BIENNIAL CE REQUIREMENTS
To maintain your certification and registration with ARRT, you’ll need to fulfill a number of responsibilities throughout your career. This section gives an overview only of our biennial Continuing Education (CE) Requirements. For in-depth information, review ARRT Education Requirements for Obtaining and Maintaining Certification and Registration.
HOW MANY CE CREDITS DO I NEED TO COMPLETE?
As an R.T., you’ll have to complete and report a certain number of CE activities every two years. This two-year period is called a biennium. Most R.T.s are required to earn 24 approved CE credits during their bienniums, regardless of how many ARRT credentials they hold. The only exception is for R.R.A.s, who need to complete 50 approved CE credits each biennium.
If you hold a Sonography credential, 16 of your biennial CE credits need to be directly related to this discipline. That stipulation will become effective for other disciplines in the future.
Once you earn your certification and registration, your CE reporting dates will always remain the same, even if you earn additional credentials later. You can however request to change the year of your CE biennium.
Looking for activities to fulfill your biennial CE requirements?
The easiest way to find approved category A and A+ activities is by using this biennial CE search tool.
WHAT ACTIVITIES ARE ACCEPTABLE for CE CREDIT?
Below are examples of activities that ARRT does and does not accept for biennial CE credit. For more detailed information, review ARRT’s Education Requirements for Obtaining and Maintaining Certification and Registration.
Examples of ARRT-accepted activities:
- Category A or A+ activities
Must be approved by a RCEEM or RCEEM+, including facility applications training.
- Academic courses relevant to the profession
Must be taken through an accredited university or college (16 CE credits for each academic semester credit or 12 CE credits for each academic quarter credit).
- Advanced CPR certification (ALS/ACLS or PALS)
Earn up to six (6) credits once per biennium when certified through an ARRT-recognized CPR provider.
- Authoring a published article
Must be published in an ARRT-accepted peer-reviewed medical journal.
- Certain activities you complete for state licensing purposes
Applicable for the following states only: Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, or Oregon. (Check with us for more information. Call 651.687.0048, then choose the option for renewal, reinstatement, or continuing education.)
Examples of activities ARRT doesn't accept:
- Clinical instructorships
ARRT doesn’t accept CE credits for clinical instructorship but, if you’re a clinical instructor, you can earn CE for preapproved CE activities such as improving educational design or increasing participant engagement.
- Newly-earned credentials
Newly-earned credentials alone no longer satisfy ARRT's biennial CE requirements. Instead, you may submit the approved educational activities you completed during your biennium in pursuit of the credential.
- Basic Life Support certification
Clinical requirements for some disciplines require BLS certification, but only advanced-level life support certification from an ARRT-recognized provider can be used for biennial CE credit.
WHEN AND HOW DO I REPORT CE?
DEADLINES
- You’ll report your CE activities every other year during your annual renewal process. You can renew online beginning two months before your birth month. Check your dashboard for the RENEW button.
- Pay attention to your multiple deadlines. While your deadlines for reporting CE and annual renewal are the same, your deadline for completing the CE comes before. Check your dashboard to view your biennium deadline.
TIMING
- You must complete your CE activities during your biennium. Your biennium begins on the first day of your birth month every other year, and extends for two years, ending on the last day of the month before your birth month.
- You’ll have one additional month beyond your biennium to report your CE credits. To put it another way, you must report your CE activities by the last day of your birth month. This is the same as your annual renewal deadline.
REPORTING CE
- Keep a copy of the activities that you submit. ARRT doesn’t act as a record-keeper, and we can’t access records of your past CE activities.
- We’ll automatically apply credits to your biennial CE for activities transferred from ARRT-approved organizations. In addition, if applicable, we’ll transfer credits that you completed and reported for:
- Your CQR CE prescription
- Structured education while pursuing a new credential