- The Passing Score Question: What Is and Isn't Published
- Two Required Exams, Two Separate Results
- Format and Scoring: What the Issuer Does Say
- How You Actually Get the Exam Outline and Weights
- The Requirements That Come Before Any Score
- Fees, Retakes, and the Cost of a Failed Sitting
- Using the 21 Curriculum Areas to Judge Your Readiness
- A Preparation Sequence Built Around ELS Content
- What Happens After You Pass
- Frequently Asked Questions
- ABOR does not publish an ELS passing score, question count, or exam duration in the public sources reviewed for this article.
- You must pass both Basic Knowledge and Embryology; only a failed exam has to be repeated.
- The exam outline with approximate topic percentages arrives only after your candidacy is approved.
- Exams are paper-and-pencil multiple choice, computer scored, with calculators and outside notes restricted.
The Passing Score Question: What Is and Isn't Published
Candidates searching for the ELS(AAB) passing score usually want one number: a percentage, a scaled score, or a count of questions to get right. Here is the straightforward answer for the Embryology Laboratory Scientist credential administered by the AAB Board of Registry (ABOR): the public issuer pages do not state an ELS passing threshold. They also do not state a combined question count or an exam duration for the ELS pathway.
That gap matters because the internet is full of passing-score claims for credentials that share the same acronym or similar names. Any figure you see attached to "ELS(AAB)" that does not trace back to ABOR's own materials should be treated with suspicion. This article deliberately avoids repeating unverified numbers, and instead explains what ABOR does disclose, when additional detail becomes available to you, and how to prepare in a way that does not depend on knowing a cut score in advance.
For a broader look at how difficult candidates find this credential, see How Hard Is the ELS(AAB) Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026. For what outcome data does and does not exist, see ELS(AAB) Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows.
Two Required Exams, Two Separate Results
The most important structural fact about ELS(AAB) scoring is that you are not taking one exam. ABOR's Examinations page requires both Basic Knowledge and Embryology. Each is its own examination with its own result.
- Both must be passed. Certification requires a passing result on each.
- Only a failed exam must be repeated. If you pass Basic Knowledge and fail Embryology, you retake Embryology only; you do not redo the exam you passed.
- Basic Knowledge is taken at the first examination sitting. Plan your first sitting around it rather than treating it as an afterthought.
In practical terms, "the ELS passing score" is really two passing thresholds, one per exam, and ABOR has not made either public in the sources reviewed here. Because a passing result on one exam is not erased by a failure on the other, it can make sense to think of the sitting as two separate hurdles you clear independently.
Key Takeaway
Do not tie your whole plan to Embryology alone. Basic Knowledge is a required, separately scored exam taken at your first sitting. The study materials ABOR points candidates to include the PER Basic Knowledge Manual (2020 edition) alongside the combined Andrology and Embryology review materials.
Format and Scoring: What the Issuer Does Say
While the numeric cut score is not public, ABOR's Examinations pages do describe how testing works. Here is what is confirmed:
| Feature | What ABOR states |
|---|---|
| Question style | Multiple choice |
| Delivery | Paper-and-pencil |
| Scoring | Computer scoring |
| Calculators | Restricted |
| Outside notes | Restricted |
| Test sites | ABOR sites in California and Florida; approved college/university testing centers elsewhere |
| Combined ELS question count | Not published in the sources reviewed |
| Duration | Not published in the sources reviewed |
| Passing threshold | Not published in the sources reviewed |
Two implications follow. First, because the exam is paper-and-pencil and calculators are restricted, you should be comfortable doing laboratory arithmetic by hand: concentrations, dilutions, motility and morphology percentages, and media calculations are all fair game for the kind of knowledge this credential tests. Second, because outside notes are restricted, there is no "reference sheet" safety net; recall under time pressure is the skill being tested.
If you want a full walkthrough of how the content is organized, the ELS(AAB) Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 21 Content Areas covers the curriculum headings in depth.
How You Actually Get the Exam Outline and Weights
ABOR's FAQ is explicit about timing: the examination outline, including approximate topic percentages, and the reference-book list are supplied after candidacy approval. In other words, the closest thing to a published "blueprint" is something you receive only once ABOR has approved you as a candidate.
This has a practical consequence for the order in which you do things:
- Confirm eligibility first. Work through the education route and experience requirements (covered below and in ELS(AAB) Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify).
- Apply and wait for approval. Approval is the gate that releases the outline.
- Re-align your study plan to the outline. Once you see approximate topic percentages, shift hours toward the heavier areas.
The Requirements That Come Before Any Score
A passing exam result does not by itself produce full ELS(AAB) certification. ABOR requires documented experience and procedures in addition to the two exam passes, and this is the part of the credential that surprises many candidates.
Education routes
ABOR recognizes four qualifying education routes:
- An accredited doctorate, master's, or bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in chemical, physical, biological, or clinical laboratory science or medical technology. Degrees outside clinical laboratory science or medical technology require six semester hours of chemistry, six of biology, and twelve of chemistry, biology, and medical laboratory technology combined.
- An accredited associate or associate-applied-science degree in clinical laboratory science or medical technology.
- Sixty accredited semester hours (or equivalent), including twenty-four medical laboratory technology hours in chemistry, hematology, immunohematology, immunology, and microbiology, or twenty-four science hours with the same 6/6/12 distribution.
- Technologist qualification or eligibility under revised Medicare/CLIA '67, 42 CFR 493.1433, published March 14, 1990 (55 FR 9538), including HHS/HEW Proficiency Examination passers and those with ten years of full-time experience before January 1, 1968.
Experience and procedures
All routes require one year of acceptable full-time embryology experience within ten years before application. ABOR's FAQ defines one full-time year as 2,080 clock hours. In addition, General Regulations section 15 requires thirty personally completed human ART procedures in each of six categories:
The Six Procedure Categories (30 each)
This is thirty in each category, not thirty in total, and the procedures do not need to come from the same cycles or patients.
- Oocyte isolation from follicular aspirations
- Sperm preparation
- ICSI cycles
- Fertilization documentation
- Laboratory preparation for embryo transfer (the laboratory portion, performed under the lab's standard operating procedures)
- Egg/embryo cryopreservation
Provisional status
Education-eligible candidates who lack the procedure or experience requirements may receive a provisional ELS-P(AAB) designation after passing the exams. Full certification then requires documented qualifying procedures and experience plus board approval. ABOR's Provisional Status page requires the experience to fall within the ten years before the request to remove provisional status.
So "passing" can mean two different outcomes: a provisional credential if your experience documentation is incomplete, or full ELS(AAB) once everything is documented and approved. Our ELS(AAB) Certification overview explains how these pieces fit together.
Fees, Retakes, and the Cost of a Failed Sitting
Because only a failed exam must be repeated, understanding the fee structure helps you decide how many exams to sit in one day and how to budget for a possible retake. ABOR's published application and examination fees explicitly include ELS:
| Fee item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Initial application | $115 |
| First examination | $105 |
| Each additional examination taken the same day (maximum three examinations) | $65 |
| ABOR proctor | $35 per person per day |
| College/university testing-center proctor | Charged separately by the center |
Taking both required exams on the same day is priced at $105 for the first plus $65 for the second, before any proctoring charge. These are examination and application fees only; they are separate from the price of any review course, and no combined package price is asserted here. For a full cost picture, including renewal, see ELS(AAB) Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
Using the 21 Curriculum Areas to Judge Your Readiness
Without a published cut score, the best readiness signal is breadth plus depth across the subject matter. The 21 curriculum headings give you a self-audit checklist. Rate yourself honestly on each, then reconcile against the official outline when it arrives.
Core Embryology Bench Knowledge
These areas map most directly onto daily laboratory work and procedure documentation.
- Culture Techniques: media, incubation conditions, and culture environment control
- Fertilization and Early Embryonic Development: normal and abnormal fertilization, cleavage, and blastocyst development
- Gamete Preparation: oocyte handling and sperm processing methods
- Micromanipulation: ICSI and related techniques
- Cryopreservation Theory and Practice: the principles behind freezing and thawing gametes and embryos
- Embryo Selection and Contemporary Embryo Transfer Art and Science
Reproductive Physiology and Andrology Foundations
Embryology candidates still need the male and female biology underneath the lab work. Retain the andrology content that bears on fertilization, embryo development, and pregnancy, without treating this as an andrology-credential study plan.
- Female Physiology and Reproductive Function
- Ovulation Induction and Female Infertility
- Male Reproductive Function: Development of the Male Genitourinary Tract
- Male Reproductive Function: Spermatogenesis and Male Reproductive Tract Biology
- Male Reproductive Function: Infertility
- Male Contribution to the Embryo and Offspring
- Semen Analysis and Advanced Diagnostics
Genetics
- Reproductive Genetics
- Preimplantation Genetic Testing
Regulation, Management, and Quality
Candidates who work mostly at the bench often under-prepare here, yet these headings are part of the curriculum list the preparation courses cover.
- CLIA '88
- FDA-HCTP Regulations and Fertility Clinic Success Rate Certification Act
- Laboratory Safety, OSHA, and Disaster Preparedness
- General Laboratory Management
- Financial Laboratory Management and Employment Law
- Total Quality Management in the IVF Laboratory
Some supervisor- and director-oriented review material contains relevant ELS content, but that does not mean every director-level task is an ELS requirement. Use the official outline to decide how deep to go.
If you want a structured approach to working through these areas, the ELS(AAB) Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt lays out a sequence you can adapt.
A Preparation Sequence Built Around ELS Content
Since your goal is to clear two required exams without knowing the cut score, plan for broad competence and then re-weight once your outline arrives. A sample sequence:
Basic Knowledge and Regulatory Ground
- Work through the PER Basic Knowledge Manual (2020 edition) because Basic Knowledge is taken at your first sitting
- Cover CLIA '88, FDA-HCTP regulations, and laboratory safety/OSHA
Physiology and Andrology Foundations
- Female physiology, ovulation induction, and female infertility
- Male development, spermatogenesis, infertility, and semen analysis
Bench Embryology
- Gamete preparation, culture techniques, fertilization, and early development
- Micromanipulation, cryopreservation, and embryo selection/transfer
Genetics, Management, and Integration
- Reproductive genetics and preimplantation genetic testing
- Quality management and laboratory management topics
- Re-weight hours using the official outline if you have it, then drill by hand-calculation problems since calculators are restricted
This is a template, not a prescription. Candidates with strong bench experience may compress the bench embryology block and spend longer on regulation and management; candidates coming from andrology may do the reverse.
What Happens After You Pass
Passing the exams is not the finish line for maintaining the credential. Initial certification is valid through December 31 of the award year (General Regulations section 3). After that, the issuer's Maintain Certification page specifies an annual $115 renewal and no ABOR continuing-education requirement. State licensing obligations are separate and may impose their own requirements.
You may see different information elsewhere. O*NET's credential entry lists a three-year renewal cycle and more than two years of work experience, and an older April 23, 2020 newsletter paragraph on ELS mentions ALS/Andrology testing. The current ABOR ELS Qualifications and Examinations pages govern and describe annual renewal, one year of experience, and the Basic Knowledge plus Embryology exam requirement. When sources conflict, follow the issuer's current pages.
For how the credential translates into pay and career value, see the ELS(AAB) Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis and Is the ELS(AAB) Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026. For employer demand, browse ELS(AAB) Jobs. To pressure-test your recall in a question format, try the ELS(AAB) practice tests, which are independently authored knowledge practice and not actual issuer questions or an official mock exam.
Key Takeaway
Your real "passing score" plan is: confirm eligibility, get approved, obtain the official outline and percentages from ABOR, then aim for comfortable mastery rather than a minimum. Practice resources here assess knowledge only; they do not measure practical embryology competence.
Frequently Asked Questions
ABOR's public pages do not state an ELS passing score, combined question count, or exam duration. The examination outline, including approximate topic percentages, is supplied after candidacy approval, so confirm any scoring details directly with ABOR.
Yes. ABOR requires both exams. If you fail only one, you repeat only the exam you failed. Basic Knowledge is taken at your first examination sitting.
ABOR describes paper-and-pencil multiple-choice testing with computer scoring, and it restricts calculators and outside notes. Sites are offered in California and Florida, with approved college or university testing centers as the stated alternative elsewhere.
The initial application is $115. The first examination is $105, and each additional exam taken the same day is $65, up to three. An ABOR proctor adds $35 per person per day; testing-center proctor charges are paid separately. These fees are separate from any review-course price.
Education-eligible candidates who lack the documented procedures or experience may receive provisional ELS-P(AAB) status after passing. Full certification requires thirty personally completed procedures in each of six categories, one year of qualifying full-time experience, and board approval.
For related fundamentals, you can also read ELS(AAB) Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling and the ELS(AAB) Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts.