Radiography Exam Practice Test

Free ARRT Radiography Practice Test 2026

Radiographers help diagnose and treat patients by producing medical images that reveal structures and conditions not visible to the naked eye. To become a certified radiographer, you may earn your credentials through the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists (ARRT®).

Click “Start Test” above to take a free Radiography practice test, and check out our premium-quality Radiography test prep resources by clicking the links below!

Eligibility

To take the exam, you’ll need to use ARRT’s primary eligibility pathway.

This means you must earn at least an associate degree, complete an ARRT-approved educational program in Radiography, and meet ARRT’s ethics requirements.

Radiography Exam Outline

The ARRT Radiography Exam is composed of 200 scored questions divided into four main categories, which in turn are divided into subcategories. In addition, there will be 30 random pilot questions that will not be counted toward your score. The time limit for the exam is 3 hours and 50 minutes.

All ARRT exams, including the Radiography exam, are computer-based. While most of the questions are presented in multiple-choice format, some may be presented differently.

Overall, the exam will assess the knowledge and cognitive skills required for the intelligent and appropriate performance required from a radiological technologist upon entry into the profession.

1. Patient Care (33 scored questions)

There is only one subarea under this category:

2. Safety (50 scored questions)

There are two subareas under this category:

3. Image Production (51 scored questions)

This category is split into two subareas:

4. Procedures (66 questions)

This category addresses the imaging procedures for specific anatomic regions. The questions will cover positioning, anatomy, procedure adaptation, and evaluation of displayed anatomical structures.

This category is split into three subareas:

• Head, Spine, and Pelvis Procedures (18 questions)
• Thorax and Abdomen Procedures (20 questions)
• Extremity Procedures (28 questions)

Registration

To register for the exam, submit an application through your online ARRT account. Once ARRT confirms your eligibility, review your Candidate Status Report for your examination window and scheduling instructions. You can then schedule your exam with Pearson.

If your state requires a license to practice, check its requirements and apply directly to the state licensing agency.

How to Pass the Exam

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• Techniques to Conquer Procrastination
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• 7 Effective Note-Taking Methods
• Test-Taking Tips
• Memory Techniques and Mnemonics
• And much more!

Everyone learns differently, so we’ve tailored our Study Secrets Course to ensure every learner has what they need to prepare for their upcoming exam or semester. Click below to check it out!

Test Day

On the day, you must arrive at the test venue 30 minutes before your scheduled exam time. During check-in, Pearson VUE will collect your digital signature, photo, and palm vein image. Biometric technology ensures that each examinee only has a single record in the system to safeguard the integrity of the exam.

Bring two valid, acceptable forms of identification. Your primary ID must be government-issued and show your permanently printed name, photograph, and signature or military bar code. Your secondary ID must show your permanently printed name and signature. Make sure your IDs match your ARRT records.

You will be asked to leave your personal belongings in a small locker outside the testing room. During the exam, you are not allowed to use your smartphone, smartwatch, and other prohibited items.

How the Test is Scored

All ARRT exam scores land within a scoring scale ranging from 1 to 99. You pass the exam if you obtain a scaled score of 75 and above.

You’ll see a preliminary scaled score at the testing center after completing your exam. This is not your official result. Within about 10 business days, ARRT will email you when your official results are available in your online account.

Study Tips

Start with a Radiography Practice Test

Before creating your study schedule, take a Radiography practice test to establish a starting point. You don't need to wait until you have reviewed every projection, exposure factor, radiation-protection principle, or patient-care procedure. At this stage, the goal is to identify where your preparation time will have the greatest effect.

Review your results across the four content categories:

• Patient Care: Can you communicate with and safely manage patients, prevent infection, respond to medical emergencies, administer contrast media appropriately, and apply ethical and legal requirements?
• Safety: Do you understand x-ray production, interactions with matter, biological effects of radiation, patient dose reduction, personnel protection, and ALARA principles?
• Image Production: Can you predict how exposure factors, geometry, patient factors, digital imaging systems, and equipment operation affect image quality?
• Procedures: Can you select and perform the appropriate positions and projections, identify the anatomy demonstrated, evaluate positioning accuracy, and modify procedures for different patient conditions?

Identifying those specific weaknesses will show you where to devote more attention during your study time.

Review Difficult Questions

After each practice session, review every question you answered incorrectly AND every question you guessed on or answered with low confidence.

For each difficult question, determine which of the following caused the problem:

• You knew the projection but confused the patient position.
• You couldn't identify what error caused the image problem.
• You knew an exposure principle but couldn't predict its effect on image quality.
• You overlooked a patient condition that required the procedure to be modified.
• You selected the correct anatomy but the wrong projection to demonstrate it.
• You knew a radiation-protection rule but didn't recognize when to apply it.
• You overlooked an infection-control or contrast-media requirement.

Then, outline a specific plan for improvement based on what you discovered. In other words, don't just say, “I need to study positioning.” Specify that you need to review the central-ray angle, anatomy demonstrated, and image-evaluation criteria for cervical spine projections.

Similarly, replace “study exposure factors” with something specific, like predicting how changing SID affects receptor exposure and what adjustment is needed to maintain it.

Utilize Answer Explanations

Answer explanations are an underutilized studying resource. To take full advantage of them, read the explanation for every question you found difficult, including questions you answered correctly.

For each one, make sure you can confidently explain:

1. Why the correct answer is correct
2. Why each incorrect answer is less appropriate
3. What positioning, imaging, safety, or patient-care principle is being tested
4. Which information in the question controls the answer
5. What the radiographer should do next
6. How the same principle could appear in a different procedure or patient scenario

For positioning questions, don't stop after identifying the correct projection. Determine how the patient and part should be positioned, where the central ray should enter, which anatomy should be demonstrated, and what the finished image should look like.

For image-production questions, identify which factor changed and trace its effect through the imaging process.

Connect Exposure Factors to Image Quality and Dose

Don't study mAs, kVp, SID, OID, grids, focal spot size, collimation, and patient factors as separate definitions. Practice predicting what happens when one factor changes.

Use this process:

Factor Changed → Effect on Exposure → Effect on Image Quality → Effect on Patient Dose → Needed Adjustment

For example, if SID increases, determine what happens to beam intensity and receptor exposure and whether mAs must be adjusted. If OID increases, consider magnification and spatial resolution. If collimation changes, consider both scatter and patient exposure.

The goal is to understand the relationship well enough to solve an unfamiliar scenario instead of relying on a memorized rule.

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By Kate Nockunas

Kate has been Mometrix’s Nursing and Medical Editor for over four years. She has a bachelor’s degree in Communications from Vanderbilt University, a bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Marymount University, and a master’s degree in Education from Johns Hopkins. Kate is a critical care registered nurse who still works occasionally in the ICU and PACU.

Edited by Aaron Lanni

Aaron is the content manager and lead editor for Mometrix Academy. He regularly produces, updates, proofreads, and edits content to ensure it meets Mometrix’s quality and accessibility standards.

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ARRT is a registered trademark of The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists, which is not affiliated with Mometrix Test Preparation and does not endorse this page.