- The NA-CLTM Identity Snapshot
- Eligibility Facts: Two Pathways, Not Both
- The 50-Case Portfolio Rules
- Exam Logistics at a Glance
- The Four Domains and Their Weights
- Domain 3 Cheat Sheet: The 70% Block
- Domain 4 Cheat Sheet: The Report
- Terminology and Reference Standards
- Fees, Rescheduling, and Results Timing
- Pass Data, Validity, and Renewal
- A Domain-Weighted Review Sequence
- Frequently Asked Questions
- EEG/video analysis and semiology is Domain 3 at 70%; report writing is Domain 4 at 20%.
- Eligibility is one of two pathways: degree plus 2 years, or no degree plus 3 years.
- The fee is USD 700 with no member tier, and rescheduling costs USD 225 or USD 300.
- The exam is proctored in person by ABRET; the public pages state no question count or timer.
The NA-CLTM Identity Snapshot
NeuroAnalyst-CLTM (NA-CLTM) is an advanced-level credential issued and administered by ABRET Neurodiagnostic Credentialing & Accreditation. It is not the prerequisite CLTM examination, not a generic EEG credential, and not a neonatal credential. It describes an advanced EEG-review and preliminary-report role. Earning it does not, by itself, authorize independent medical diagnosis.
One signature detail is easy to miss: NA-CLTM replaces CLTM in the certificant's signature rather than being appended alongside it. If you are new to the credential's background, start with What Is NA-CLTM? and the broader NA-CLTM Certification overview, then return here for the compressed facts.
Eligibility Facts: Two Pathways, Not Both
Candidates must satisfy one of two alternatives. Current CPR/BLS is additionally required by the linked handbook under either route.
| Requirement | Pathway I | Pathway II (practice track) |
|---|---|---|
| Degree | At least a bachelor's degree | No degree requirement |
| CLTM technologist experience | 2 years | 3 years |
| Advanced-practice LTM CEUs | 30 | 50 |
| Documented technical reports | 50 | 50 |
The practice track is subject to annual continuation review and remains offered on the live 2026 page. For a fuller walk-through, see NA-CLTM Requirements 2026.
Advanced-practice CEU rules
- AP-CEUs must be earned within five years of the examination.
- No more than half may come from documented in-house or remote live review, and that live-review component is optional, not compulsory.
- Ordinary course hours are not automatically accepted as AP-CEUs; check ABRET's Advanced Practice LTM Continuing Education Qualifications document, which identifies qualifying ACNS, AES, and ASET education plus physician or qualified NeuroAnalyst interactive review options.
- Named ASET courses are alternative preparation or eligibility-credit resources, not mandatory extra tests or official exam domains.
The 50-Case Portfolio Rules
The 50 documented reports are where applications most often stall. The rules are specific:
Case Documentation Checklist
Each case must be a distinct recording session, reviewed and reported by you after earning CLTM.
- Each recording is at least 12 hours long.
- Reviewed and reported within five years of the exam, and after you earned CLTM.
- Multiple daily reports from one continuous recording do not become multiple cases.
- Patients are at least one year old.
- At least 10% of cases fall within the last 12 months.
- Normal recordings without patient events are capped at 20%.
- The ICU/EMU/ambulatory field does not impose an unprinted quota for each setting.
- Each page is signed by the medical director or an actively ABRET-credentialed supervisor, verifying the work and recommending you.
Retrospective review can qualify, so a current NeuroAnalyst job title is not required. That matters for technologists whose employer has not created a formal analyst role. For the employment side, see NA-CLTM Jobs.
Exam Logistics at a Glance
| Item | What is verified |
|---|---|
| Administrator | ABRET proctors in person on announced dates; not remote, and not through an assumed PSI/Prometric booking channel |
| Format | Computer-based questions plus live, reviewable EEG/video clips in Persyst, with adjustable sensitivity and montages; two platforms used simultaneously |
| Equipment | ABRET standardizes the laptop, second monitor, and mouse |
| Sample items | Public samples are four-option multiple choice; a full item-type distribution is not published |
| Question count / timer | Not stated in the retrieved handbook or live exam/FAQ pages; treat as unknown |
| Allowed materials | Supplied scratch material or whiteboard only |
| Prohibited | Personal electronic devices, books, notes, reference materials, calculators |
| Room rule | No leaving the examination room while the test is in session |
Exam dates: what has actually passed
The posted 2026 sitting was October 3 at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Marriott in Irving, Texas, with a September 1 application deadline. Both dates have already passed. A subsequent 2027 date was not verified, so check NA-CLTM Exam Dates 2026 and ABRET's current exam page before planning travel.
The Four Domains and Their Weights
| Domain | Name | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Validate patient identification and recording period, review the patient history and clinical data and information. | 5% |
| 2 | Review the technical description and recording parameters. | 5% |
| 3 | Analyze, classify, annotate, and delineate the EEG and video data, and evaluate seizure semiology based upon clinical and electrographic findings. | 70% |
| 4 | Write the NeuroAnalyst Report. | 20% |
These are the formal objectives of this exact examination, not optional training modules. The weights tell you where to spend hours: Domains 3 and 4 together carry 90% of the exam. For a deeper breakdown, read NA-CLTM Exam Domains 2026.
Domains 1 and 2 (5% each): the quick-hit review
Small weights, but they feed everything downstream.
- Domain 1 scope: monitoring indications, clinical history and examination, terminology, imaging, age, neurologic and systemic comorbidities, medications, implanted or external devices, and patient safety.
- Domain 2 scope: 10-10/10-20 electrodes, montage changes, filters, gain, epoch, amplifier, polarity, common-mode rejection, trends and automated detection, post-acquisition review, networks and audio-video, and ACNS guidance.
Domain 3 Cheat Sheet: The 70% Block
This is the exam. Domain 3 covers analyzing, classifying, annotating, and delineating EEG and video data, and evaluating seizure semiology from clinical and electrographic findings. The published subordinate coverage includes:
- Urgent EEG changes
- Activation procedures
- Artifact recognition and removal
- Waveform localization
- Cardiac/EEG associations
- Behavioral and consciousness changes
- Standardized electroclinical semiology
What this means at the workstation
Because the exam uses live, reviewable clips in Persyst with adjustable sensitivity and montages, expect to work the data rather than recall a definition.
- Rehearse changing montages and sensitivity to confirm or reject a finding.
- Practice separating cardiac and movement artifact from true rhythmic activity.
- Tie every electrographic finding to what the video shows (and the reverse).
- Describe semiology in standardized terms, not casual bedside language.
ABRET publishes a Persyst Mobile Guide and a public practice page. Use them to get comfortable with the two-platform workflow before test day. A sample-question download is also public; no protected exam items are available, and you should be wary of anyone claiming otherwise (more on that below).
Domain 4 Cheat Sheet: The Report
Domain 4 is 20% of the exam and mirrors the written work you document for eligibility. Candidate reports require three core parts:
- History
- Technical description
- EEG description
The impression and clinical correlation are optional only where facility protocol permits. Coverage within the domain includes EEG-pattern and ILAE seizure/epilepsy classification, ACNS critical-care terminology and the continuous-monitoring consensus, pattern-associated syndromes in patients at least one year old, and reporting guidance.
Terminology and Reference Standards
| Topic | What to use |
|---|---|
| ACNS critical-care terminology | The exam-specific rule requires ACNS 2021 terminology from January 2023 |
| Older terminology | The FAQ's report-template text still allows 2012 or 2021, but use the exam-specific 2021 rule, not 2012, as current exam terminology |
| Continuous EEG consensus | The handbook names the 2015 ACNS consensus |
| Seizure/epilepsy classification | The handbook names the 2017 ILAE classifications |
The 2015 and 2017 references are the retrieved exam references. That is not a claim that 2017 is the newest ILAE classification in general. Many older study materials still demonstrate 2012-style terms, so reconcile any third-party guide against the 2021 instruction before you memorize it. If you want a structured way to do that, the NA-CLTM Study Guide 2026 lays out a sequence.
Fees, Rescheduling, and Results Timing
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Exam fee | USD 700, no member/nonmember tier |
| Reschedule 30+ days before appointment | USD 225 |
| Reschedule within 30 days | USD 300 |
| Refunds, extensions, fee transfers | None |
| Unofficial results | Within 72 hours (per FAQ) |
| Official results | About 2-4 weeks per FAQ; the handbook says 3-4 weeks |
| Attempts | One attempt per application; after three unsuccessful attempts, a six-month wait and ten advanced-practice CEUs are required |
Because the FAQ and handbook differ slightly on official-results timing, plan for the longer window. For the full cost picture beyond the exam fee, see NA-CLTM Certification Cost 2026.
Pass Data, Validity, and Renewal
What the pass-rate data does and does not say
ABRET Examination Statistics 2024 reports a 60% pass rate for ten NA-CLTM candidates, excluding repeat examinees from the overall rate. A cohort of ten is too small to serve as a reliable estimate of your individual odds, and it is a 2024 figure, not a 2026 result. The statistics index also lists 2025 data, but that download repeatedly failed to retrieve, so no newer numerical rate was verified. Read NA-CLTM Pass Rate 2026 for context.
The Board sets a minimum-competence passing standard and matches forms for difficulty and content, but a numeric pass mark was not verified. That is why NA-CLTM Passing Score 2026 frames the standard qualitatively rather than quoting a cutoff.
Validity and renewal
- The credential is valid for five years and expires December 31 of its assigned expiration year.
- The documented education route requires 50 relevant continuing-education hours and the USD 100 recertification fee, with documentation uploaded through ABRET's credential-management system.
- A January 31 grace period is available for an additional USD 100; after that, the examination process is required again.
- An examination renewal alternative exists under general ABRET policy, but someone who chooses it and fails cannot revert to CE for that renewal.
Key Takeaway
Keep the two CEU requirements separate in your head. The initial 30 or 50 advanced-practice CEUs are for eligibility; the 50 hours of continuing education are for renewal, years later.
A note on exam security
ABRET issued an October 2025 statement on NA-CLTM examination security. The practical lesson: avoid anything marketed as actual or recalled exam content. Prepare with ABRET's public samples and original, authorized practice material, such as the practice tests on our main practice site.
A Domain-Weighted Review Sequence
Generic study habits matter less than allocating time by domain weight. One sensible sequence, assuming you already hold CLTM and have your portfolio underway:
Domains 1 and 2 (10% combined)
- Review history elements, devices, medications, and safety flags.
- Refresh montage, filter, gain, and common-mode rejection concepts.
- Keep this short; these domains are small but easy points.
Domain 3 (70%)
- Work live-style clips in a Persyst environment, switching montages and sensitivity.
- Drill artifact recognition, localization, and electroclinical semiology.
- Practice cardiac/EEG associations and consciousness changes.
Domain 4 (20%) and terminology
- Write full reports and compare against the ABRET sample reports.
- Re-learn ACNS 2021 terms; retire 2012 phrasing.
- Review ILAE classification and pattern-associated syndromes.
Several outside resources overlap with this topic, including OpenExamPrep, Stratus/EEG U's case-based ICU terminology course, CSET's NA-CLTM preparation and cEEG report-writing webinars, Neurodiagnostic Exam's study-guide listing, and ASET's broader EEG and advanced-practice education. Descriptions were reviewed rather than every paid lesson or question bank, and ASET's general education should not be mistaken for a complete NA-CLTM mock exam. For difficulty expectations, see How Hard Is the NA-CLTM Exam?
Career and value questions
No credential-specific 2026 salary or causal pay premium was established, so beware of confident dollar figures. Advanced EEG-review functions are described by ASET's role-development article and by Stratus's employer description, which is the defensible way to discuss the role. For deeper treatment, see NA-CLTM Salary Guide 2026 and Is the NA-CLTM Certification Worth It?
Frequently Asked Questions
Domain 3, analyzing, classifying, annotating, and delineating EEG and video data and evaluating seizure semiology, is 70%. Writing the NeuroAnalyst Report (Domain 4) is 20%, and Domains 1 and 2 are 5% each.
The retrieved handbook and live exam/FAQ pages do not state the total question count, scored/pretest split, or timer. Treat these as unknown rather than relying on unsupported vendor numbers.
No. ABRET administers and proctors the examination in person on its announced dates, using standardized equipment, and you may not leave the room while the test is in session.
Not necessarily. Pathway I requires a bachelor's degree with two years as a CLTM technologist and 30 advanced-practice LTM CEUs. Pathway II (the practice track) has no degree requirement but requires three years and 50 AP-CEUs. Both need 50 documented reports and current CPR/BLS.
No. That sitting and its September 1 application deadline have passed. A later date was not verified, so check ABRET's current NA-CLTM exam page before planning. Our NA-CLTM cheat sheet and the exam-dates article are updated as new information appears.