Pennsylvania Hearing Instrument Specialist — Requirements & Free Practice
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Licenses, application pathways and examination requirements
Each license and applicant pathway has its own requirements and exemptions. Choosing practice questions does not determine your eligibility.
Apprentice Hearing Aid Fitter’s Registration Certificate
Supervised trainee registration, issued before the qualifying fitter examination.
Licensing authority: Pennsylvania Department of Health, Hearing Aid Program · Application information
Restoration after suspension or revocation
- Discipline
- Apply to set aside suspension or revocation.
- Exam discretion
- Section 604 permits the Secretary to require the regular examination before lifting suspension or revocation. Sections 202 and 302 identify that examination as the fitter qualifying examination. It is a conditional leaf; the Secretary may excuse an applicant.
- Practice
- Renewing a suspended certificate alone does not restore practice rights.
- Revoked certificate
- A revoked certificate cannot be renewed; reinstatement after expiration requires the reinstatement fee and delinquency accrued at revocation.
- Supervision
- Sponsor supervision and apprentice examination requirements continue to apply.
- Time limit
- Section 315 prohibits restoring a certificate not renewed within five years after expiration.
Reinstatement of inactive apprentice registration
- Background check
- Supply the requested recent criminal background check and disclosures of convictions, charges and sanctions.
- Eligibility
- The form excludes applicants who already renewed twice. Section 308 nevertheless permits a discretionary additional renewal upon petition showing good and sufficient cause; it is not an automatic reinstatement entitlement.
- Practice location
- Obtain or work under a Pennsylvania registered dealer to sell prescription hearing aids.
- Qualification exam
- Reinstatement resumes apprentice or temporary practice; the existing current qualifying-examination requirement remains.
- Sponsor
- Supply a current registered fitter sponsor and sponsor-signed training and education agreement.
- Time limit
- The previous registration must have been held within five years; use the reinstatement form and pay $150.
Initial supervised apprentice registration
- Application
- Submit the apprentice application, $50 registration fee, sponsor-signed training and education agreement, and required examination fee before testing.
- Background check
- Supply a Pennsylvania State Police check; a nonresident or resident of less than five years supplies residence-jurisdiction checks for the preceding five years or a federal FBI check.
- Customer notice
- Identify services as performed by a trainee; sponsor keeps records and remains responsible.
- Disclosures
- Report prior examinations, licenses, registrations, criminal convictions, and professional disciplinary actions.
- Exam stage
- The apprentice certificate is issued before the exam; the two training periods lead to the qualifying exam and ordinary fitter registration.
- Sponsor
- The November 2022 form requires a current Pennsylvania registered fitter and excludes a temporary fitter, dealer, or audiologist without separate fitter registration. Act 262 section 306(b) also permits supervision by a section 306(a) temporary fitter; the form gives the Department’s narrower current implementation.
- Sponsor change
- Submit a sworn or affirmed request and new sponsor statement for Department approval; sponsor termination requires ten days written notice and certified Department notification.
- Training period 1
- Two months in the same office under direct personal supervision; the sponsor approves final testing and fitting.
- Training period 2
- At least four more months, continuing until the next examination; supervision continues for the entire active apprenticeship.
Renewal of apprentice registration pending the qualifying examination
- Failed subjects
- Under section 304, retesting is only in subjects previously failed.
- Fee
- Submit the application, $100 fee and any applicable late fee.
- Prior exam
- Section 308 addresses applicants who have taken and failed the qualifying exam; the same current exam remains involved.
- Renewal limit
- Two renewals maximum, unless the Secretary grants a petition for good and sufficient cause.
- Supervision
- Apprentices remain under sponsor supervision; experienced temporary fitters need no sponsor.
- Suspended status
- Section 314 permits renewal while suspended, but renewal does not lift suspension or authorize practice.
- Term
- The renewed certificate expires thirty days after the next qualifying examination.
Hearing Aid Dealer’s Registration Certificate
Business registration for selling prescription hearing aids through qualified professionals; branch certificates are duplicates of this registration.
Licensing authority: Pennsylvania Department of Health, Hearing Aid Program · Application information
Annual renewal of current dealer registration
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
- Application
- File the dealer renewal form with $100 for the main location and $10 per branch, listing professional staff and branches.
- Changes
- Report address, branch and employee changes; new ownership requires a new dealer application.
- Expiration
- Certificate expires April 15; the rule directs applying by March 16.
- Staff
- List at least one Pennsylvania licensed or registered physician, audiologist or fitter.
Official no-examination sources
Effective from 2026-09-22.
- Hearing Aid Sales Registration Law
Section 311, renewal filing
- 28 Pa. Code Chapter 25, Subchapter B
Section 25.204(d), renewal filing
- Dealer Renewal Registration
Page 1, employee list
Restoration after suspension or revocation
- Discipline
- Apply to set aside suspension or revocation.
- Exam discretion
- Section 604 permits the Secretary to require the regular examination before lifting suspension or revocation. Sections 202 and 302 identify that examination as the fitter qualifying examination. It is a conditional leaf; the Secretary may excuse an applicant.
- Practice
- Renewing a suspended certificate alone does not restore practice rights.
- Revoked certificate
- A revoked certificate cannot be renewed; reinstatement after expiration requires the reinstatement fee and delinquency accrued at revocation.
- Time limit
- Section 315 prohibits restoring a certificate not renewed within five years after expiration.
Renewal of expired dealer registration within five years
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
- Fee
- Pay renewal and delinquency fee when more than thirty days have passed.
- Staff and branches
- Supply the dealer renewal form and qualified employee and branch information.
- Time limit
- Apply within five years after expiration or inactivity.
Official no-examination sources
Effective from 2026-09-22.
- Hearing Aid Sales Registration Law
Section 312, expired renewal within five years
- 28 Pa. Code Chapter 25, Subchapter B
Section 25.204(e)
- 28 Pa. Code Chapter 25, Subchapter B
Section 25.205(a), exhaustive dealer requirements
Initial dealer business registration, including ownership changes
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
- Application
- Submit the dealer business registration application and appropriate fee.
- Background check
- Provide state or federal criminal records for owners or officers and disclose criminal and disciplinary history.
- Branches
- Register each extra location with a duplicate certificate, its professional in charge and $10 fee; renew branches annually.
- Business
- Maintain a physical Pennsylvania location and supply business-entity and fictitious-name documentation from the Department of State.
- Ownership change
- A change of ownership requires a new dealer application and agreement concerning patient records and care.
- Staff
- Be or employ a Pennsylvania licensed physician, audiologist or registered fitter and provide current professional credentials; personnel qualifications are conditions, not other-profession exam leaves.
Official no-examination sources
Effective from 2026-09-22.
- Hearing Aid Sales Registration Law
Section 102(b)
- 28 Pa. Code Chapter 25, Subchapter B
Section 25.205(a), exhaustive dealer requirements
- New Prescription Hearing Aid Dealer Registration
Page 2, qualified onsite professional
- Dealer Renewal Registration
Page 1, ownership change
Conditional statutory dealer registration by reciprocal endorsement
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
- Approval
- The Secretary may grant endorsement, conditional on those determinations and payment of fees; endorsement is not automatic.
- Department statement
- The Department FAQ states: “Pennsylvania does not have direct reciprocity for out-of-state registrants.” The statute authorizes conditional endorsement; the Department instead directs applicants without established reciprocal privileges to temporary registration and the fitter examination.
- Equivalence
- The Department must find equivalent or higher requirements and equivalent or stricter qualification procedures.
- License
- Hold a current unsuspended and unrevoked outside-jurisdiction certificate or license.
- Reciprocal privileges
- The originating jurisdiction must extend like reciprocal privileges to Pennsylvania registrants.
Official no-examination sources
Effective from 2026-09-22.
- Hearing Aid Sales Registration Law
Section 307, reciprocal endorsement and exemption
- 28 Pa. Code Chapter 25, Subchapter B
Section 25.205(c)(1)
- Hearing Aid Sales Registration Law
Section 307, reciprocal privileges
- Hearing Aid FAQ
Out-of-State Transfer-In Requirements, no direct reciprocity
Renewal while dealer registration remains suspended
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
- Fee
- Pay renewal and any delinquency fee.
- Staff and branches
- Submit current employee and branch information.
- Status
- Renewal does not lift suspension or authorize sales.
Official no-examination sources
Effective from 2026-09-22.
- Hearing Aid Sales Registration Law
Section 314, suspended renewal
- 28 Pa. Code Chapter 25, Subchapter B
Section 25.207(j)
Hearing Aid Fitter’s Registration Certificate
Individual registration for independent fitting and selling of prescription hearing aids.
Licensing authority: Pennsylvania Department of Health, Hearing Aid Program · Application information
Initial registration by examination after apprenticeship
- Application
- Submit the apprentice application, $50 registration fee, sponsor-signed training and education agreement, and required examination fee before testing.
- Background check
- Supply a Pennsylvania State Police check; a nonresident or resident of less than five years supplies residence-jurisdiction checks for the preceding five years or a federal FBI check.
- Customer notice
- Identify services as performed by a trainee; sponsor keeps records and remains responsible.
- Disclosures
- Report prior examinations, licenses, registrations, criminal convictions, and professional disciplinary actions.
- Sponsor
- The November 2022 form requires a current Pennsylvania registered fitter and excludes a temporary fitter, dealer, or audiologist without separate fitter registration. Act 262 section 306(b) also permits supervision by a section 306(a) temporary fitter; the form gives the Department’s narrower current implementation.
- Sponsor change
- Submit a sworn or affirmed request and new sponsor statement for Department approval; sponsor termination requires ten days written notice and certified Department notification.
- Training period 1
- Two months in the same office under direct personal supervision; the sponsor approves final testing and fitting.
- Training period 2
- At least four more months, continuing until the next examination; supervision continues for the entire active apprenticeship.
Renewal of current fitter registration
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
- Application
- Submit the completed renewal form, education evidence or attestation, and fee.
- Continuing education
- Twenty approved hours in the preceding two years, prorated for newer fitters under 25.216(a); at least half must be in the prescribed core subjects.
- Deadlines
- The regulation directs filing by March 16; certificates expire April 15. The November 2022 renewal form says completion by June 15 and $150 after April 15; these administrative instructions do not replace statutory or regulatory dates.
- Disclosures
- Disclose criminal offenses, pending charges, and professional sanctions since the last registration.
- Practice location
- Obtain or work under a current Pennsylvania dealer registration to sell prescription hearing aids. The form permits maintaining registration without sales upon the stated attestation.
Official no-examination sources
Effective from 2026-09-22.
- Hearing Aid Sales Registration Law
Section 311, renewal conditions
- 28 Pa. Code Chapter 25, Subchapter B
Section 25.204(d)
- Fitter Registration Renewal
Page 2, payment and form deadline
Restoration after suspension or revocation
- Continuing education
- Submit education evidence required by section 311.
- Discipline
- Apply to set aside suspension or revocation.
- Exam discretion
- Section 604 permits the Secretary to require the regular examination before lifting suspension or revocation. Sections 202 and 302 identify that examination as the fitter qualifying examination. It is a conditional leaf; the Secretary may excuse an applicant.
- Practice
- Renewing a suspended certificate alone does not restore practice rights.
- Revoked certificate
- A revoked certificate cannot be renewed; reinstatement after expiration requires the reinstatement fee and delinquency accrued at revocation.
- Time limit
- Section 315 prohibits restoring a certificate not renewed within five years after expiration.
Initial registration by examination after experienced temporary practice
- Application
- Submit the temporary application, fees, criminal background records and professional history disclosures.
- Exam timing
- Practice at least three months before the examination; take it no earlier than 90 days and no later than one year after the temporary certificate is issued.
- Experience
- Fit and sell hearing aids at an established business outside Pennsylvania for two of the five years immediately before application.
- Expiration
- The temporary certificate expires thirty days after the qualifying examination.
- License
- Supply current outside-jurisdiction license and good-standing evidence. The form also permits a Pennsylvania audiologist license as documentation; it does not remove the statutory outside-Pennsylvania experience requirement.
- Practice
- No sponsor is required for the experienced temporary fitter.
Renewal or reinstatement of expired or inactive registration within five years
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
- Approval
- Submit the reinstatement form, $150 fee, background check and criminal or disciplinary disclosures; approval is discretionary.
- Continuing education
- Twenty approved hours earned in the two years preceding application.
- Practice location
- Obtain or work under a current Pennsylvania dealer registration to sell prescription hearing aids. The form permits maintaining registration without sales upon the stated attestation.
- Time limit
- Apply within five years after expiration or inactivity; the reinstatement form requires a registration held within five years.
Official no-examination sources
Effective from 2026-09-22.
- Hearing Aid Sales Registration Law
Section 312, expired renewal within five years
- 28 Pa. Code Chapter 25, Subchapter B
Section 25.204(e)
- Fitter/Apprentice Reinstatement Application
Page 1, reinstatement time limit
- Fitter/Apprentice Reinstatement Application
Page 2, continuing education
- Fitter/Apprentice Reinstatement Application
Page 2 item 1, background checks
Conditional statutory registration by reciprocal endorsement
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
- Approval
- The Secretary may grant endorsement, conditional on those determinations and payment of fees; endorsement is not automatic.
- Department statement
- The Department FAQ states: “Pennsylvania does not have direct reciprocity for out-of-state registrants.” The statute authorizes conditional endorsement; the Department instead directs applicants without established reciprocal privileges to temporary registration and the fitter examination.
- Equivalence
- The Department must find equivalent or higher requirements and equivalent or stricter qualification procedures.
- License
- Hold a current unsuspended and unrevoked outside-jurisdiction certificate or license.
- Reciprocal privileges
- The originating jurisdiction must extend like reciprocal privileges to Pennsylvania registrants.
Official no-examination sources
Effective from 2026-09-22.
- Hearing Aid Sales Registration Law
Section 307, reciprocal endorsement and exemption
- 28 Pa. Code Chapter 25, Subchapter B
Section 25.205(c)(1)
- Hearing Aid Sales Registration Law
Section 307, reciprocal privileges
- Hearing Aid FAQ
Out-of-State Transfer-In Requirements, no direct reciprocity
Original registration requirements after expiration exceeding five years
- Department statement
- The FAQ states that an inactive fitter may be required to apprentice and take the examination after five years; 25.216(b) requires repeating the examination.
- Elapsed time
- More than five years have passed since expiration; the old certificate cannot be renewed, restored, reissued or reinstated.
- New registration
- Repeat the currently offered fitter examination and satisfy other original-registration requirements then in effect.
- Training
- Complete apprenticeship if required for the new original-registration application.
Renewal while fitter registration remains suspended
No examination is required for this applicant pathway.
- Continuing education
- Satisfy the current-renewal education requirements; a certificate without required education becomes expired under 25.216(c).
- Fee
- Pay applicable renewal and delinquency fees.
- Status
- Renewal does not lift suspension or authorize practice.
Official no-examination sources
Effective from 2026-09-22.
- Hearing Aid Sales Registration Law
Section 314, suspended renewal
- 28 Pa. Code Chapter 25, Subchapter B
Section 25.216(c)
Temporary Hearing Aid Fitter’s Registration Certificate
Temporary experienced-practitioner registration pending the qualifying fitter examination.
Licensing authority: Pennsylvania Department of Health, Hearing Aid Program · Application information
Restoration after suspension or revocation
- Discipline
- Apply to set aside suspension or revocation.
- Exam discretion
- Section 604 permits the Secretary to require the regular examination before lifting suspension or revocation. Sections 202 and 302 identify that examination as the fitter qualifying examination. It is a conditional leaf; the Secretary may excuse an applicant.
- Practice
- Renewing a suspended certificate alone does not restore practice rights.
- Revoked certificate
- A revoked certificate cannot be renewed; reinstatement after expiration requires the reinstatement fee and delinquency accrued at revocation.
- Temporary scope
- Temporary eligibility and examination timing continue to apply.
- Time limit
- Section 315 prohibits restoring a certificate not renewed within five years after expiration.
Initial temporary registration for experienced outside Pennsylvania practitioners
- Application
- Submit the temporary application, fees, criminal background records and professional history disclosures.
- Exam stage
- Temporary practice precedes the qualifying examination required for regular fitter registration.
- Exam timing
- Practice at least three months before the examination; take it no earlier than 90 days and no later than one year after the temporary certificate is issued.
- Experience
- Fit and sell hearing aids at an established business outside Pennsylvania for two of the five years immediately before application.
- Expiration
- The temporary certificate expires thirty days after the qualifying examination.
- License
- Supply current outside-jurisdiction license and good-standing evidence. The form also permits a Pennsylvania audiologist license as documentation; it does not remove the statutory outside-Pennsylvania experience requirement.
- Practice
- No sponsor is required for the experienced temporary fitter.
Reinstatement of inactive temporary registration
- Background check
- Supply the requested recent criminal background check and disclosures of convictions, charges and sanctions.
- Eligibility
- The form excludes applicants who already renewed twice. Section 308 nevertheless permits a discretionary additional renewal upon petition showing good and sufficient cause; it is not an automatic reinstatement entitlement.
- License and practice
- The form requires practice within five years and the outside-jurisdiction license or, if applicable, Pennsylvania audiologist license; section 306(a) experience requirements remain.
- Practice location
- Obtain or work under a Pennsylvania registered dealer to sell prescription hearing aids.
- Qualification exam
- Reinstatement resumes apprentice or temporary practice; the existing current qualifying-examination requirement remains.
- Time limit
- The previous registration must have been held within five years; use the reinstatement form and pay $150.
Renewal of temporary registration pending the qualifying examination
- Failed subjects
- Under section 304, retesting is only in subjects previously failed.
- Fee
- Submit the application, $100 fee and any applicable late fee.
- Prior exam
- Section 308 addresses applicants who have taken and failed the qualifying exam; the same current exam remains involved.
- Renewal limit
- Two renewals maximum, unless the Secretary grants a petition for good and sufficient cause.
- Supervision
- Apprentices remain under sponsor supervision; experienced temporary fitters need no sponsor.
- Suspended status
- Section 314 permits renewal while suspended, but renewal does not lift suspension or authorize practice.
- Term
- The renewed certificate expires thirty days after the next qualifying examination.
PA Hearing Aid Fitters Exam
- Provider
- Pennsylvania Department of Health
- Format
- Multiple-choice and true/false questions across eight parts
- Exam questions
- 160
- Passing score
- Pass every subject at the grade determined by the Secretary
Examination outline
- Part I – Anatomy & Physiology
- Part II – Functions of Hearing Aids
- Part III – Grounds for Revocation/Suspension/Probation
- Part IV – Violations and Penalties
- Part V – Procedures and Equipment
- Part VI – Taking Earmold Impressions
- Part VII – Medical and Rehab Facilities
- Part VIII – Medical Referral
Examination sources
- Hearing Aid FAQ
What do the eight parts of the PA Hearing Aid Fitters Exam consist of?
- Prescription Hearing Aid Fitter Examination Resource Materials Guide
Opening guide disclaimer
- Hearing Aid FAQ
When do I become a Fitter/Dispenser?
- Hearing Aid Sales Registration Law
Section 304, pass each subject
- Hearing Aid FAQ
Exam scheduling after apprenticeship
- Hearing Aid Sales Registration Law
Section 303