You may be looking at a preliminary score you don’t like, or at an official report that says you didn’t pass the ARRT® Radiography exam. Either way, this isn’t the end of the road. You have a set number of attempts and a report that points to your weak areas.
You also have company. ARRT’s 2025 report counts 2,726 repeat Radiography candidates, about 1 in 6 of the 17,380 Radiography candidates it counted that year. Even with an 85.8% first-time pass rate, about 1 in 7 first-time candidates didn’t pass.
The rules come first, because they set your deadlines. Then comes a week-by-week plan.
Is a preliminary score final?
No. You see a preliminary score at the end of the exam, and ARRT says: “The score isn’t final, and it doesn’t confirm whether you’ve passed the exam.” You can’t retrieve that screen once you leave it, so don’t plan around a number you half remember.
Official results reach your ARRT account within about 10 business days, and ARRT emails you when they are ready. Check your spam folder. ARRT doesn’t give scores by phone.
- Finish the examYou see a preliminary score. It is not final and does not confirm a result.
- About 10 business daysARRT emails you when official results are in your account.
- Read your section scoresUse them to compare your strengths and weak spots.
- Reapply on your dashboardAfter a first or second attempt, click Reapply and get a new exam window.
After three unsuccessful attempts or three years, whichever comes first, eligibility ends until you complete an ARRT-recognized program again. Source: ARRT.
How many times can you retake the ARRT?
You get three attempts within three years. The clock starts on the first day of your initial exam window, not on your exam date. ARRT’s rule is that your eligibility ends after three unsuccessful exam attempts or three years, whichever comes first.
Four details catch people out:
- The deadline comes early. The 2026 handbook says ARRT must receive your reapplication and fee at least 30 calendar days before your three-year period ends.
- A missed appointment isn’t an attempt, but it costs you. It doesn’t count toward your three attempts, but the three-year period doesn’t reset. The handbook says your window closes if you miss without the required notice, and you pay again to get a new one.
- State exam attempts can count. If you sat the exam as a state licensing candidate and also apply for ARRT certification in the same discipline, those attempts count toward your three.
- After the limit, the route back is long. You can regain eligibility by completing an ARRT-recognized program again.
Look up the date your first window opened today, and write down your real deadline. The third attempt deserves more care than the second, so don’t spend the second one in a rush.
Is there a waiting period before you can retake?
ARRT’s published pages list no fixed waiting period. You may see a 90-day wait mentioned online, and we couldn’t find that rule on ARRT’s retake pages, FAQ or 2026 handbook. That isn’t proof that none exists, so confirm in your dashboard or with ARRT at 877.560.2778 before you plan around a date. Processing time is separate: the handbook says to allow at least 30 calendar days for ARRT to process an application, and more if you request ADA accommodations. That line sits in its general section on applying and reapplying and doesn’t single out retakes, so allow for it and confirm.
The plan below is built around your readiness, not a fixed gap.
How do you reapply after failing the ARRT?
- Wait for your official report. Save it.
- Click Reapply on your ARRT dashboard. It appears after a first or second attempt. After a third, your dashboard explains how to regain eligibility.
- Pay the fee. Each attempt needs a new application and fee. ARRT lists the amount on its website, and fees aren’t refundable.
- Request accommodations on the application, if you qualify. The handbook says to do this on your application, not at the test center.
- Schedule with Pearson. Your Candidate Status Report comes first, and the handbook says to wait 24 hours after it before scheduling. Your window lasts one year and can’t be extended.
If you think your score is wrong, ARRT has an appeal with a nonrefundable fee and a limit of 14 calendar days from when your score report was available online. Read the handbook first. An appeal and an open exam window can’t run together, and ARRT voids the appeal if you reapply, whatever the order.
How do you read your ARRT section scores?
Your section scores are not percentages. A 7.2 doesn’t mean you got 72% of that section right. ARRT’s scale runs from 0.1 to 9.9, in tenths. It says a section score of 8.1 can be read roughly as a total of 81 if that section were the whole exam.
Three rules from ARRT shape how you should use them:
- Only the total decides. A total scaled score of 75 passes. “A score of 75 doesn’t mean you correctly answered 75% of the test items.” Radiography has no section minimum, even though ARRT’s retake page talks about “the sections you didn’t pass”. Read that as your weakest sections.
- Sections are rough. They rest on fewer questions, so they are less reliable than your total. ARRT suggests using them “only to compare your relative strengths and weaknesses.”
- They don’t average to your total, because sections have different numbers of questions.
So rank your sections and don’t over-read a tenth or two. For a benchmark, first-time candidates averaged 8.1 to 8.4 across the 8 categories in 2025.
Here is how we would split your time. These bands are our judgment, not an ARRT rule:
Section scores run from 0.1 to 9.9 and are not percentages. These bands are our judgment, not ARRT guidance, and the band widths are not to scale. Only your total score decides the result.
- 9.0 and up: light review.
- 8.0 to 8.9: medium drilling.
- 7.5 to 7.9: heavy drilling.
- Below 7.5: re-learn the material, then drill.
Then weight by size. Say you scored 6.9 in Head, Spine and Pelvis and 7.1 in Extremity. They are close, and those tenths may be noise. Extremity has 28 questions against 18, so it has more points to win. Start there.
Not sure which section is weakest, or still waiting on your report? Try the free practice test. It’s a signal, and your ARRT report carries far more weight.
Which version of the exam will your retake be?
This depends on your test date, so settle it before you build a study list. ARRT tells retakers to use the current specifications and compare them to the ones you used last time.
Testing through February 28, 2027: the current outline applies. Testing on or after March 1, 2027: the new outline and the new passing standard apply. Five categories change size: Patient Interactions and Management 33 to 31, Radiation Protection 29 to 25, Head, Spine and Pelvis 18 to 20, Thorax and Abdomen 20 to 22, and Extremity 28 to 30. The other three stay the same.
| Category | Now | Mar 2027 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patient Interactions and Management | 33 | 31 | -2 |
| Radiation Physics and Radiobiology | 21 | 21 | same |
| Radiation Protection | 29 | 25 | -4 |
| Image Acquisition and Evaluation | 26 | 26 | same |
| Equipment Operation and QA | 25 | 25 | same |
| Head, Spine and Pelvis | 18 | 20 | +2 |
| Thorax and Abdomen | 20 | 22 | +2 |
| Extremity | 28 | 30 | +2 |
Source: ARRT Radiography Content Specifications 2022 and 2027.
The 2027 outline also moves the clavicle to Thorax and bone age into Upper Extremities. It removes IVU/IVP from GU studies, while retrograde urography stays. The 2022 outline names CR and the plate reader. The 2027 outline drops those, but its QC section still lists plate calibration and plate uniformity. See what changes on March 1, 2027 for the rest.
The passing standard also changes, by a small amount. ARRT’s Board approved a standard equal to 130 of 200 items on the form used in its study. The current standard works out to about 129 on that same form. ARRT staff expect a first-time pass rate around 83%, against a current operational pass rate of 84%, and ARRT says the purpose “is not to increase or decrease pass rates”.
Current standard
129 of 200
on the form ARRT studied
84%
current operational pass rate
From March 1, 2027
130 of 200
on that same form
83%
expected by ARRT staff
The raw number differs from form to form, so 130 is not a target for your exam. The report doesn't call the 84% a first-time rate, and it differs from the 85.8% first-time rate in ARRT's 2025 report. Source: ARRT Standard Setting Report, Radiography, effective March 2027.
Don’t read that as “you need exactly 130”. The raw number changes from form to form. ARRT’s 2025 report puts the figure at about 67% correct, and that was on different forms. Neither ARRT document says whether the scaled passing score stays 75 after the change, so check your handbook.
Our judgment: one raw point on that form isn’t a reason to rush a retake before March. Test when your mocks say you’re ready.
What is the retake plan, week by week?
This is a default 8-week plan at about 1 to 2 hours a day. It’s our judgment, built on your report and on two study methods with strong research support: practice testing and spacing your study over time. Shorten it if you missed narrowly in one or two areas. Stretch it if several sections are below 7.5.
Week 1: Diagnose. Rank your sections with the bands above, then pick your two or three priorities by score and question count. Confirm your deadline and which outline applies. Reapply when you’re ready to pay and start your one-year window.
Weeks 2 to 4: Re-learn. Work through the chapters and lessons for your priority sections only. Don’t re-read what you already know because it feels productive. The Patient Care guide and Procedures guide show how those larger sections break down. Finish each chapter by answering questions on it.
Weeks 5 and 6: Drill. Do about 100 questions a day, using the practice categories to weight them toward your priorities. Keep some questions from every section, because your stronger sections still make up most of the exam. Review every miss, plus every question you guessed right.
Weeks 7 and 8: Mocks. Take a timed 200-question mock exam early in week 7, then more spaced a few days apart. Fix what each one shows before you take the next.
Last few days: Taper. Light review only, with no new material. Keep your normal sleep schedule.
When should you book? ARRT says appointments fill quickly, so pick a target date early and move it if you need to. The handbook allows changes up to at least 24 hours (one business day) before an appointment, and Pearson charges a fee each time you reschedule. Confirm the rules in your current handbook, and never miss without notice.
As our judgment, aim for two timed mocks in a row at 75% correct or better, with no section far behind the rest. That’s a cushion above the roughly 67% ARRT reported for 2025. No mock can predict your ARRT score, including ours. Our simulator shows a 66% benchmark, which is a floor and not a readiness target.
What should you do differently the second time?
Change how you study, not only what you use. If your method was reading and highlighting, more of it probably won’t move your score. Spend more of your time answering questions and working out why you missed them.
Write the rule, not the answer. After each miss, write one line you could apply to a new question. Here are two examples.
A grid question might come down to where the cutoff falls. Off-focus cutoff grows toward the edges. An upside-down focused grid leaves a normal center with severe cutoff on both sides. Off-level or off-center cuts exposure across the whole image.
A distance question reduces to one line: double the distance, one-fourth the intensity.
Don’t skip mocks because you know the format. The 200 scored and 30 pilot questions in one sitting are a stamina test. Pilot questions aren’t labelled, so treat every question as if it counts.
What if test anxiety got in the way?
Practice it directly. Take your mocks in one sitting, with no phone, and with the clock running through any breaks, because the real exam clock keeps running too. Our paid simulator is 200 questions on a 230-minute clock, so it gives more time per question than the real exam. Have a routine for hard questions: read the question again, rule out what you can, choose, flag it and move on.
If anxiety is affecting your sleep, your work or your daily life, talk to your school counselor or your doctor. They can go over options that fit you. If you have a documented disability, ARRT has an accommodations process, and you request it on your application.
What should you do on retake day?
- ID: bring two valid forms. One must be a government-issued photo ID with your signature. The name on your Candidate Status Report must match both IDs exactly. The handbook’s one exception is a middle name or initial: an ID can leave it out, but it can’t show a different one. An ID problem can get you turned away, and you forfeit your fee.
- Arrival: the handbook says to arrive at least 30 minutes early. Arriving 15 minutes or more late may cost you the appointment.
- Agreement: accept the nondisclosure agreement within two minutes of opening it, or your exam ends and your window closes.
- Belongings: phones and other personal items can’t go in the test room. Use a test center locker, or leave them in your car or at home.
- Screening: starting in November 2026, Pearson wand-screens candidates at check-in. If you have an implanted medical device that’s sensitive to magnets and prefer not to be scanned, ask ARRT for a medical waiver. It can take up to 5 business days.
- Noise: ask staff for earplugs or noise-reduction headphones before you start.
- Calculator: don’t bring one. There are calculators on screen, and staff can give you a basic one if you ask.
- Pace: ARRT’s 2026 handbook lists 230 minutes of test time for Radiography, inside a 250-minute appointment. That’s about one minute a question, and your screen shows the time left.
- Guessing: answer everything. You must answer each question before moving on. Your score is based on correct answers, so guess, flag it and come back if you have time.
- Breaks: you may take them, but the clock keeps running. If you leave the room for more than 10 minutes, Pearson files an incident report. If you leave the building, ARRT cancels your score and the exam counts as an attempt.
- Formats: most questions are multiple-choice with one best answer. Some ask you to select several answers, sort a list, select an image or watch a short video clip. The optional 8-minute tutorial lets you try the calculators and see the question formats.
What if the retake doesn’t go well either?
If you have an attempt left and time on your three-year clock, reapply and repeat the same process with your newest report. Compare the two reports to see what moved. If that was your third attempt, your dashboard explains how to regain eligibility, which means completing an ARRT-recognized program again.
We won’t promise you a result. ARRT’s 2025 Annual Exam Report gives no retake pass rate, and we have no outcome data of our own.
Where Radtechprepper fits
The free tier gives you 3 full chapters (Skull, Elbow and Shoulder, Urinary), 50 questions and 1 200-question timed mock, with no card. All three chapters are in Procedures, so the free chapters won’t cover a weak Patient Care, Safety or Image Production section. The free mock shows each answer as you go, so it’s good practice but not exam conditions. Sign up free to try it.
For a retake, paid plans add what the plan above needs: drills by category, new full-length mocks in a timed simulator with no feedback until the end and a breakdown by domain, all 28 chapters and 2,500+ questions, each with a written rationale. Plans are Monthly $39 (renews monthly until you cancel), a 90-Day Pass at $99 once that never renews, or Annual at $199 a year (about $16.58 a month) that renews until you cancel. Paid plans open soon, so you can’t buy one today. They include a pass guarantee, with conditions, and a 30-day refund on your first Monthly or Annual purchase. That policy doesn’t list the 90-Day Pass.
Whichever you use, start with your report. For the full exam overview and study list, read how to pass the ARRT Radiography exam.