scope of practice of hearing aid specialists; and ability to provide continuing care. Part D is registered for through the Board, not directly with IHS: after the Board’s deadline passes, IHS contacts registered candidates about ILE registration, and the examination is taken at a testing centre offering the ILE on the prescribed date and time on the candidate’s admission card, with the ILE fee paid directly to IHS.
What makes this examination demanding
Three features set North Carolina apart from a single-sitting state. First, the examination is four examinations in kind as well as in number — simulation, performed practical, state law, and the national written paper — and all four must be passed; preparation weighted to the written paper alone leaves three parts unaddressed. Second, the route is calendar-bound: the examination is offered only four times a year, in February, May, August, and November, registration closes 45 days before each date with late applications denied, and results themselves expire — for an apprentice, 31 months after the certificate was first issued, with Part D results alone never expiring. Third, the apprenticeship runs concurrently with the examining: parts may be taken during the apprenticeship, but the license cannot issue until all four parts are passed and the full 365 days are complete — so the candidate is simultaneously accumulating supervised hours, moving from personal to general supervision, and banking parts against their expiry dates.
The route, in order
The route runs: secure a Registered Sponsor — the step the Board leaves entirely to the applicant — submit the apprentice registration (the F1 application, affidavit, audiometer calibration certificate dated within the past 12 months, photograph, background check, and $100 fee) and receive the apprentice registration certificate, which the Board posts before supervised practice begins — complete the one full year of apprenticeship as the Board defines it — register for the examination on the F4 application with its own affidavit, calibration certificate, photograph, background check, and $500 in Board fees, at least 45 days before one of the four annual exam dates — pass Parts A, B, C, and D, taking parts during the apprenticeship as scheduling allows, with Part D arranged through the Board and taken through IHS — and, with all four parts passed and the 365 days complete, receive the license. The Board mails results as an Official Notice of Examination Results within 30 days, to the applicant and, where applicable, to the sponsor. A candidate who has previously passed the ILE does not retake Part D: IHS sends a score transfer directly to the Board on request.
North Carolina has no reciprocity with any other state. A person licensed elsewhere for the preceding three years is exempt from the apprenticeship, but must still pass all four parts. The statute’s other waivers, as G.S. 93D-5(c) publishes them, cover persons qualified under G.S. 93D-6, permanent licensed audiologists, temporary licensed audiologists with 250 hours of supervised fitting or selling activity under a Registered Sponsor’s direct supervision, and persons who worked full-time for one year under an otolaryngologist’s direct supervision fitting or selling hearing aids. Separately, as the Board announced with the October 2025 statute revisions under HB 926, dual licensure is no longer required for master’s-level audiologists in North Carolina. Anyone may apply to register as an apprentice from age 17, under G.S. 93D-9, but licensure itself requires the qualifications of G.S. 93D-5.
Staying licensed: renewal and the working credential
The North Carolina license runs on an annual cycle with two separate deadlines licensees routinely conflate and the Board keeps distinct. Continuing education reporting is due first: the licensee completes 10 hours — 1.00 CEU — of Board-approved Category 1 continuing education (amplification, hearing rehabilitation, hearing loss, regulations, and consumer-related issues) during the calendar year preceding renewal, and reports it by January 10, with no carryover of excess credit; passing the licensing examination during the accrual period satisfies that renewal’s requirement. License renewal itself is due on or before March 31 annually, with the renewal form, the $250 fee, and a current audiometer calibration report. A license left expired enters the Board’s reinstatement provisions, under which the qualifying examination itself is the route back for longer-expired licenses.
What the PassProfessor program will cover
Built to the Board’s four parts, part by part. The program is organised on the examination as 21 NCAC 22F .0105 structures it — simulated hearing testing, the performed ear impression, North Carolina laws and rules, and the ILE’s five published knowledge areas: patient assessment, interpretation and application of assessment results, hearing devices, the scope of practice of hearing aid specialists, and continuing care — because the Board examines those four kinds of competence separately and requires all four to be passed.
The apprenticeship, taught as part of the subject. Eligibility is where North Carolina candidates lose quarters, not weeks: the sponsor must be found before anything can begin, the apprenticeship year is defined in hours per week and days on certificate, examination parts expire on their own clocks, and registration closes 45 days before each of only four annual sittings. The program teaches the route as the Board publishes it, so sponsor, apprenticeship, and sittings are planned as one sequence.
Independence, stated plainly. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider, not affiliated with the North Carolina State Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters Board or the International Hearing Society. Completing this program confers no license, registers no apprenticeship, and satisfies no examination part; the Board alone licenses, and candidates register, train, and test through the Board.
Tell me when enrollment opens. The North Carolina 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 North Carolina Hearing Aid Specialist license?
The North Carolina State Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters Board, under Chapter 93D of the North Carolina General Statutes. The Board’s examination rules are at 21 NCAC 22F .0105, and its applications run through its website at nchalb.org.
What are the four parts of the examination?
Part A assesses knowledge of hearing testing through a computer simulation program. Part B assesses practical knowledge and ability to make an ear impression. Part C assesses knowledge of the relevant laws, rules, and regulations governing hearing aid specialists, in 50 multiple-choice questions per the Board’s exam notice. Part D is the ILE as administered by the International Hearing Society, assessing patient assessment, interpretation and application of assessment results, hearing devices, scope of practice, and continuing care. All four parts must be passed.
What passing score does North Carolina require?
The Board publishes no fixed numeric passing score for the parts. Its rules provide that the Board reviews the qualifying examinations and determines the minimum performance criteria required for passing, and that an applicant must pass all parts of the examination to receive a license. This page therefore states no pass mark.
How long is the apprenticeship, exactly?
One full year, as 21 NCAC 22A .0401 defines it: within 24 consecutive months from the issuance of the initial apprentice registration certificate, the apprentice works under a Registered Sponsor’s supervision for a minimum of 27 clock hours per week for 50 weeks, and holds a valid apprentice registration certificate for 365 calendar days. The license issues only when that year is complete and all four examination parts are passed.
Who can be a Registered Sponsor?
A licensee of the Board approved as a sponsor of an apprentice — under the Board’s published guidance, a licensee who has held the license for two years — or a person holding a permanent license as an audiologist who is registered as a sponsor with the Board. The Board does not help applicants find a sponsor; securing one is the applicant’s first task.
When is the examination offered, and when must I register?
Four times a year — February, May, August, and November. The registration deadline is 45 days before the exam date, the Board publicises the time and place of each examination on its website at least 90 days in advance, and late applications are denied.
How do I take Part D if it is the only part I need?
Still through the Board. The candidate registers with the Board for Part D; after the deadline, IHS emails instructions for ILE registration, and the ILE is taken at a testing centre offering it on the prescribed date and time on the admission card. For a Part D-only registration the Board waives its application and exam fees — the ILE fee, paid directly to IHS, is still due. A candidate who has already passed the ILE can instead have IHS send a score transfer to the Board.
Does North Carolina accept a license from another state?
There is no reciprocity. A person licensed in another state or jurisdiction for the preceding three years is exempt from the apprenticeship, but must still sit for and pass all four parts of the Board’s examination.
What changed for audiologists in October 2025?
Under the statute revisions enacted in HB 926, which became law in October 2025, dual licensure is no longer required for master’s-level audiologists in North Carolina, as the Board announced. The apprenticeship waivers in G.S. 93D-5(c) — including the waivers for licensed audiologists — are separate provisions and are stated on this page as the statute publishes them.
How is the license renewed?
Annually. Continuing education — 10 hours, or 1.00 CEU, of Board-approved Category 1 education earned in the preceding calendar year — is reported by January 10, and license renewal, with the renewal form, the $250 fee, and a current calibration report, is due on or before March 31. The two deadlines are separate, and both apply every year.
Is PassProfessor affiliated with the Board or IHS?
No. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider, not affiliated with the North Carolina State Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters Board or the International Hearing Society. The Board alone issues the license.
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.