Completely free
No account walls, no upsell
Free exam prep for every test — 20,000+ exam pages and 2.4M+ practice questions.
Open free SPI prep resources ↗Exam facts & prep options
Sonography Principles and Instrumentation (SPI) Examination
The SPI examination is the computer-based physics/instrumentation examination required for every ARDMS certification track (RDMS, RDCS, RVT, RMSKS): candidates must pass SPI and a corresponding specialty exam within five years of each other. The roughly 110-question, two-hour multiple-choice exam covers ultrasound physics, transducers, image optimization, Doppler concepts, and clinical safety/quality assurance, and is delivered at Pearson VUE test centers under the ARDMS community of Inteleos.
Official exam siteJump to prep options ↓
QuestionsApproximately 110 multiple-choice questions
Testing timeTwo hours (including a short survey; the current exam page lists the survey within the two hours)
ScoringPass/fail decision; a scaled score of 555 or better is required to pass (applies to all ARDMS examinations; not percentage- or curve-based)
Exam feeUSD 275 for the SPI examination (includes a USD 100 non-refundable processing fee); an additional non-refundable USD 50 international test center fee applies when scheduling outside the U.S., Canada, or Mexico
Prep options
Study resources for SPI
Independent prep
Courses and study resources
Exam overview
What to know before choosing your prep
- Who runs it
- ARDMS
- Category
- Diagnostic Sonography
- Current version
- SPI Examination Content Outline, Version 24.1 (current content outline; exam content also reflects the 2022 SPI Practice Analysis)
- Where it applies
- Global
- Exam languages
- English
- Score scale
- 300–700 scaled score
- Testing provider
- Pearson VUE (Pearson Professional Centers)
- Format
- Computer-based multiple-choice exam at Pearson test centers (the SIC item type has been removed pending a redesigned version)
- Availability
- Year-round: applications always open; after approval, a 90-day eligibility window to schedule and take the exam at a Pearson test center
- Results
- Score report at the test center upon completion and in the Pearson account; Pass/Fail posted to the Inteleos portal within one week
- Score validity
- A passed SPI remains valid toward a credential for five years: candidates must pass SPI and a corresponding specialty exam within five years of each other (calendar-year-based); if not completed in that period, the previously passed exam must be retaken
- Remote testing
- Not available
Exam structure
Approximately 110 multiple-choice items across five weighted domains: Perform Ultrasound Examinations (23%), Manage Ultrasound Transducers (7%), Optimize Sonographic Images (26%), Apply Doppler Concepts (34%), and Provide Clinical Safety & Quality Assurance (10%)
Where rules vary
ARDMS is a U.S.-based registry (Rockville, MD, part of Inteleos) whose credentials are recognized internationally; the same uniform English exam is delivered worldwide at Pearson test centers, with a surcharge for test centers outside the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
Eligibility
First-time SPI applicants may apply under the SPI Examination Requirement pathway, which requires completion of a physics class or a physics review course, or under any full ARDMS prerequisite pathway (education/clinical-experience based; a physician prerequisite also exists)
Retake policy
May reapply 3 days after failing, but must wait 60 days before retaking the exam