ATC

The ATC exam is the certification examination for athletic trainers, administered by the Board of Certification, Inc. (BOC), based in Omaha, Nebraska. Passing it is part of earning the Athletic Trainer, Certified credential. Note that the acronym 'ATC' is also used for unrelated programs such as air traffic control testing, so confirm you are looking at athletic training materials.

Candidacy is tied to your education program. In the BOC's own wording, an individual must be confirmed by the recognized program director of the CAATE-accredited education program. If you are a student or recent graduate, your program director is the person who confirms eligibility, so start that conversation early in your final term.

We could not verify current item counts, seat time, or delivery details because the BOC exam page did not load when this page was last reviewed. Do not rely on secondhand figures from older prep materials. Confirm the current format, appointment length, and any break policy through your BOC360 account or by contacting the BOC directly.

The passing standard is set by the BOC and is not something we can confirm from available source material. Rather than target a guessed percentage, aim for comfortable mastery of every content area, since a strong average can still hide a failing weakness in emergency care or administration. Your official score report will state the standard that applied.

Retake rules, waiting periods, and any limits on attempts are set by the BOC and were not verifiable for this page. Policies change, so check your candidate handbook or BOC360 account before assuming a specific waiting window. In practice, candidates who fail usually need a diagnostic-driven study plan rather than simply repeating the same preparation.

Allow a few months of consistent, scheduled study rather than a last-minute cram, especially if you are finishing clinical rotations. Front-load a full-length diagnostic, then allocate the largest blocks to your two weakest content areas. Short, frequent sessions with spaced repetition retain better than long weekend marathons, and hands-on skill review needs its own time.

Start with a diagnostic rather than a syllabus. Study your weakest areas first while you still have time to fix them, then protect emergency care and clinical evaluation, which drive many difficult scenario items. Leave administration and professional responsibility for a dedicated later block - candidates often skip it and lose easy points there.

Three recur: memorizing definitions instead of practicing scenario-based decision-making, neglecting emergency care and administrative content because it feels less familiar, and never simulating timed conditions. A fourth is studying only from notes you already know. Build question sets that force you to justify why each wrong option is wrong.

Go to the BOC directly: bocatc.org, [email protected], or (402) 559-0091, with offices at 1411 Harney Street, Suite 100, Omaha, NE 68102. Candidates can log in through BOC360, where account access has recently changed - use the 'Forgot your password?' option if you have not yet accessed your new account.