RVS (CCI) - Registered Vascular Specialist

The Registered Vascular Specialist (RVS) certification from the Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI) is for vascular ultrasound professionals. This credential demonstrates knowledge and skill, letting your employer, patients, and colleagues know that you have the qualifications to excel in your role.

This certification is for diagnostic imaging professionals who focus on vascular ultrasound. To receive this certification, you must pass the credentialing exam from CCI. 

The application fee for this exam is $365, which includes a $100 non-refundable exam filing fee. 

The RVS exam is a 170 question multiple-choice exam with 150 scored questions and 20 unscored questions. The exam takes three hours to complete, with two hours and 50 minutes for the exam questions and 10 minutes for the pre-exam questions and post-exam survey.

Questions are a mix of traditional multiple-choice and innovative test questions. Traditional questions have four possible answers, only one of which is correct. Innovative multiple-choice questions have two or three correct answers in a list of four to six options. You will be told how many responses are correct and have to select multiple correct answers. 

Other innovative test questions involve a hot spot of drag and place responses. For hot spot questions, you will have to click on a specific area of an image to get the question right. For innovative drag and place questions, you will have to drag labels or tokens to the specific areas or boxes on an image.

To obtain this certification, you must meet the following criteria: 

• Have a high school diploma or general education diploma

• Provide the necessary documentation to support all exam prerequisites

• Meet one of the following criteria: 

  • Have two years of full-time work experience in vascular ultrasound and have performed 600 vascular ultrasound studies throughout your career. (Note that this option will no longer be available after July 1, 2023.)

  • Be a graduate of a diploma, bachelor’s, or master’s program in health science (including ultrasound, radiologic technology, nursing, or respiratory therapy), have one year of full-time work experience in vascular ultrasound, and have performed 600 vascular ultrasound studies throughout your career.

  • Provide a program completion certificate and/or transcript, employment verification letter, and clinical experience letter if still in a formal education program.

  • Be a graduate of an accredited vascular ultrasound program, provide a completion certificate and/or transcript, and a student verification letter.

  • Be a graduate of a non-accredited program with a minimum of one year of specialty training and a minimum of 800 clinical hours, and provide a completion certificate and/or educational transcript, student verification letter, and a clinical experience letter if taking the exam before graduation.

  • Hold active ultrasound credentials with six months of full-time work experience and a minimum of 100 vascular ultrasound studies and provide a copy of an ultrasound registry credential and/or a clinical experience letter is still in a formal education program.

You must apply for the exam online. Be prepared to provide supporting documents as PDF files and have your payment information ready.

If you have a history of criminal activity or convictions, you may request a pre-application review by paying a $50 fee and submitting the pre-application form.

The RVS exam is administered through Pearson VUE and is available year-round. After your application is approved, you will receive an Authorization to Test letter from CCI and information about how to schedule with Pearson VUE.

The RVS credential is good for nine to 12 months after passing the exam. If you are a new credential holder, there are two ways to renew your certification for the first time. 

You must renew before the first day of the same quarter that you earned your credential in the following year. For example, if you passed the exam between April 1 and June 30 of this year, you would have to renew it for the first time before March 31 of next year. There are no CEU requirements for your first renewal, but you must agree to the CCI Code of Ethics and pay a renewal fee of $165.

After you complete your first renewal, your credential is good for three years. You must complete 36 CEUs, with 30 of them being cardiovascular-related. The renewal fee is $165, and you must agree to the CCI Code of Ethics.

CCI has a lot of useful material available online, including a detailed applicant handbook and an exam overview that includes a knowledge list and a task list to help you prepare for the exam.

CCI also offers many other credentials for sonographers and other cardiac health professionals, including: 

• Advanced Cardiac Sonographer (ACS)

• Registered Phlebology Sonographer (RPhS)

• Registered Cardiac Sonographer (RCS)

• Registered Congenital Cardiac Sonographer (RCCS)

• Certified Cardiographic Technician (CCT)