My "Authorization to test" letter never arrived?

by Michael
(Virginia)

I take the exam on Friday. The prep stuff says to bring your photo ID and your "authorization to test" letter. The PTCB site said something about an authorization to test letter too.

I registered and paid for this thing a couple three weeks ago, and never got anything via email or snail mail that I'd call an authorization letter at all, so this troubles me slightly.

Within a day or so of paying, I did get an email from PTCB giving me the password to get on at Pearson VUE and schedule my exam. No problems there.

I've printed out every piece of correspondence I have from this whole process, and I hope it will suffice, but I hate the thought of $129 going up in smoke over something stupid, like the formal "authorization to test" letter got eaten by my spam filter or fell into the bit bucket or something.

Am I worrying about nothing? Can someone who took this exam recently confirm that what I've experienced is par for the course these days?

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My "Authorization to test" letter never arrived?

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Jul 09, 2010

New paperless system
by: D. Michael McIntyre, CPhT BA

I read some comment on the PTCB site about how they are going paperless as of August. It seems this "authorization to test" letter is something that's still in a bit of a transitional stage. Various things in the process still refer to it, but you don't need one.

When I showed up at Pearson VUE, all I had to do was give them my name and ID, and the rest of the process flowed smoothly from there, just as described elsewhere on this site.

I don't have my score yet, but I don't have to take the exam again. It was funny. I was feeling pretty good about how I did, but a little reserved. When the word "pass" showed up on the screen, I couldn't contain doing a little Snoopy dance in my chair.

The proctor arrived promptly and said "I take it you passed?"

Why yes I did. Five weeks of extremely intensive self study, and I'm a CPhT, even though I'm currently working as an auto mechanic.

I'm looking forward to my new life.

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