- CD here means CAOHC's Course Director credential, the instructor qualification for occupational hearing conservation courses.
- The exam is online, open-book, with saved progress and a ten-day completion window; passing requires 80%.
- You get two attempts within the window; failing both means repeating the workshop and the exam.
- Initial exam is $200, renewal exam $150, and the October 16, 2026 virtual workshop is $500 separately.
Which "CD" This Cheat Sheet Covers
This page is about the Course Director (CD) credential issued by the Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation (CAOHC). It is sometimes described as the CAOHC-approved Course Director. The credential qualifies you to direct occupational hearing conservation (OHC) courses, the training that prepares others to work in hearing conservation programs. If you are new to the term, our explainers What Is CD? and What Is CD Certification? cover the basics before you dive into the details below.
One important distinction: the Course Director exam is not the same as the separate student examination taken by people completing an OHC course. Everything here concerns the instructor-level credential. If you want to test yourself against realistic items as you review, the CD practice test site is built around this credential.
The Numbers at a Glance
Here is the one-page fact set most candidates want pinned above their desk. Every figure below comes from CAOHC's published materials as reviewed on September 29, 2026.
| Item | What to Remember |
|---|---|
| Issuing body | CAOHC |
| Initial exam fee | $200 |
| Renewal exam fee | $150 |
| Virtual workshop (October 16, 2026) | $500, charged separately |
| Combined initial total | $700 ($500 workshop + $200 exam), by calculation |
| Workshop-plus-renewal total | $650 ($500 + $150), by calculation |
| Passing score | 80% |
| Attempts | Two within the completion window |
| Completion window | Ten days, with saved progress |
| Credential validity | Five years |
| Workshop length | Eight hours (training time, not exam time) |
| Policy manual | Revised November 2025 |
For a deeper look at how the fees stack up in different scenarios, see CD Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown. Note that CAOHC does not publish a member versus non-member fee distinction, so do not assume a discount exists.
Eligibility Snapshot
Course Director is not an entry-level credential. CAOHC requires documentation up front, and your application is reviewed and approved before ordinary registration opens to you. Memorize this checklist:
- A qualifying current professional license or certification. The current web eligibility language includes physician assistants, while the November 2025 policy manual list differs. If you hold a borderline license, confirm approval with CAOHC directly rather than relying on either source alone.
- 1,000 relevant hours within five years, spread across at least three specified activities.
- A complete supervised OHC course, in person or hybrid, completed as adjunct faculty or practicum assistant.
- Credential documentation plus supervisor and/or Course Director verification letters.
Exam Format and Rules
How the exam is delivered
The Course Director exam is delivered online through the CAOHC Learning Center. It is open-book, and your progress saves, so you can step away and return. You have ten days to complete it. This is not a long continuous sitting, and it is not tied to the eight-hour workshop, which is training time only.
Scoring and attempts
You need 80% to pass. You receive two attempts inside the window. If both attempts fail, you must repeat the workshop and the exam. That consequence makes the first attempt matter more than the open-book format suggests. Read more in CD Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
The Five Course Topic Areas
CAOHC publishes five Course Director workshop curriculum areas. Treat these as your preparation map. They are unweighted topics drawn from the issuer's course description, not an official weighted or exhaustive exam blueprint, so do not budget study time by assumed percentages. For the extended walkthrough, see CD Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 5 Content Areas.
Domain 1: Developing OHC certification and recertification course curricula
This is the design side of the job: building a course that meets CAOHC's expectations for both initial certification and recertification audiences.
- Know how initial and recertification course content differs
- Be able to explain how a curriculum is structured and documented
- Understand what a compliant course must contain before it can run
Domain 2: Course Director procedures before, during and after OHC courses
The operational lifecycle of a course. Expect questions framed around what a Course Director must do at each stage.
- Pre-course: approvals, materials, logistics, instructor readiness
- During the course: supervision, instruction oversight, participant handling
- Post-course: records, reporting, and follow-through
Domain 3: Effective teaching techniques and hearing-conservation training resources
This is what separates an instructor credential from a technical one. You are being assessed on how well you can teach adults in a workplace-safety context.
- Match teaching methods to learner needs
- Know which training resources support hearing-conservation instruction
- Recognize good and poor instructional choices in a scenario
Domain 4: Federal regulatory changes affecting OHC courses
Course Directors must keep courses aligned with the regulatory environment. Study the regulatory material in the current workshop resources, and pay attention to how changes flow into course content.
- Identify which regulatory developments affect course content
- Understand why a Course Director is responsible for keeping material current
Domain 5: Scientific and technical advances in hearing-conservation instruction
The field evolves, and instruction must reflect it. Questions here test whether you can fold new scientific and technical developments into what you teach.
- Recognize how advances change what belongs in a course
- Distinguish settled practice from emerging developments
Key Takeaway
Because the five areas are unweighted, spread your preparation across all of them. Candidates with strong technical backgrounds tend to underinvest in the teaching and curriculum-design areas, and those are exactly where an instructor credential tests you.
Renewal and Extension Rules
The credential is valid for five years. You renew through one of two routes:
- Workshop plus exam: the $500 workshop plus the $150 renewal exam.
- Eligible exam-only route: the $150 renewal exam, available only if you meet at least two of the following four conditions:
- Directed ten qualifying OHC courses
- Served two years on a CAOHC committee or task force
- Completed ten relevant CE contact hours
- Taught one approved CD workshop
Extensions and the separate COHC track
CAOHC may grant discretionary extensions of up to six months. The request must be made at least 30 days before expiration, and a failed exam does not qualify you for one. Also remember that renewal of a COHC credential is entirely separate from Course Director renewal. Maintaining one does not maintain the other.
What Is Not Publicly Verified
A trustworthy cheat sheet states its limits. As of the September 29, 2026 source review, the following are not publicly verified, so avoid repeating confident claims about them:
- The exact number of exam questions, the scored/unscored split, and exact item types
- An official weighted exam blueprint or official domain weights
- The testing vendor, if any, beyond the CAOHC Learning Center delivery
- Calculator rules, adaptive behavior, and CD-specific remote-proctoring requirements
- The pass rate, which is not publicly disclosed (see CD Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows)
If a forum post or third-party site gives you a precise question count or domain percentage, treat it as unconfirmed. Plan around what CAOHC publishes and confirm anything critical with the issuer directly.
A Short Study Sequence by Domain
Because the five areas are unweighted, sequence them by dependency rather than by assumed importance. Curriculum design underpins everything else, so it goes first. For a fuller plan, see CD Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt.
Curricula and course lifecycle
- Work through Domain 1 (curricula) and Domain 2 (before, during and after procedures)
- Build a one-page checklist of Course Director duties at each stage
Teaching and resources
- Cover Domain 3 (teaching techniques and training resources)
- Practice explaining which method fits which learner scenario
Regulation, science, and consolidation
- Cover Domain 4 (federal regulatory changes) and Domain 5 (scientific and technical advances)
- Take practice questions on the main practice test and review every miss
Since the exam is open-book, also rehearse locating information quickly in your workshop materials. Speed of retrieval is a real skill under a ten-day window with an 80% threshold.
Frequently Asked Questions
The passing score is 80%. You get two attempts within the ten-day window, and if both fail you must repeat the workshop and the exam. See the passing score guide for detail.
The initial exam is $200 and the renewal exam is $150. The October 16, 2026 virtual workshop is a separate $500, which brings the totals to $700 for initial certification or $650 for workshop plus renewal, by calculation. Our pricing breakdown explains the scenarios.
It is an online, open-book exam through the CAOHC Learning Center with saved progress and a ten-day completion window. CD-specific remote-proctoring rules are not publicly verified, so confirm any proctoring expectations with CAOHC.
Only if you qualify for the exam-only route, which requires at least two of four conditions: ten qualifying OHC courses directed, two years of CAOHC committee or task-force service, ten relevant CE contact hours, or one approved CD workshop taught. Otherwise renewal is workshop plus exam.
That depends on whether you direct or plan to direct OHC courses, since the credential is what qualifies you to do so. For a structured look at the tradeoffs, read Is the CD Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026.