What Is the CCC-A? ASHA Audiology Certification Requirements and How to Get It

CCC-A stands for Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology.

ASHA — the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association — issues it to audiologists who meet its certification standards, and each applicant is judged under the version of those standards in effect on the day ASHA receives the application.

The CCC-A works as a post-nominal credential, and ASHA's own rules govern its use: a holder whose certification is not current cannot use the CCC at all, a point the maintenance section picks up.

It is a credential from a national professional association, which is a different thing from the state license that authorizes practice — the last section of this guide takes up that distinction.

If you are still mapping the career itself, the audiologist career guide covers the role, the settings audiologists work in and the full path into the profession.

ASHA administers the CCC-A through its Council for Clinical Certification (CFCC).

Its evaluative role shows up in how nonstandard applications are handled: when an applicant's doctoral degree comes from a program outside the CAA system — an AuD, PhD or MD earned elsewhere — the CFCC evaluates the transcript against CAA-accredited AuD coursework.

Applicants are currently certified under ASHA's 2020 Standards for Certification in Audiology, because the standard in effect when ASHA receives the application is the one that applies.

ASHA has also published 2027 Audiology Certification Standards with an effective date of August 1, 2027.

That timing rule has practical weight.

An application received before the effective date is judged under the 2020 standards; one received on or after August 1, 2027 is judged under the 2027 standards, which change the clinical practicum rules described in the next section.

Standard I of the 2020 standards sets the degree bar: applicants must hold a doctoral degree in audiology from a program accredited by the CAA, a program in CAA candidacy status, or the equivalent.

A degree from outside that system takes a different route: the CFCC evaluates the transcript, as described in the last section.

The supervised clinical practicum carries its own rules under the 2020 standards.

The supervisor must be an ASHA-certified audiologist who has a minimum of 9 months of full-time clinical experience (or its part-time equivalent) and has completed at least 2 hours of professional development in clinical instruction or supervision.

Clinical simulation counts within limits: the 2020 standards allow up to 10% of supervised clinical experience to come from simulation, and only for experience obtained within the doctoral program.

Applicants who did not complete the full practicum under a qualifying supervisor during the AuD are not out of the running.

They have 24 months from the application-received date to start the remainder of the experience, and 48 months from its start to complete it — and practicum completed after graduation may be telesupervised.

How many hours in total?

The 2020 standards text we reviewed sets the practicum rules without stating a single clock-hour total.

On the ASHA pages we reviewed, only one states a figure: the page for internationally educated applicants.

It describes CCC-A eligibility as a minimum of 12 months full-time (or part-time equivalent), equaling 1,820 hours, of supervised clinical practicum completed during the clinical doctorate.

That figure belongs to that page — it is not a general clock-hour total for all applicants.

The 2027 standards rewrite the practicum picture for later applicants.

They tie practicum to CAA accreditation standards, which include a minimum of 12 months' full-time-equivalent supervised clinical experience, with at least 50% on site or in person, up to 40% allowed by telepractice, and up to 10% by simulation.

The exam requirement is the Praxis Audiology test, code 5343, administered by ETS.

ASHA's passing score for certification is 162 on the 100–200 scale as of October 2026 — and if you have seen 170 attached to the audiology Praxis, that number belongs to the older 5342 and 0342 test versions, not the current one.

ASHA still accepts a passing score of 170 on those older versions where a state licensing agency requires that version.

New scores on the current 5343 are judged against 162.

The score also has to reach ASHA the right way.

For certification, Praxis results must be sent directly from ETS to ASHA, using recipient code R5031.

Under the standards' exam rule, a passing score must be earned no earlier than 5 years before ASHA receives the application and no later than 2 years after.

ASHA's application guidance adds a companion limit: scores submitted for initial certification must be no more than 5 years old at the time you apply.

Candidates who fail can retake the Praxis, but the application runs on a 2-year clock: if the exam is not passed within the 2-year certification application period, the file is closed and the applicant must reapply under the standards then in effect.

A complete CCC-A application has three parts: passing Praxis scores sent directly from ETS, an official doctoral transcript verifying the degree and date awarded, and payment of ASHA's dues and fees.

What it costs depends on how you join.

ASHA's initial certification fee was $490 with ASHA membership or $446 for certification without membership, as of October 12, 2026.

New graduates have a discounted route: the NSSLHA Conversion rate is $240 for certification plus membership, for applicants who held NSSLHA membership for 2 consecutive years at graduation and apply by August 31 of the year after graduation.

Membership is not required to hold the certification — audiologists who certify without it pay an annual certification fee of $221 to keep the CCC.

Application timing matters for another reason: applicants who apply between January 1 and August 31 under ASHA's New Professional Membership Package receive up to 24 months of membership for the price of 12.

If ASHA finds an applicant ineligible, or the applicant withdraws within a year, ASHA refunds the initial application fee minus a $50 nonrefundable processing fee.

On review time, ASHA asks applicants to allow 6 weeks for review of a completed application and its documentation, and ASHA's pathway page describes the process as taking up to 6 to 8 weeks from the date the last document is received.

The 2-year application window is the clock to watch for the exam: if the Praxis is not passed inside it, the file closes.

Any post-graduation practicum runs on its own clocks — the 24 months to start and 48 months to complete described in the last section.

Holding the CCC-A is both an annual and a three-year commitment.

Each certification maintenance interval runs 3 years, and every interval requires 30 professional development hours (PDHs) — ASHA's current term for professional development credit, equal to 3.0 ASHA CEUs.

The 30 PDHs carry built-in content requirements as of January 1, 2026: 1 PDH in ethics, plus 2 PDHs in a second content area.

ASHA renamed that area effective the same date; it covers serving individuals' unique histories, values and circumstances and/or self-reflection, adaptability and collaboration, replacing the earlier cultural competence/DEI wording.

ASHA's page notes that holders in the 2023–2025 maintenance interval could use either the old or the new wording.

There is also an annual cycle: renewal dues and fees are $250 a year for certified members and $221 a year for certified nonmembers, due by December 31 each year.

Missing the deadline is consequential — holders who have not paid dues or fees or reported CE by the deadline become "not current" on April 1, cannot use the CCC, are listed publicly as CCC Not Current, and cannot supervise students or mentor clinical fellows.

ASHA audits maintenance compliance at random.

Audiologists selected for audit who do not use the ASHA CE Registry must submit their records within 60 days.

Registry participants with the full 3.0 CEUs on file need not submit documentation.

Joining the CE Registry is itself optional for meeting maintenance.

Let the credential lapse and there is a defined way back.

Reinstatement requires 10, 20 or 30 PDHs depending on the lapse: 1 year or less, 1 to 2 years, or more than 2 years.

If the certification has been expired for more than 1 year, a passing Praxis score no more than 5 years old is also required.

ASHA says review of a reinstatement application takes 4 to 6 weeks.

The CCC-A is a national credential from ASHA, not a state license.

What legally authorizes an audiologist to practice is the license — or the state's own credential type — issued under that state's rules, and each state's board sets requirements its own way.

Confirm what your state expects with the board that issues the credential.

Federal Medicare rules draw the same line.

CMS defines a qualified audiologist for Medicare purposes as someone with a master's or doctoral degree in audiology who is licensed by the state where services are furnished — or who meets alternative requirements in a state without licensure.

ASHA's CCC-A is not part of that definition.

Where the credential does concrete work is in supervision.

Audiologists who hold ASHA certification and supervise students for ASHA certification must attest to 9 months of post-certification clinical experience and a one-time 2 hours of professional development in supervision — and losing current standing removes the ability to supervise students or mentor clinical fellows.

Verification is straightforward for employers and licensing boards alike: ASHA's online Certification Verification system is free and confirms whether an individual currently holds ASHA certification.

For a practice writing a job posting, the CCC-A is an additional, verifiable national standard alongside the state credential — not a substitute for the license check.

For an applicant, it is one more set of deadlines to track next to state renewal and continuing education requirements.

Career information, not licensing, legal, medical, clinical, billing or coding advice. Confirm current CCC-A requirements, fees and deadlines with ASHA, and licensure requirements with the audiology licensing board in your state.