Sonographer: training, ARDMS exams and state license
A sonographer needs a state license in only 5 places; everywhere, employers ask for ARDMS or ARRT credentials, whose first two exams cost $575.
Example: sonography, 2 years in Texas· change any figure to see your own result
Sonography in Texas: tuition and exam
$8,735
$4,080 a year × 2 + ARDMS SPI and one specialty $575
| Median public in-state tuition and fees in Texas | $4,080 a year (2023-24) |
| Years of study | 2 |
| Exam fees | $575 |
| State license | No state license |
Tuition and required fees only: books, uniforms, housing and travel to clinical sites are not included. The figure is the median 2023-24 in-state charge reported to IPEDS by the public schools of the state that award this discipline; your school’s price governs.
Compiled by Radif Partners · How the rules were read
A sonographer, also called a diagnostic medical sonographer or ultrasound technician, operates ultrasound equipment to produce the images a physician reads. The usual route is an accredited program, most often an associate degree, then the ARDMS exams: the Sonography Principles and Instrumentation (SPI) exam at $275 and a specialty exam at $300, passed within 5 years of each other, as the Inteleos exam pages read on November 13, 2026 state. Only District of Columbia, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon issue a sonography license, according to the state table of the American Society of Radiologic Technologists. In the federal IPEDS files, 311 sonography programs reported 7,049 awards for 2023-24, of which 4,635 associate degrees, 1,472 certificates and 921 bachelor’s degrees.
The sonographer route, step by step
First, an accredited program in diagnostic medical sonography, with supervised scanning in a clinic. Then the ARDMS exams: SPI once, plus one specialty for the credential you want (abdomen or obstetrics and gynecology for RDMS, adult echocardiography for RDCS, vascular technology for RVT). Then, in 5 places, a state license. The ARDMS exam cost calculator adds up the fees and retakes.
The calculator at the top estimates tuition and exam fees for your state and your years of study, from the median $4,916 yearly in-state tuition and fees of public sonography schools nationwide (2023-24), or the median of your state when its public schools report one.
Where sonographers need a license
| Jurisdiction | Credential | Agency |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | License | DC Health |
| New Hampshire | License | New Hampshire Board of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy |
| New Mexico | Certified | New Mexico Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Program |
| North Dakota | License | North Dakota Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Board |
| Oregon | License | Oregon Board of Medical Imaging |
Everywhere else, the state does not license sonographers. See the sonographer license by state for the full list, and sonographer or x-ray technologist to compare the two careers.
Your ARDMS exam fees
Example: SPI once and 1 specialty exam· change any figure to see your own result
ARDMS exam fees in total
$575
SPI $275 × 1 + specialty $300 × 1
| SPI exam (Sonography Principles and Instrumentation) | $275 × 1 |
| Specialty exams | $300 × 1 |
| Time limit | SPI and the specialty passed within 5 years of each other |
| Then | Annual renewal: every year, fees due by December 31 (renewal opens in September) |
Sonographer programs and what they cost
Public schools reported a median in-state tuition and fees of $4,916 a year for 2023-24; private schools charge several times more. The ultrasound tech guide lists the programs of each state. No salary figure is given on this site: pay depends on the employer and the region.