Prepare for your ARDMS application with our documentation and prerequisite guide!

This resource was created to help you prepare for your ARDMS application.

To apply for an ARDMS exam, you need to meet one of the prerequisites below and submit supporting documentation with your application. This resource is for first-time Applicants only. If you have been approved to take an examination other than the Sonography Principles and Instrumentation (SPI) examination or the Physicians’ Vascular Interpretation (PVI) examination, you are considered a re-applicant.

Follow the steps below to figure out which prerequisite is right for you and what you need to submit when you apply for an ARDMS exam.

Step 1: Determine Your Prerequisite

Answer a few questions via the PREP Tool, to help you determine which prerequisite you should apply under for your ARDMS examination. Once you know what prerequisite you want to apply under, review the information below. These are all the prerequisites you can apply under:

Step 2: Understand What Documentation You Need to Submit with Your Application

Sonographer Prerequisites 1-5

Education	Required Clinical Ultrasound/Vascular Experience	Documentation	Status – When to apply	Prerequisite
Reapplicants	No additional experience required.	-CV form	Previous approval for a specialty examination	N/A
A single two-year allied health education program that is patient-care related (footnote 1)	Minimum of 12 months full-time (footnote 2) clinical experience. (footnote 3) . (1680 hours earned over a minimum of 48 weeks) Note: If you are using your DMS/CVT program for the educational requirement, you must have an additional 12 months of full-time clinical ultrasound/vascular experience earned outside the two-year program.	-Copy of Official Transcript or Official Foreign equivalency report - Diploma/License - Letter -CV form -ID	After meeting the Education and Clinical Ultrasound/Vascular Experience	1
Graduate or student (footnote 6) in a CAAHEP or Canadian Health Standards Organization (HSO) accredited program in diagnostic medical sonography, diagnostic cardiac sonography or vascular technology.	No additional experience required.	-Diploma or Copy of Official Transcript -Letter -CV form if applicable -ID	Graduate or Student (60 days prior to graduation) (footnote 6)	2
Graduate of a Bachelor’s degree (any major) or foreign degree equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in the U.S. or Canada	Minimum of 12 months full-time (footnote 2) clinical experience. (footnote 3) (1680 hours earned over a minimum of 48 weeks)	-Bachelor’s degree or Copy of Official Transcript or Official Foreign equivalency report -Letter -CV form -ID	A Graduate of a Bachelor’s degree (any major) who has met the clinical ultrasound/vascular experience requirement.	3A
Graduate or student (footnote 6) in a Non CAAHEP or HSO accredited Bachelor’s degree in sonography or vascular technology	Student Applicants – Minimum of 12 months full-time (footnote 2) clinical experience completed within the program. (footnote 3) (1680 hours earned over a minimum of 48 weeks) Graduate Applicants – No additional experience required.	- Bachelor’s degree or Copy of Official Transcript or Official Foreign equivalency report -Letter -CV form -ID	Graduate or Student (Can apply once 12 months of full-time clinicals are completed)	3B
A CCI, ARRT, Sonography Canada, or ASUM sonography certification	No additional experience required.	-Active credential -CV form -ID	Active Certification(s)	5

RMSKS Prerequisite

If you want to obtain the RMSKS credential, you must meet the requirements of RMSKS prerequisite.

Licensure	Required Clinical Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Experience**	Documentation	CMEs
Must hold an active credential or license in a health related field*.	Performed a minimum of 150 musculoskeletal ultrasound studies in a clinical diagnostic setting within the preceding 36 months of application.* None of the 150 case log requirement can be labeled as therapeutic (injection or aspiration). Simulation is not acceptable for this attestation.	-License/Credential**** -Third-Party Attestation Form -ID -Patient Log (only submitted upon request)	Although CMEs are not required to apply for the MSKS examination, ARDMS highly recommends and encourages applications to earn a minimum of 30 MSK CMEs.

Physician Prerequisite

If you are a physician who wants to obtain an ARDMS credential, you would apply under the Physician Prerequisite.

Education	Required Clinical Ultrasound/Vascular Experience	Documentation	Prerequisite
MD, DO license or MBBS degree	Minimum of 500 studies/cases in the applied for specialty area completed over a minimum of 6 months’ time.	-License -Letter -CV Form -Patient Log (only submitted upon request)*	Physician