Special Accommodations

Requesting Special Testing Accommodations

Candidates with documented visual, physical, hearing or learning disabilities, which would prevent them from taking an examination under standard conditions, may request special testing accommodations and arrangements.

AFP and Pearson VUE require written documentation of the current functional disability from the candidate's doctor or from another qualified medical professional who has treated the candidate for the disability.  The documentation should include a description of the disability, show how it is expected to impact their ability to take the exam under standard circumstances, treatment dates and recommended accommodations. This written documentation must accompany the registration form when submitted to AFP.  There is no extra fee for making these arrangements. 

In considering a request from an applicant for special accommodations, AFP and Pearson VUE are guided by a sense of fairness. Special accommodations are granted to give an approved candidate the opportunity to be examined in an equivalent manner with other candidates, but not to provide an advantage over other candidates.

The documentation from the candidate’s medical professional must meet these general criteria:

1. The documentation must be from a medical professional qualified to provide such a diagnosis and submitted on the medical professional’s letterhead.
2. The documentation must include a specific diagnosis.
3. Support documentation must contain relevant information about the history of the candidate’s condition, it’s impact on current functioning and how long the condition is expected to continue.
4. Supporting documentation must indicate how the candidate meets the diagnostic criteria for a particular disorder and how this condition substantially limits the candidate in a major life activity compare to most people in the general population.
5. Supporting documentation must include specific recommendations for testing accommodations with a rationale for each accommodation. 
6. The evaluation must be recent and must provide information about the candidate’s current functional limitations.

The documentation provided must be in English.  If the documentation was not originally in English it must be accompanied by an official certified translation.