United States · Admissions testHow do you register for the OAT?
- Read the OAT Candidate Guide. The application asks you to confirm you’ve read it and agree to its rules.
- Create your OAT PIN. Enter your name exactly as it appears on your government ID, such as a driver’s license or passport, and use a personal email address rather than a school one.
- Submit the application and pay. Your card is charged when you submit, and the fee isn’t refundable or transferable.
- Choose the optometry schools that should get your scores. You can pick as many as you like on the application.
- Wait for the eligibility email from DTS with instructions for booking. Check your spam folder before you contact DTS.
- Book your appointment with Prometric.
A new application is needed for every attempt. If DTS finds you deliberately gave false details, your scores are voided and schools are told.
Your OAT PIN
You use one PIN for every OAT step: applying, booking, getting scores and any requests. If you’ve applied or tested before, you already have one, so retrieve it with your full name, date of birth and email address rather than creating another.
If you tested under a different name, or your name, birth date or email needs correcting, don’t make a new PIN. Fill in the PIN Request Form and email it to PIN@ada.org. DTS replies within 5 to 7 business days. Contact details you update online don’t change applications you’ve already submitted.
Booking Prometric and finding an OAT test center
The OAT is given at Prometric test centers across the US, its territories, including Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and selected places in Canada. It isn’t offered in Quebec. Once your eligibility email arrives, find a center and book on Prometric’s site. The local test center itself can’t book, change or cancel appointments.
Testing accommodations
The OAT Program gives reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act to candidates with a documented disability or medical condition who ask before testing and are approved. You ask with every application, but once an accommodation is approved, you don’t need new documentation for the same condition next time.
You can send the request before you apply, through Submit Request, or during the application, after the payment page. You need a completed test application, the Testing Accommodations Request Form in your PIN account, and supporting documentation, which is:
- A current evaluation report, from within the past five years, on letterhead, from a qualified health care professional, with the tests used, the results, the diagnosis and the accommodations recommended.
- Records of accommodations you had at school or on other tests, or the professional’s explanation of why you didn’t have any and need them now.
Handwritten letters or notes, diagnoses on prescription pads, self-evaluations, research articles and original documents aren’t accepted; send copies.
Don’t book until the eligibility email shows your approved accommodations. They can’t be added to an existing appointment, and canceling one costs a fee. Questions go to testingaccommodations@ada.org.
Sources: OAT Program and 3 more. Checked October 2026.
- OAT Program: Apply for the OAT ↗
- OAT Program: Get your OAT PIN ↗
- OAT Program: OAT 2026 Candidate Guide, updated August 6, 2026 (PDF) ↗
- OAT Program: The Optometry Admission Test (home page and FAQ) ↗
Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.
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