ACVREP COMS

Candidates apply for eligibility through their ACVREP account, typically in Category 1 or Category 2 Path A. Students currently enrolled in an O&M program need no documentation upload to be declared eligible. Graduates must upload a completed, signed Clinical Competency Evaluation (and, for Path A, a Core Domain Checklist) and ACVREP must receive an official university transcript. Allow 5 days for ACVREP to review your application.

ACVREP does not publish a detailed format breakdown on its certification page; the COMS Handbook contains detailed information about the exam and the objectives measured by its questions. Read the handbook before scheduling. The exam was developed with PhD-level psychometricians following scientific, best-practice standards for certification exams. Scheduling occurs through the Webassessor test taker platform unless you request accommodations or private proctoring.

ACVREP requires a mandatory 30 calendar day waiting period before you may sit for the certification examination, or any business day thereafter based on your preference. Once you have paid, you receive a link to the Webassessor platform and an Exam Scheduling Voucher Code. Note that if you schedule a date and then want to change it, the system requires you to wait another 30 days.

If you do not pass the exam the first time, you are allowed one free retake. As soon as you are notified that you failed, log into your account and click Schedule your Exam; the database recognizes this as your second, free retake and you will not be charged a fee. Plan your study schedule so the first attempt is your best one.

Check the accommodations or private proctoring box on the Exam Registration form, then provide three preferred dates, times, and locations. You must also create a Test Taker Account, and ACVREP cannot schedule you until you do. Upload supporting documentation from a physician or school counselor; scheduling waits until all documents are received. Allow seven business days for ACVREP to process your request and confirm details.

Start with the COMS Certification Handbook, which lists the objectives the exam measures, then download ACVREP's "Additional Strategies for taking the COMS exam." Study the Scope of Practice and the Body of Knowledge & Competencies, since the exam is built around them. The Code of Ethics with the addendum on remote-virtual instruction is also worth reviewing. Consider the practice exam to identify weak areas before deep review.

Candidates often underestimate the breadth of the Body of Knowledge, treating it as a single-technique field. ACVREP stresses that COMS use a guided exploration and problem-solving approach customized to each learner, drawing on inquiry-based, expeditionary, differentiated, and direct instruction. Expect questions spanning nonvisual, visual, physical, cognitive, and psycho-social aspects and diverse ages and abilities, not just cane technique.

Once notified that you passed, log into your ACVREP account and use Apply for Certification. If you applied as a Category 1 or Category 2 Path A student, you cannot be certified until your signed Clinical Competency Evaluation is uploaded and your official transcript is received. Allow 5 days for review. A digital certificate appears in My Documents, and the mailed original arrives within 14 days. Recertification is required every five years.

ACVREP states that a full or partial scholarship may be available to assist with payment of the exam fee. See the Exam Registration Fee Assistance Program link on the COMS certification page for details, and view all fees on ACVREP's fees page before you register so you can budget for the exam and any retake beyond the single free one.