ARRT Renewal: The Three Clocks Explained

Most credentials have one deadline. ARRT has three, they run at different intervals, and two of them are one month apart on purpose. Rad techs who lose a credential almost never lose it by forgetting to pay — they lose it in the gap between the CE deadline and the renewal deadline.

Published August 13, 2026 · Updated August 13, 2026

The three clocks at a glance

Read ARRT as three independent obligations that happen to be reported through the same dashboard, plus a state license that has nothing to do with ARRT at all.

Clock	Due	Requirement	If you miss it
Annual renewal	Last day of your birth month, every year	$65 flat fee, any number of credentials, plus two ethics questions	Credential discontinued; $150 online reinstatement inside the windows, $225 by re-examination after
Biennial CE	Last day of the month BEFORE your birth month	24 Category A / A+ credits per two-year biennium, reported at renewal	CE probation: 6 months plus a $100 fee; probation credits don't count toward the new biennium
CQR (10-year)	Within a 3-year window, roughly years 7–10	Professional profile, Structured Self-Assessment (skippable), prescribed CE	Incomplete CQR discontinues the credential; 1-year grace to fix and reinstate
State license (the fourth clock)	Set by your state, unrelated to ARRT	Separate application, fee, and often separate CE	You cannot work, regardless of ARRT status

Full ARRT renewal walkthrough →

Clock 1 — annual renewal

Due the last day of your birth month, every year, on the ARRT dashboard.
$65 flat, no matter how many credentials you hold. If you remember tiered pricing, that pricing is gone.
Two ethics questions annually — criminal charges and convictions, and regulatory actions. Reportable events must be disclosed within 30 days of occurrence, not saved for renewal.
Postprimary credentials — CT, MRI, mammography — require keeping the supporting credential current too.

Clock 2 — biennial CE and the one-month trap

You need 24 Category A or A+ credits per two-year biennium. The biennium ends the last day of the month before your birth month, while reporting happens at renewal by the end of your birth month. Credits earned during your birth month belong to the next biennium — that is the trap, and it is the most-missed detail in ARRT's rules.

What counts:

Category A / A+ from RCEEM-approved providers; ASRT is the largest. ARRT's CE search tool is the reliable way to confirm a course.
Academic courses — 16 credits per semester credit.
ACLS or PALS — up to 6 credits, once per biennium. Plain BLS does not count.
Sonography credential holders — at least 16 of the 24 must be sonography-specific.
State CE double-counting — ARRT identifies Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Oregon.

Reporting is by attestation, with random monthly audits and 30 days to respond by mail. Once you submit CE at renewal you cannot change it, so check the totals before you click. Keep certificates at least a year.

Clock 3 — CQR every 10 years

Continuing Qualifications Requirements apply to credentials earned on or after January 1, 2011. Earlier credentials are exempt. CQR runs every ten years with a three-year window, roughly years seven through ten, and has three parts:

Professional profile — your practice areas.
Structured Self-Assessment — optional in effect: you can accept the maximum CE prescription instead. Missing a scheduled SSA appointment costs $100.
Prescribed CE — and it double-counts toward your biennial 24, which is the argument for starting CQR as soon as the window opens rather than in year ten.

There is no separate CQR fee. An incomplete CQR discontinues the credential.

The fourth clock — your state license

Most states license rad techs independently of ARRT — California through CDPH-RHB, Texas through the Texas Medical Board — with their own renewal dates, fees, and CE rules. An active ARRT registration does not make you legal to work in a state whose license has expired, and the state will not warn you because your ARRT is fine.

Track the state date next to the ARRT dates. In practice, this is the pair that most often drifts apart.

Missed deadlines and reinstatement

Missed CE → CE probation. Six months to complete and report, plus a $100 fee. Probation credits do not count toward the new biennium. Unresolved means discontinued, and then the exam.
Missed annual renewal → discontinued. Online reinstatement is $150 with no exam if you are still inside your biennium or less than six months past its end.
Beyond those windows → reinstatement by re-examination, $225.
Incomplete CQR gets a one-year grace period to finish and reinstate.

The pattern is consistent: every ARRT lapse path is measured in months, and every exit leads back to an exam. These are not windows worth testing.

Trust is a free iPhone app that runs all four clocks side by side — the $65 annual date, the CE deadline a month earlier, your CQR window, and your state license — with push reminders at 90, 60, 30, and 7 days out. Everything stays on your phone behind Face ID: no account, no cloud storage, no subscription.

FAQs

Why are my ARRT CE deadline and renewal deadline different?

The biennium ends the last day of the month before your birth month, while annual renewal — when CE is reported — is due by the end of your birth month. That one-month gap is ARRT's most-missed detail: credits earned in your birth month land in the next biennium.

How much is ARRT renewal in 2026?

A flat $65 per year regardless of how many credentials you hold. The older tiered pricing of a $30 base plus $25 per credential is gone.

How many CE credits do I need?

24 Category A or A+ credits per two-year biennium, from an RCEEM-approved provider. Holders of a sonography credential need at least 16 sonography-specific credits within that 24.

Does my BLS card count toward ARRT CE?

No. ACLS or PALS counts for up to 6 Category A credits once per biennium, but plain BLS does not count at all.

Do I have to complete CQR?

Only if your credential was earned on or after January 1, 2011. Credentials earned before that date are exempt from Continuing Qualifications Requirements.

Can I skip the Structured Self-Assessment in CQR?

Yes. Accepting the maximum CE prescription instead of taking the SSA is allowed, and that prescribed CE double-counts toward your biennial 24 credits. Missing a scheduled SSA appointment costs $100.

Is my ARRT registration the same as my state license?

No. Most states license radiologic technologists separately — California through CDPH-RHB, Texas through the Texas Medical Board — with their own renewal dates and CE. ARRT current does not mean state current.

Does my state CE count for ARRT?

Only if it is Category A or A+ from an RCEEM-approved provider. ARRT identifies Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Oregon as states where state-license CE double-counts. Elsewhere, check each course rather than assuming.

How long do I keep CE certificates?

ARRT audits randomly each month and gives you 30 days to respond by mail, so keep certificates at least a year. Keeping them longer is smarter, because state boards often want a longer look-back than ARRT does.

Two dates, one month apart, every year

ARRT renewal is cheap and quick when the CE is already done. Put the CE deadline on your calendar a month ahead of the renewal deadline, and the rest is a $65 form.

ARRT renewal walkthrough Browse all renewal guides

Next steps

Open the renewal walkthrough that matches your credential — each one lists the cycle, the window, the CE, and the fees.

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