OTR guides
Direct answers for OTR format, studying, exam day, scores, and what to do next.
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To sit the OTR exam you need an entry-level OT degree from an ACOTE-accredited program, or OTED approval if you studied abroad, plus character review approval. Here is when you can apply, the transcript and DVF routes, the two 90-day windows, and the mistakes that cost fees.
Read the guideThe OTR exam has 180 items in 4 hours: three- and four-option single-response questions mixed with scenario sets of four six-option items where you pick three. Here is how each item type works, how credit is given, what NBCOT doesn't publish, and how to pace yourself.
Read the guideNBCOT posts OTR results on fixed scoring dates, mostly Thursdays in 2026, and you must test at least three days before a date to be included. Here are the remaining 2026 dates, the December 19 cutoff, the blackout until January 4, 2027, and what delays a score.
Read the guideNBCOT's Prepare page says students report spending 6 weeks studying for the exam. Here is how to turn the 2022 OTR outline's 38/23/23/16 weights into study hours, a 6-week and a 12-week schedule, how to use NBCOT's single-use practice tests, and the study rules in the Code of Conduct.
Read the guideNBCOT reports that 68% of first-time new graduates passed the OTR exam on their first attempt in 2025, and 92% of all new graduates passed regardless of the number of attempts. Here is how to read those figures, how to find your program's rate, and which features of the exam make it hard.
Read the guideThe OTR exam costs $540 with the online application and $430 for each reapplication, as checked on October 27, 2026. Here is every NBCOT fee around it, from $35 services to the $115 ATT reissue, what is refundable, and worked budgets for a first attempt and a retake.
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How the NBCOT OTR exam is structured, timed and scored.
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