How Much Does the ABO Exam Cost?

Current ABO exam fees

As of 2026, the fee schedule on abo-ncle.org looks like this: the ABO basic exam (NOCE) is $225, and the NCLE basic exam (CLRE) is also $225 if you're planning to sit for both credentials. The ABO Advanced exam runs $175. There's also a combined ABO Basic & Practical exam for $250, taken in one sitting — but currently only Arizona and Washington accept the combined format, so check your state's rules before registering for it.

The exams are offered year-round across four testing windows: January–March, April–June, July–September, and October–December. Registration for each window opens and closes on set dates, so don't wait until the last week of a window to sign up.

ABO-NCLE adjusts fees from time to time. Before you pay, confirm the current amount on the Register for an Exam page at abo-ncle.org.

What the fee covers — and what it doesn't

Your $225 buys one attempt at the 125-question ABO basic exam during your chosen testing window. It does not buy flexibility. Rescheduling your appointment costs $75, and transferring your registration to the next testing window costs another $75. And because the fee is non-refundable, a no-show simply eats the money.

There's no discounted retake for the basic exam either. If you fail, you wait 14 days from your test date, then register and pay the full fee again. That's the single biggest hidden cost in this process: a second attempt doubles your exam spend to $450 before you've bought a single study resource.

Renewal costs after you pass

ABO certification isn't a one-time purchase. You renew every three years, and each renewal costs $125 plus 9 ABO-approved continuing education credits (at least 5 of them ophthalmic-level), all completed by your expiration date. Spread out, that's roughly $42 a year in renewal fees — plus whatever your CE courses cost, which can range from free to a few hundred dollars depending on where you earn the credits.

Renew late and you create a gap in your certification dates that ABO-NCLE won't backdate. In licensing states, that gap can matter, so treat the expiration date as a hard deadline.

The realistic total cost to get certified

For most people, the math works out to the $225 exam fee plus whatever you spend on prep — anywhere from $0 to several hundred dollars. Printed study guides, in-person review seminars, and video courses all exist at wildly different price points, and expensive doesn't reliably mean better. What actually moves your score is repeated practice with realistic questions and honest feedback on your weak domains.

You can do a lot of that for free. Our study guides cover the full basic exam content at no cost, and you can take one free ABO practice test every day — a 20-question mock drawn from all 11 categories, weighted to match the NOCE domain distribution. If you want unlimited mock tests, exam simulation, and spaced-repetition review, paid plans on the pricing page start at $9.99 a month — still less than a single $75 reschedule fee.

So a realistic budget: about $225–$350 total if you pass on the first attempt with low-cost prep. A failed attempt adds $225, which is exactly why the cheapest strategy is over-preparing for one sitting rather than treating attempt one as a scouting trip.

How to keep the cost down

Don't register until your practice scores say you're ready. The exam fee is non-refundable and transfers cost $75, so the free daily mock in our test setup is a cheap way to gauge readiness before you commit real money to a testing window.

Ask your employer about reimbursement before paying out of pocket — many optical employers cover certification costs for staff, and some also cover renewal CE. And once you pass, log your CE credits as you earn them across the three-year cycle instead of scrambling (and paying rush prices) at the deadline.

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

• What Is ABO Certification?
• ABO vs. NCLE: Which Certification Do You Need?
• NCLE Exam Prep: How to Pass the Contact Lens Registry Exam
• ABO Advanced Certification (ABO-AC): What It Is and Who Should Take It