CATIS Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify

CATIS Requirements at a Glance

Before you can sit for the Certified Assistive Technology Instructional Specialist for Individuals with Visual Impairments exam, ACVREP (the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals) requires you to clear an eligibility review. This isn't a formality - it's a documented pathway process that verifies your education, supervised experience, and clinical competency before you're allowed to register for the exam itself through ACVREP and Webassessor.

If you're still deciding whether the credential fits your career goals, it's worth reading Is the CATIS Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 alongside CATIS Jobs to see who actually hires for this role before you invest time in the eligibility paperwork.

The 3 Eligibility Pathways

ACVREP structures CATIS eligibility around three distinct routes. Each is designed for a different professional background, but all three converge on the same supervised internship requirement described below.

Regardless of which pathway you qualify under, the underlying knowledge base you'll be tested on is the same. Get familiar with the structure of that knowledge base early by reviewing CATIS Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 4 Content Areas, since your pathway choice affects paperwork but not what appears on the exam.

The 350-Hour Supervised Internship

This is the requirement that trips up the most candidates, because it applies universally - university-prepared candidates, Category 2 candidates, and Category 3 candidates all must complete it. The internship totals 350 hours, of which 280 hours must be direct service (hands-on work with individuals with visual impairments, not observation or administrative time).

• The internship must be supervised by someone already holding the CATIS credential.
• If your supervisor cannot be onsite with you, offsite supervision is permitted only with ACVREP's approval, and that approval must be secured before the internship begins - not retroactively.
• For Category 3 candidates, internship hours may count toward the 1,500-hour direct-work-experience requirement, so plan the internship placement to maximize that overlap.

Application Evidence You'll Need to Submit

ACVREP's eligibility review isn't a single form - it's a packet of pathway-specific documentation. Expect to compile:

• Education records matched to whichever pathway (university, Category 2, or Category 3) you're applying under.
• Clinical-competency documentation demonstrating you can apply assistive technology skills in real service settings, not just describe them.
• Core-domain checklists that map your training and internship experience against the areas the exam covers.
• Employment verification confirming hours, dates, and supervisor credentials for any experience you're counting toward eligibility.

Gathering this evidence takes longer than most candidates expect, particularly employment verification from past supervisors. Start requesting signatures and letters months before you intend to submit your eligibility review, not the week before.

Fees and Registration Mechanics

Understanding the full cost structure upfront prevents surprises mid-process. Here's how ACVREP breaks it down before any optional preparation materials:

For a deeper breakdown of what's included and what candidates commonly spend beyond these base fees, see CATIS Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown. Registration itself happens through ACVREP in coordination with Webassessor, and ACVREP also coordinates approved proctoring and any examination accommodations you may need - request those accommodations as part of your registration, not after you've already scheduled a seat.

Exam Scheduling Rules

Once your eligibility is approved and your exam fee is paid, scheduling has one rule that catches candidates off guard: there's a mandatory 30-calendar-day waiting period before you can sit for the exam. If you reschedule your appointment for any reason, that 30-day clock starts over from the new scheduling date - it does not carry forward your original wait time.

For the exact windows and deadlines currently available, check CATIS Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling before locking in a date.

How the 4 Domains Connect to Eligibility

Your eligibility pathway and internship hours exist to prepare you for a specific Body of Knowledge, currently organized into four domains: Assessment, Instruction, Configuration, and Exploration. Understanding how your internship hours map to these domains helps you use the required 280 direct-service hours strategically rather than simply logging time.

For a full walkthrough of what each domain tests and how questions are typically framed, read CATIS Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 4 Content Areas. If you're trying to gauge overall difficulty before committing to the eligibility process, How Hard Is the CATIS Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 and CATIS Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows are useful companion reads.

Turning Eligibility Into an Exam-Ready Plan

Once your eligibility review is approved, you'll want a structured runway toward exam day rather than cramming inside the 30-day scheduling window. A simple way to organize the weeks leading up to your exam is to dedicate blocks of study time to each domain in turn, then close with mixed review.

For a full first-attempt strategy that goes beyond this outline, see CATIS Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, and confirm exactly what score you're aiming for in CATIS Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass. You can also run timed practice on our CATIS practice test platform to see how your recall holds up under exam-like conditions before you commit to a scheduling date.

Keeping the Credential: Recertification

Meeting the eligibility requirements and passing the exam is not the end of the process - CATIS operates on a 2-year renewal cycle. To renew, you need 40 recertification points total, with at least 10 of those points coming specifically from assistive-technology-focused continuing education. Renewal itself carries a $158 fee.

• 1 continuing-education contact hour = 1 point
• 1 CEU = 10 points

Because at least 10 of your 40 points must be assistive-technology-specific, it's worth tracking continuing education by domain relevance as you go, rather than scrambling to find qualifying activities near your renewal date.

If you're still early in your research and want the basics clarified first, see What Is CATIS?, CATIS Meaning, or What Does CATIS Stand For?. For a broader overview of the credential itself, CATIS Certification and What Is CATIS Certification? cover the full picture, while CATIS Training outlines preparation programs that can help satisfy the education components of your chosen pathway. You can also start practicing with sample questions right now on our CATIS exam prep platform.

FAQ