- What NeuroAnalyst-CLTM Actually Is
- The Advanced EEG-Review Role
- NA-CLTM vs. the Prerequisite CLTM
- Eligibility: Two Pathways
- The 50-Case Report Portfolio
- Advanced-Practice CEUs
- Exam Format and Logistics
- The Four Exam Domains
- Report Writing and Terminology
- Results, Pass Data, and Retakes
- Validity and Renewal
- Career Context and Salary
- Preparing Without Shortcuts
- Frequently Asked Questions
- NA-CLTM is ABRET's advanced credential for EEG review and preliminary reporting, taken after you already hold CLTM.
- Domain 3 (EEG/video analysis and semiology) carries 70% of the exam; report writing carries another 20%.
- The exam fee is USD 700, with no member or nonmember tier, and testing is in person on ABRET's announced dates.
- You need 50 documented technical reports, each from a distinct recording session of at least 12 hours.
What NeuroAnalyst-CLTM Actually Is
NeuroAnalyst-CLTM (NA-CLTM) is an advanced-level credential issued and administered by ABRET Neurodiagnostic Credentialing & Accreditation. It recognizes technologists who have moved beyond long-term monitoring (LTM) acquisition into reviewing EEG and video recordings and producing preliminary reports. If you are searching for a plain definition, the short version is this: NA-CLTM is the step above CLTM for people who analyze, annotate, and report on prolonged EEG/video data.
It is worth being precise about what it is not. NA-CLTM is not the prerequisite CLTM examination, not a generic EEG credential, and not a neonatal credential. The designation also replaces CLTM in the certificant's signature rather than being appended next to it, so a newly certified professional signs as NA-CLTM, not "CLTM, NA-CLTM."
For related definitions, see our explainers on what NA-CLTM is and what NA-CLTM stands for.
The Advanced EEG-Review Role
ABRET frames the credential around an advanced EEG-review and preliminary-report function. In practice that means scanning long recordings, recognizing urgent changes, separating artifact from cerebral activity, characterizing seizure-related events against video, and documenting findings in a structured report that a physician then interprets.
ASET's role-development material and employer descriptions from neurodiagnostic services describe advanced EEG review as work involving pruning large data sets, flagging events, and communicating findings. Those sources support describing the job functions, but they do not establish a credential-specific pay figure (more on that below).
NA-CLTM vs. the Prerequisite CLTM
CLTM demonstrates competence in long-term monitoring practice. NA-CLTM builds directly on it and adds analysis and reporting. The two are separate examinations with separate handbooks, so do not use CLTM specifications to plan for NA-CLTM logistics.
| Feature | CLTM | NA-CLTM |
|---|---|---|
| Level | Foundation for long-term monitoring practice | Advanced EEG review and preliminary reporting |
| Relationship | Prerequisite | Requires CLTM plus experience, CEUs, and 50 reports |
| Core exam emphasis | Monitoring practice | EEG/video analysis (70%) and report writing (20%) |
| Signature | CLTM | NA-CLTM replaces CLTM |
| Handbook | Separate CLTM handbook | Separate NA-CLTM handbook |
A deeper look at the differences in difficulty is in How Hard Is the NA-CLTM Exam?
Eligibility: Two Pathways
Eligibility requires one of two alternatives, not both. Both also require current CPR/BLS, per the linked handbook.
Pathway I (degree track)
- At least a bachelor's degree
- Two years as a CLTM technologist
- 30 advanced-practice LTM CEUs
- 50 documented technical reports
Pathway II (practice track)
- No degree requirement
- Three years as a CLTM technologist
- 50 advanced-practice LTM CEUs
- 50 documented technical reports
The practice track is subject to annual continuation review and remains offered on the live 2026 page, so confirm its status when you apply. Our full walkthrough is in NA-CLTM Requirements: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
The 50-Case Report Portfolio
The report portfolio is where many applicants slow down, because the rules are specific. Treat it as a checklist:
- Distinct sessions: each case must be a separate recording session of at least 12 hours. Multiple daily reports from one continuous recording do not become multiple cases.
- Earned after CLTM: cases must be reviewed and reported by you after you earned CLTM, and within five years.
- Patient age: patients must be at least one year old.
- Recency: the current Documentation Form requires 10% of cases within the last 12 months.
- Normal recordings: normal recordings without patient events are capped at 20%.
- Setting: the ICU/EMU/ambulatory field does not impose an unprinted quota for each setting.
- Signatures: each page must be signed by the medical director or an actively ABRET-credentialed supervisor, verifying the work and recommending you.
Advanced-Practice CEUs
Advanced-practice (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. ABRET's Advanced Practice LTM Continuing Education Qualifications document identifies qualifying ACNS, AES, and ASET education, plus interactive review with a physician or qualified NeuroAnalyst.
Named ASET courses can serve as alternative preparation and eligibility-credit resources, but they are not mandatory additional tests and they do not define the official exam domains. Keep the initial 30/50 AP-CEU eligibility requirement separate in your mind from the later 50-hour renewal requirement; they are different things.
Exam Format and Logistics
How the exam is delivered
ABRET administers and proctors the examination in person on its announced dates. It is not delivered remotely, and it should not be assumed to run through a PSI or Prometric booking channel. 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 passed, and a subsequent 2027 date was not verified, so check the live ABRET exam page and our NA-CLTM exam dates guide rather than treating the elapsed sitting as upcoming.
What the test looks like
The format combines computer-based questions with live, reviewable EEG/video clips in Persyst, with adjustable sensitivity and montages. Two platforms are used simultaneously, and ABRET standardizes the laptop, second monitor, and mouse. The public sample questions are four-option multiple choice, though a complete item-type distribution has not been published.
Exam-room rules
- Personal electronic devices, books, notes, reference materials, and calculators are prohibited.
- Supplied scratch material or a whiteboard is allowed.
- You may not leave the examination room while the test is in session.
Fees and rescheduling
The exam fee is USD 700, with no member or nonmember tier. Rescheduling costs USD 225 at least 30 days before the appointment and USD 300 within 30 days, with no refunds, extensions, or transfer of fees. Each application provides one attempt. See the NA-CLTM certification cost breakdown for the full picture, including CEU and renewal costs.
The Four Exam Domains
The four domain lines reproduce the examination's formal objectives and published weights. They are not optional training modules. The handbook scope source is the 2025 Handbook for Candidates, printed pages 8-9. A 2026 NA-CLTM handbook link was not retrievable, and no separate revised 2026 blueprint was verified, so treat the 2025 outline as the current published scope and read live 2026 eligibility and scheduling information as a supplement to it. For a deeper breakdown, see the complete NA-CLTM exam domains guide.
| Domain | Objective | 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% |
Domain 1: Patient Identification, Recording Period, and History (5%)
Small by weight, but it sets the context for everything that follows.
- Monitoring indications, clinical history, and examination findings
- Terminology, imaging, and patient age
- Neurologic and systemic comorbidities
- Medications, implanted or external devices, and patient safety
Domain 2: Technical Description and Recording Parameters (5%)
Know what the acquisition setup can and cannot tell you.
- 10-10 and 10-20 electrode placement and montage changes
- Filters, gain, epoch, amplifier, polarity, and common-mode rejection
- Trends, automated detection, and post-acquisition review
- Networks, audio-video systems, and ACNS guidance
Domain 3: EEG/Video Analysis and Semiology (70%)
This is the exam. It is where live Persyst clips and clinical-electrographic correlation do most of the work.
- Urgent EEG changes and activation procedures
- Artifact recognition and removal
- Waveform localization
- Cardiac/EEG associations
- Behavioral and consciousness changes
- Standardized electroclinical semiology
Domain 4: Writing the NeuroAnalyst Report (20%)
Classification frameworks and reporting conventions come together here.
- EEG-pattern and ILAE seizure and epilepsy classification
- ACNS critical-care terminology and the continuous-monitoring consensus
- Pattern-associated syndromes in patients at least one year old
- Reporting guidance
Report Writing and Terminology
Candidate reports require a history, a technical description, and an EEG description. The impression and clinical correlation are optional only where facility protocol permits. ABRET publishes sample reports, which are a useful model for structure and tone.
Which terminology applies
The live FAQ's exam-specific rule requires ACNS 2021 terminology from January 2023, whereas its report-template text still allows 2012 or 2021. For exam purposes, use the exam-specific 2021 rule rather than treating 2012 terminology as current. If your facility's older report templates use 2012 conventions, practice translating them. The handbook also names the 2015 ACNS continuous-EEG consensus and the 2017 ILAE classifications; these are the retrieved exam references, which is not a claim that 2017 is the newest ILAE classification generally.
Key Takeaway
Treat reporting as a skill separate from recognition. A candidate who can identify a pattern but cannot describe it in the correct ACNS 2021 vocabulary is leaving a fifth of the exam exposed.
Results, Pass Data, and Retakes
The FAQ states that unofficial results are available within 72 hours and official results in approximately 2-4 weeks; the handbook instead says 3-4 weeks for official results. Plan around the longer window. The Board sets a minimum-competence passing standard and matches forms for difficulty and content, but a numeric pass mark was not verified. Our passing score article explains what is and is not known.
ABRET's Examination Statistics 2024 reports a 60% pass rate for ten NA-CLTM candidates, excluding repeat examinees from the overall rate. That cohort is tiny, so it is not a reliable estimate of any individual's chance of passing, and it should not be labeled a 2026 result. A 2025 statistics download is listed on ABRET's index but could not be retrieved, so no newer rate is verified. More context is in NA-CLTM Pass Rate: What the Data Shows.
After three unsuccessful attempts, the current NA-CLTM page requires a six-month wait and ten advanced-practice CEUs.
Validity and Renewal
The credential is valid for five years and expires December 31 of the assigned year. The documented-education renewal route requires 50 relevant continuing-education hours and the USD 100 recertification fee, with CE documentation uploaded through ABRET's credential-management system. General ABRET policy allows a January 31 grace period for an additional USD 100, after which the examination process is required again. An examination-renewal alternative also exists, but someone who selects it and fails cannot revert to CE for that renewal.
Career Context and Salary
Employers that value NA-CLTM are generally those running epilepsy monitoring units, ICUs with continuous EEG, and remote neurodiagnostic review services, where a credentialed analyst can pre-screen long recordings for a physician. See our overview of NA-CLTM jobs for role types.
On compensation, honest answers are limited. Salary searches did not establish a defensible credential-specific 2026 figure or a causal NA-CLTM pay premium, so this article does not quote one. If you are weighing the investment, read the salary guide and the ROI analysis with that caveat in mind.
Preparing Without Shortcuts
ABRET issued an October 2025 examination-security statement on NA-CLTM, which reinforces why original, authorized practice matters more than alleged exam dumps or recalled questions. Use public materials: ABRET's sample questions, its practice page, and the Persyst Mobile Guide, which covers the platform you will use on test day. The public samples are examples only; no access to protected items is claimed.
Several outside resources overlap with NA-CLTM preparation, including OpenExamPrep, Stratus/EEG U's case-based ACNS 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. These were reviewed from course and store descriptions, not full paid content, and ASET's broader material is not a complete NA-CLTM mock exam.
Domains 1, 2, and the vocabulary
- Skim the low-weight domains quickly; they are 10% combined.
- Rebuild ACNS 2021 terminology first, since it feeds Domains 3 and 4.
Domain 3 daily clip work
- Spend most hours on reviewable EEG/video, matching the 70% weight.
- Practice with adjustable sensitivity and montages in Persyst-style review.
Domain 4 report drills
- Write full reports from cases, then compare against ABRET's sample reports.
For a full plan, see the NA-CLTM study guide and the one-page cheat sheet. When you want exam-style repetition, our NA-CLTM practice tests are built around the analysis and reporting emphasis described above.
Frequently Asked Questions
ABRET Neurodiagnostic Credentialing & Accreditation issues and administers it. ABRET also proctors the examination in person on its announced dates.
Yes, through Pathway II, the practice track: three years as a CLTM technologist, 50 advanced-practice LTM CEUs, and 50 reports. That track is subject to annual continuation review, so confirm it on ABRET's live page.
The fee is USD 700, with no member or nonmember tier. Rescheduling is USD 225 at least 30 days out and USD 300 within 30 days, with no refunds.
The question count, scored/pretest split, and timer are not stated in the handbook or ABRET's live pages, so they are not published. Disregard unsupported vendor claims about a fixed number.
No. ABRET describes an advanced EEG-review and preliminary-report role, and the credential alone is not authorization for independent medical diagnosis.