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What are the dates I need to know?

• Registration opens: September 25, 2025
• Registration closes: December 5, 2025
• Payment deadline: December 12, 2025
• Cancellation deadline: December 12, 2025
• Accommodation deadline: January 11, 2026 (30 days prior to testing window)
• Exam dates: February 11-17, 2026
• Program director access: Feb 25-27, 2026*
  • *Must opt in during registration
• Score reports available: mid-April 2026

What are the main features of the exam?

• The content outline of the RITE parallels the ABPN's Initial Certification Examination in Neurology content specifications.
• Exam format that mirrors the ABPN Certification Examination in Neurology in length and break structure. As of 2024, the timer will run consecutively for 8 hours, during which time programs and residents can take breaks when desired. The timer will start at the beginning of the exam and run for 8 hours.
• Written and reviewed by a panel of recognized experts to ensure accuracy, clarity, relevance to practice, and topical balance of questions.
• Video and series-type imaging studies, including CT scans, MR images, EEGs, and full-color pathologic representations, for a testing experience similar to what residents will see in practice.
• New! Program directors whose programs are registered for the RITE will have the opportunity to view the exam. During registration, programs must opt in for program director access. Details on the access window will be sent out via email closer to the exam week.
• A scoring process conducted by a professional data systems company to ensure the highest quality data collection with an accuracy rate in excess of 99.9%.
• If you sat for the 2025 RITE, a downloadable Discussion and Reference Manual is available that explains the correct answers for all questions, relevant images, and current references to guide independent study. To request a copy of the Manual, please email theRITE@aan.com. 

What if I need accommodations?

The AAN endeavors to administer the RITE, where feasible, in a manner that best ensures equal access to individuals with documented qualifying disabilities who demonstrate and request a need for accommodation(s) or auxiliary aides via these policies, provided that the requested accommodation is reasonable, not unduly burdensome, and does not fundamentally alter the measurement of the skills or knowledge being self-assessed.  

Requests for an accommodation must be submitted in writing to allow for the AAN to consider the request and, if granted, implement the request in a timely manner.

Requests must be submitted at least 30 days prior to the start of the RITE testing window.

Application for testing accommodations

• To request an accommodation because of disability, complete this written form following the requirements noted.

Application for nursing/chest feeding accommodations

• To request a nursing/chest feeding accommodation, complete this written form.

How is the exam administered?

• Residents sit for the RITE in a proctored environment at their institution; the RITE is not administered at a commercial testing center. The option for individual remote testing is determined by the program.
• To assist with workload coverage, the RITE testing window begins at the end of one calendar week, includes the entire weekend, and extends into the first two days of a second calendar week. Future RITE administration dates:
  • Wednesday, February 11–Tuesday, February 17, 2026
  • Thursday, February 4–Tuesday, February 9, 2027
• Programs should coordinate with their institution’s technical support staff early to ensure computers are working correctly and to ensure internet connectivity. View the RITE Institution Preparation Guide & Proctor's Manual for detailed information about system requirements, recommendations regarding bandwidth speed, and a timeline to prepare for testing.

How do I prepare for the exam?

• Review in advance the Timeline to Prepare for Testing section in the RITE Institution Preparation Guide and Proctor's Manual for steps and materials for exam day.
• Print and bring a copy of the Invigilation Pack, as described in the Institution Preparation Guide and Proctor's Manual, as this includes the Attendance Roster and keycodes residents need to access the exam and the Invigilation Report that needs to be returned to AAN after the exam.
• Arrive early to turn on computers and verify internet connectivity so the test can be downloaded upon resident login. Be sure to have contact information for your institution’s technical support team in the event that hardware/system/internet connectivity issues arise. AAN staff cannot troubleshoot these issues.

How is the exam scored and results verified?

• Scoring begins after the last day of test administration. Once scoring is complete, results are reviewed and verified by members of the RITE Panel and AAN staff to ensure accuracy.
• Once the results are verified, scores for total percent correct, knowledge class percent correct, and percentile rankings for individual residents and programs are generated. A Missing Items list for each program is also generated. This process can take several weeks.
• Score reports typically are made available in early to mid-April each year after testing.
  • Residents will receive an email to access their individual score report, which includes total percent correct for the entire exam and percent correct in five content categories, along with their percentile rank compared with other residents in the same NYIT individual score report.
  • Program directors will receive an email to access the program summary report, which includes both total program and individual resident percent correct and percentile ranking data, the All-Examinee report, and the Missed Items report for their program.

  • Questions on the RITE are now also designated as Core Knowledge (more than 90% of residents should have encountered the clinical scenario described in the question), Intermediate Knowledge (between 50% and 90% of residents should have encountered the scenario described in the question), and Subspecialty Knowledge (50% of residents or more will NOT have encountered the scenario described in the question). The total percent of questions designated Core and Subspecialty Knowledge is reported here, but not by specific content area. Note that these designations are not included in the ABPN Certification Examination in Neurology; rather, they were developed by the RITE Panel as a means of providing additional information about progress throughout residency. View examples of RITE items classified as Core, Intermediate, and Subspecialty.

• Residents also receive a link to the downloadable RITE Discussion and Reference Manual, which includes the correct answer, an explanation of the correct answer and incorrect answers, images associated with the question (if applicable), and a current reference. The Manual does not include all the questions, though a select number may be reprinted. Reprinted questions are not used on future RITE exams.
• If score reports are not received by May 1, 2025, please contact AAN at theRITE@aan.com and include the following information with your request: your name, program name and number, and AAN ID number.
• IMPORTANT: RITE scores are accessible via the emailed link until registration begins for the following year. Program directors and residents are responsible for archiving their RITE scores each year. To request copies of score reports, please email theRITE@aan.com.