- The One-Page Snapshot
- Exam Format and Scoring Facts
- Domain Weights at a Glance
- The Three 25% Domains: What to Memorize
- The Smaller Domains That Still Cost Points
- Eligibility Pathways in Brief
- Dates, Deadlines and Fees
- Scheduling Domains by Week
- Renewal Cheat Lines
- Where the Credential Gets Used
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The Certified Radiology Equipment Specialist exam has 165 multiple-choice questions, a three-hour limit, and closed-book conditions.
- Three domains each carry approximately 25%: Healthcare IT, Healthcare Technology and Function, and Healthcare Technology Problem Solving.
- Testing windows run May 1-15 and November 1-15; the November 2026 application deadline is October 16.
- Exam fees are $410 for AAMI members and $460 for nonmembers; retakes are $355 and $405.
The One-Page Snapshot
This sheet is built for the last pass before you sit the exam. It covers the Certified Radiology Equipment Specialist credential issued through the AAMI Certification Institute (ACI), the certification program of the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation. It is the radiology-equipment credential for biomedical equipment technicians. It is not a radiologic technologist credential and has nothing to do with refrigeration-energy certification, so ignore any material that mixes those up.
One naming quirk is worth knowing. AAMI's certification overview calls the program the AAMI Certification Institute, while its FAQ page says AAMI Credentials Institute. Both names describe the same AAMI program, so a different name on a different page does not mean a different issuer.
If you are still deciding whether to pursue the credential at all, start with What Is CRES Certification? and the ROI analysis. If you are already registered, keep reading and test yourself with the CRES practice test as you go.
Exam Format and Scoring Facts
| Item | Fact |
|---|---|
| Question count | 165 multiple-choice questions |
| Time limit | Three hours |
| Reference materials | Closed book; a simple calculator is permitted |
| Delivery | Computer-based at approved Kryterion testing centers, scheduled through Webassessor |
| Passing standard | Criterion-referenced, set through the modified Angoff method |
Three hours for 165 questions works out to a little over a minute per item, so there is room to think but not to dwell. Flag anything that needs a long calculation and come back to it after the quick wins.
Because the test is delivered at a testing center rather than remotely, plan your travel and arrival time the way you would for any proctored appointment. Do not assume a remote-proctoring option exists for this credential.
Domain Weights at a Glance
AAMI labels all six percentages as approximate. The current live objectives are the source here, and they supersede older 2018 weightings you may see on outdated study sheets.
| Domain | Approx. Weight |
|---|---|
| Domain 1: Anatomy & Physiology | 7% |
| Domain 2: Fundamentals of Electricity and Electronics | 10% |
| Domain 3: Healthcare Information Technology | 25% |
| Domain 4: Healthcare Technology and Function | 25% |
| Domain 5: Healthcare Technology Problem Solving | 25% |
| Domain 6: Public (employee, patient, visitor) Safety in the Healthcare Facility | 8% |
The pattern is easy to remember: three big domains at roughly 25% each, together about 75% of the exam, and three small ones sharing the rest. For a deeper breakdown of each area, see the complete guide to all six content areas.
The Three 25% Domains: What to Memorize
Roughly three of every four questions come from these three areas, so a thin spot here costs far more than a thin spot elsewhere. Treat the lists below as prompts for self-quizzing, not as a replacement for the official content outline on the AAMI CRES page.
Domain 3: Healthcare Information Technology (approx. 25%)
Radiology equipment is a networked environment, which is why this domain is as heavy as the equipment domains. Be ready to reason about how imaging devices connect, exchange data, and stay secure on a hospital network.
- Network fundamentals: addressing, switching and routing concepts, and what a failed connection looks like from the modality side
- How imaging systems send, store and retrieve studies, and how they interact with the systems around them
- Cybersecurity basics for connected medical devices, including patching, access control and segmentation
- Data integrity, backup and the practical effects of an outage on clinical workflow
Domain 4: Healthcare Technology and Function (approx. 25%)
This is the "how does it work" domain. Expect questions that test whether you understand what a system does and why each subsystem exists, not just what its parts are called.
- Principles of operation for the major radiology modalities and their key subsystems
- How components relate: what feeds what, and what a given subsystem's output should look like
- Performance and quality concepts, including what routine checks are meant to catch
- Preventive maintenance reasoning: what you inspect and why
Domain 5: Healthcare Technology Problem Solving (approx. 25%)
Scenario questions live here. You are handed a symptom and asked to choose the most logical next step, the most likely cause, or the safest action.
- Structured troubleshooting: isolate the fault, test the cheapest hypotheses first, confirm the fix
- Interpreting a symptom to decide whether the root cause is hardware, software, network or environment
- Reading and using service information, test results and measurements correctly
- Knowing when a situation should be escalated or the device removed from clinical use
Key Takeaway
Domains 3, 4 and 5 are connected by one habit: always ask where in the chain a problem could live. A scenario that mentions slow image transfer may be a network question wearing an equipment costume, and the best candidates read for the layer, not the label.
If you are unsure how demanding this will be for your background, the difficulty guide walks through where candidates typically feel stretched.
The Smaller Domains That Still Cost Points
The three lighter domains together are a modest slice of the exam, but they are also the most predictable points, which makes them the best return on a few focused hours.
Domain 2: Fundamentals of Electricity and Electronics (approx. 10%)
- Ohm's law and basic series and parallel circuit reasoning; this is the likeliest place the permitted simple calculator earns its keep
- AC versus DC concepts and the role of common components such as resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes and transformers
- Power supplies and how electrical quantities are measured safely
- Reading basic schematics and predicting what a circuit should do
Domain 6: Public Safety in the Healthcare Facility (approx. 8%)
- Electrical safety for patients, staff and visitors, including leakage and grounding concepts
- Radiation safety principles as they apply to the technician servicing equipment
- Infection control and general facility hazards that affect how and where you service a device
- Incident awareness: recognizing and responding to a safety problem
Domain 1: Anatomy & Physiology (approx. 7%)
- Enough body-system knowledge to understand what an imaging study is trying to show
- Basic terminology so that a clinical complaint or protocol description makes sense to you
- Why anatomy shapes equipment behavior, such as positioning, exposure and coverage
Anatomy is the smallest domain, but candidates from a pure electronics background sometimes neglect it entirely. A short, disciplined review of terminology is enough; you do not need clinician-level depth.
Eligibility Pathways in Brief
Full certification requires one of three pathways, each built around biomedical equipment technician (BMET) experience:
- An associate degree or higher in electronics, technology or science, plus two years of full-time BMET experience.
- A U.S. military biomedical equipment technology program, plus two years of full-time BMET experience.
- Four years of full-time BMET experience.
Two further rules trip people up. First, at least 40% of your work experience during the preceding two years, or 25% during the preceding five years, must be in the designated specialty. Second, a bachelor's degree does not replace the work-experience requirement. If you claim the degree or military-program route, you must provide the supporting documentation.
Dates, Deadlines and Fees
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Regular testing windows | May 1-15 and November 1-15 |
| November 1-15, 2026 application deadline | October 16 |
| Late registration closes | October 23, with a $50 late fee |
| Exam fee | $410 member / $460 nonmember |
| Retake fee | $355 member / $405 nonmember |
| Scheduling | Through Webassessor, at an approved Kryterion testing center |
Two practical notes. The $50 late fee is avoidable, and a compressed late-registration week leaves less room to find a convenient testing-center slot. If you are close to a deadline, check the live exam dates page and AAMI's own certification listings before you commit to a plan. For a full accounting of what you will spend beyond the exam fee, see the pricing breakdown.
Scheduling Domains by Week
Rather than a generic study calendar, here is a domain-driven order built around the weights and the way the topics depend on each other. Adjust the length to your own timeline; the sequence is the point. For a fuller plan, the CRES study guide covers pacing in more depth.
Foundations first: Domains 2 and 1
- Rebuild circuit reasoning and component behavior; this underpins the equipment questions later
- Refresh anatomy terminology while the load is still light
The core: Domains 4 and 3
- Work through how each modality and subsystem functions
- Layer in networking, data exchange and device security, since connected equipment depends on both
Application: Domain 5 and Domain 6
- Drill scenario questions that force you to choose a next troubleshooting step
- Close with the safety domain, then take a full timed practice session in the practice test
Problem solving goes late on purpose: you cannot troubleshoot what you do not understand, so the 25% scenario domain pays off most after the function and IT domains are solid.
Renewal Cheat Lines
- Renewal requires at least 30 ACI CEUs in a three-year reporting cycle.
- At least 15 of those must be in Category IV: Professional Development.
- You report through My Active CEU Journal and pay $100 for members or $150 for nonmembers.
- The current FAQ requires CEUs to be earned by December 31 of the recertification year.
Track CEUs from the day you certify rather than in a scramble during year three. The official guidance lives on AAMI's page for maintaining your ACI certification.
Where the Credential Gets Used
The credential is aimed at technicians who service and support radiology equipment, and its natural home is anywhere that equipment is maintained at scale. That typically means hospital clinical engineering and biomedical departments, independent service organizations, and equipment manufacturers' field-service teams. Because the exam is a quarter networking and IT, it also signals comfort with the connected side of imaging, which is increasingly what separates strong candidates for these roles.
For what the market looks like, read about CRES jobs, and for earnings context see the salary guide. We deliberately do not quote specific pay figures here, because they vary widely by region, employer and experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
The exam has 165 multiple-choice questions with a three-hour limit. It is closed book, though a simple calculator is permitted.
Healthcare Information Technology, Healthcare Technology and Function, and Healthcare Technology Problem Solving are each approximately 25%, together roughly 75% of the exam. AAMI labels all six percentages as approximate.
The fee is $410 for AAMI members and $460 for nonmembers. Retakes cost $355 and $405. Late registration for the November 2026 window adds a $50 fee.
No remote option is described for this credential. It is delivered on computer at approved Kryterion testing centers and scheduled through Webassessor.
There is no single guessed percentage. Passing uses a criterion-referenced standard set by the modified Angoff method. See the passing score article for details.
Keep this sheet beside your practice sessions, re-check the dates and fees against AAMI's live pages before you register, and use the CRES Exam Prep practice tests to confirm the three heavy domains are genuinely solid before test day.