Established in 1995, the National Council for Certified Personal Trainers (NCCPT) is a subsidiary of the International Sports Sciences Association that has been certifying fitness professionals for over twenty years. Its personal trainer certification is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) and is recognized at all major health club chains in the United States and Canada.

Learn more about the NCCPT here.

• The exam is not open book/open note and must be finished in two hours. Results are provided immediately upon completion.
• Candidates must be at least 18 years old, have a valid, unexpired signature photo ID and current CPR certification.
• Candidates have 12 months from the date of purchase to take the exam. A free six month extension is available. An additional six month extension can also be purchased.
• Exams are administered by Prometric and offered at a testing center or online. The $79.00 fee charged by Prometric is the same for both.

Full exam information and eligibility criteria may be found here.

• Both the NCCPT-CPT certification exam and CPR can be purchased as stand-alone items. However, each is often included for free, or at a reduced cost with the ISSA Certified Personal Trainer Course or as part of an ISSA course bundle so be sure and check your ISSA student portal before purchasing.
• The exam may be purchased here. Click here for CPR.
• A separate NCCPT-CPT exam proctor fee is charged by the testing vendor, Prometric.

To schedule your exam:

• Log in to your ISSA Student Portal
• From the Home page, scroll to Optional NCCPT Exams → select NCCPT CPT Exam → Review your personal information. Your first and last name must exactly match your government-issued ID. Update any errors before requesting your code.
• Click Request Exam Eligibility Code.
• You’ll then be redirected to the Scheduling page.

The NCCPT complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and other applicable laws and regulations. Upon request, the NCCPT shall make reasonable accommodations to assist a candidate with disabilities. Special accommodation can be provided for an individual with documented disabilities by submitting the Reasonable Accommodations Request form and related documentation to support@nccpt.com.