The Rhode Island Hearing Aid Dealer and Fitter license, issued by the Rhode Island Department of Health with the Board of Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters, under Rhode Island General Laws Chapter 5-49, authorizes the holder to engage in the practice of fitting and dealing in hearing aids in Rhode Island. License by examination requires two examinations: the national examination approved by the Board, and a Board-approved practical examination — with Rhode Island law, including the hearing aid “lemon law,” folded into the examination’s scope rather than set as a separate paper. The route into them runs through a twelve-month Temporary Permit held under a licensee’s supervision. The PassProfessor Rhode Island Hearing Aid Dealer and Fitter program prepares candidates for that examination set. The companion exam guide at /rhode-island-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
Rhode Island’s rules define the practice of fitting and dealing in hearing aids precisely: the evaluation and measurement of human hearing by means of an audiometer or by any other means, solely for the purpose of making selections, adaptations, or sales of hearing aids — including the making of impressions for earmolds. A licensed Hearing Aid Dealer and Fitter performs that work: pure tone and speech audiometry, masking where indicated, the recording and evaluation of audiograms to determine the proper selection and adaptation of an aid, earmold impressions, and the sale and delivery of the instrument under Rhode Island’s consumer-protection requirements.
The definition also marks the credential’s boundary. The practice does not include making audiograms for a physician or a member of a related profession for use in consultation, and the statute provides that the licensing examination shall not be conducted in a manner that requires college training in order to pass, and that nothing in it implies the applicant possesses the degree of medical competence normally expected of physicians. This is a licensing examination for a measured, hands-on trade, examined in two registers — knowledge on paper, proficiency performed — with the state’s own law woven through both.
The examination at a glance
| Item | Verified position |
|---|---|
| Program | Rhode Island Hearing Aid Dealer and Fitter, the Department of Health license for the practice of fitting and dealing in hearing aids in Rhode Island |
| Licensing authority | Rhode Island Department of Health, with the Board of Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters; R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 5-49 and the Board’s rules at 216-RICR-40-05-31 |
| Examination | License by examination, in two parts: (1) the national examination approved by the Board — for the written examination, the Board (or its designee) shall administer “the current International Hearing Society or other national examination for hearing aid fitters and dealers, as may be approved by the Board”; and (2) a Board-approved practical examination meeting R.I. Gen. Laws §5-49-9(2). The examination scope additionally includes R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 6-45 (the so-called “lemon law”) and the Board’s rules |
| Separate law exam | None. Rhode Island has no separate standalone jurisprudence examination; the state-law content is included in the scope of the qualifying examination itself |
| Passing standard | No passing score or percentage is published in the Board’s rules or the statute sections verified for this page, and none is printed |
| Qualifications | Under R.I. Gen. Laws §5-49-7: at least 21 years of age, of good moral character, with an education equivalent to a four-year course in an accredited high school, and free of contagious or infectious disease |
| Route | Temporary Permit (twelve months, under a licensee’s supervision; renewable or reissued once if the examination is not passed within the year) → written and practical examinations → Hearing Aid Dealer and Fitter license (biennial term) |
| Administrator note | PassProfessor is independent and is not affiliated with the Rhode Island Department of Health, the Board of Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters, or the International Hearing Society |
Not the license: the Temporary Permit
The Temporary Permit is Rhode Island’s trainee tier, and it is not a license to practice independently. An applicant who fulfils the requirements regarding age, character, education, and health in §5-49-7 may obtain a temporary permit on application to the Department — previous experience or a waiting period is expressly not required. The permit entitles the holder to engage in the fitting and sale of hearing aids for one year, under supervision: a licensed hearing aid dealer and fitter is responsible for the permit holder’s supervision and training and for maintaining adequate personal contact, and a licensed audiologist may take that role only with at least two years of active clinical experience in dispensing and fitting hearing aids, documentary evidence of it, and the Department’s written approval. The Board’s rules grade the supervision — twenty hours per week of direct supervision for the first thirty days, review of all audiograms, sales, and other records for the second thirty days, and periodic review for the remainder. If the permit holder has not passed the licensing examination within one year, the permit may be renewed or reissued once, on payment of the fee. Only the Hearing Aid Dealer and Fitter License itself — conspicuously posted in the licensee’s place of business — is the independent credential.
What the examination covers
Rhode Island’s qualifying examination is designed, in the statute’s words, to demonstrate the applicant’s adequate technical qualifications. Its scope is set out in §5-49-9 and extended by the Board’s rules, and it divides into knowledge, proficiency, and Rhode Island law.
The written examination — the Board-approved national examination. For the written examination, the Board, or its designee, shall administer the current International Hearing Society or other national examination for hearing aid fitters and dealers, as may be approved by the Board. The knowledge it tests, as the statute frames it, is in three areas as they pertain to the fitting and sale of hearing aids: the basic physics of sound; the anatomy and physiology of the ear; and the function of hearing aids — together with knowledge of the medical and rehabilitation facilities for children and adults in the area being served. Candidates should read the written requirement in the rule’s own form: the Board approves the national examination, and the IHS examination is the one the rule names.
The practical examination — proficiency, performed. The Board shall adopt a practical examination that meets the requirements of §5-49-9(2), which tests practical proficiency in five techniques as they pertain to the fitting of hearing aids: pure tone audiometry, including air conduction testing and bone conduction testing; live voice or recorded voice speech audiometry, including speech reception threshold testing and speech discrimination testing; masking when indicated; recording and evaluating audiograms and speech audiometry to determine proper selection and adaptation of a hearing aid; and taking earmold impressions. This is not a paper about skill; it is the skill set of the daily practice, performed under examination conditions.
Rhode Island law — inside the scope, not a separate paper. In addition to the §5-49-9 scope, the Board’s rules provide that the qualifying examination shall include R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 6-45 — the so-called “lemon law,” Rhode Island’s Enforcement of Assistive Technology Warranties — and the rules and regulations contained in the Board’s own rules part. To be plain about the structure: there is no separate standalone jurisprudence examination in Rhode Island. The state-law content is part of the qualifying examination’s scope, and a preparation that treats Rhode Island law as someone else’s subject has misread the rules.
What makes this examination demanding
The first demand is the practical’s breadth. Five performed techniques — two forms of audiometry, masking, audiogram evaluation for selection and adaptation, and earmold impressions — cover the whole clinical encounter from first measurement to finished impression, and each is a technique a working fitter uses daily, which means the examination can test them at working depth rather than at recognition depth.
The second demand is the law inside the scope. The lemon law and the Board’s rules are not an appendix to this examination; the rules place them in the qualifying scope expressly, and the candidate who knows audiometry cold and Rhode Island’s warranty law not at all has prepared for only part of the examination Rhode Island actually gives.
The third demand is the consequence structure around failure. An applicant who does not pass is entitled to re-examinations, with the examination fees resubmitted — but an applicant who fails to pass the written and practical examinations twice is not eligible for further examinations until they have satisfactorily completed additional preparation as directed and approved by the Board, and that condition applies again after each subsequent failure. Rhode Island rations unprepared attempts: the second failure converts the next sitting into Board-directed preparation first. Combined with the Temporary Permit’s structure — one year to pass, renewable or reissued once — the system is built to be entered prepared.
The route, in order
Step one — qualify. Meet the §5-49-7 qualifications: at least 21 years of age, good moral character, an education equivalent to a four-year course in an accredited high school, and freedom from contagious or infectious disease. Step two — the Temporary Permit: apply to the Department with the permit fee set in the statute’s fee provision; no previous experience or waiting period is required. The permit runs one year, under a licensed dealer and fitter responsible for your supervision and training — or an approved audiologist supervisor meeting the two-year experience standard — with the rules’ graded supervision across the first sixty days and beyond. Step three — the examinations: appear at the time, place, and before the persons the Department designates, and be examined by written and practical tests — verification of successful completion of the national examination approved by the Board, and successful completion of a Board-approved practical examination — with the lemon law and the Board’s rules inside the qualifying scope. Step four — the license: submit the completed application and the license fee as set forth in the Department of Health’s fee structure, with the examination verifications; the Department issues the license to each person successfully passing the examinations who otherwise satisfies it of their qualifications, for the biennial period stated in the license. Rhode Island also licenses by endorsement: an applicant licensed elsewhere submits the application and fee with verification of good standing in every state or territory where they hold or have held a license or certification in this practice.
Staying licensed: the working credential
All Rhode Island Hearing Aid Dealer and Fitter licenses expire on the 31st day of January of each even-numbered year, unless sooner suspended or revoked, and are renewed for the next ensuing two years on completion of a renewal application and payment of the biennial renewal fee set in the Department’s fee structure. The working licensee practises inside the same body of law the examination’s scope reached. Before a sale, the purchaser must have obtained and presented a certificate of need — a form signed by a physician licensed in Rhode Island attesting that, on an otological examination no more than six months before the sale, the purchaser’s hearing impediment indicates the need for a hearing aid — subject to the adult purchaser’s right to waive the medical evaluation in the informed, signed form federal requirements allow, with the statement retained for no less than three years; for a child ten years of age or under, the licensee must ascertain whether the child has been examined by an otolaryngologist or primary care physician and an audiologist within the ninety days before the fitting, and see that the examination is conducted before any sale if it has not been. Every sale carries a receipt with the disclosures the Act requires — including the thirty-day trial period during which the purchaser may return the instrument, in its original condition less normal wear, with no further financial obligation, the notice that the product is protected by Chapter 6-45, the Enforcement of Assistive Technology Warranties, and refund within ten days of a return — and a permanent record of every transaction, with the certificate of need or signed waiver attached, retained for three years and open to inspection.
What the PassProfessor program will cover
Built to the Rhode Island examination set, component by component. The program is organised on the Department and Board’s two examinations as Rhode Island publishes them: the Board-approved national written examination’s knowledge territory — sound, the ear, hearing aid function, and the medical and rehabilitation facilities knowledge the statute adds; the Board-approved practical’s five performed techniques; and the Rhode Island law inside the qualifying scope — the Chapter 6-45 lemon law and the Board’s rules — taught as Rhode Island law, inside the examination where Rhode Island puts it, not as a separate subject.
The route, taught as part of the subject. Rhode Island candidates lose time to structure more than to content: a permit year expiring with the examinations unattempted, a second failure triggering Board-directed preparation that could have been the first preparation, a supervisor arrangement that does not meet the statute’s terms. The program teaches the Temporary Permit → examinations → license sequence as the Department publishes it, so the candidate’s permit, sittings, and application are planned as one timeline.
Independence, stated plainly. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider, not affiliated with the Rhode Island Department of Health, the Board of Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters, or the International Hearing Society. This program is not a Department or Board course, confers no permit or license, and satisfies no supervision or training requirement; the Department alone licenses, and candidates apply and test through the Department and the Board.
Tell me when enrollment opens. The Rhode Island Hearing Aid Dealer and Fitter 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 Rhode Island Hearing Aid Dealer and Fitter license?
The Rhode Island Department of Health, with the Board of Hearing Aid Dealers and Fitters, under R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 5-49 and the Board’s rules at 216-RICR-40-05-31.
What examinations must a Rhode Island candidate pass?
Two: the national examination approved by the Board — for the written examination, the Board (or its designee) administers the current International Hearing Society or other national examination for hearing aid fitters and dealers, as may be approved by the Board — and a Board-approved practical examination meeting R.I. Gen. Laws §5-49-9(2).
Is there a separate Rhode Island jurisprudence or laws examination?
No. Rhode Island has no separate standalone jurisprudence examination. The Board’s rules place R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 6-45 — the so-called “lemon law” — and the Board’s own rules inside the scope of the qualifying examination itself.
What does the Rhode Island practical examination test?
The five techniques in §5-49-9(2): pure tone audiometry including air and bone conduction testing; live or recorded voice speech audiometry including speech reception threshold and speech discrimination testing; masking when indicated; recording and evaluating audiograms and speech audiometry to determine proper selection and adaptation of a hearing aid; and taking earmold impressions.
What knowledge does the written side of the examination cover?
As the statute frames it: the basic physics of sound, the anatomy and physiology of the ear, and the function of hearing aids, as they pertain to the fitting and sale of hearing aids — plus knowledge of the medical and rehabilitation facilities for children and adults in the area served, and the lemon law and Board rules in the scope.
Is a passing score published for the Rhode Island examinations?
No passing score or percentage was published in the Board’s rules or the statute sections verified for this page, and none is printed here. Any percentage quoted by third-party material for these examinations should be treated as unverified.
What is the Temporary Permit, and how long does it last?
Rhode Island’s trainee tier: a permit, available without previous experience or a waiting period to an applicant who meets the age, character, education, and health requirements, entitling the holder to engage in the fitting and sale of hearing aids for one year under a licensee’s supervision and training. If the licensing examination is not passed within the year, the permit may be renewed or reissued once.
What qualifications does Rhode Island require for license by examination?
Under §5-49-7: at least 21 years of age, good moral character, an education equivalent to a four-year course in an accredited high school, and freedom from contagious or infectious disease.
What happens if I fail the examinations?
Re-examination is available, with the examination fees resubmitted. But an applicant who fails to pass the written and practical examinations twice is not eligible for further examinations until they have satisfactorily completed additional preparation as directed and approved by the Board — and that condition applies again after each subsequent failure.
How long is the Rhode Island license term?
Biennial: licenses expire on January 31 of each even-numbered year and are renewed for the next two years on a renewal application and the biennial fee in the Department’s fee structure.
Is PassProfessor affiliated with the Department of Health or the Board?
No. PassProfessor is an independent preparation provider. The Department alone licenses, and the Board approves the 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.