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The APTD exam is 115 multiple choice questions and you have two hours to take it. Download a content outline and find upcoming exam windows here. 

APTD Exam

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The Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD)

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Remote Testing

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In-Person Testing

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How is an Exam Developed?

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Ready to Apply

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Exam Quicklinks 

APTD Introduction

APTD Eligibility

Prepare for APTD 

Apply for APTD

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APTD Certification Handbook

Contact the ATD CI Team

The ATD SELL conference focuses on bringing together the best practices and strategies across sales training, tools and technology, and processes needed to drive incremental sales performance. 

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ATD OrgDev will provide you with the skills needed to develop employee programs at all levels and throughout their employment lifecycle. You’ll learn innovative methods at all levels to manage the ever-increasing rate of change in today’s workplace.

ATD OrgDev Registration

Apply the ABCs for your L&D career successThere has never been a better time to invest in your own L&D career.No matter where you are in your learning and development career—whether you are just beginning, ready to advance in it, or in need of a change—expert career coach and L&D luminary Sarah Cannistra delivers tactical and industry-specific advice for how to conduct and succeed in your next job search.With the perspective that there is no “one size fits all” strategy to career success, Sarah walks you through four L&D Career Success Codes, her ABCDs, that will help you achieve Alignment and get clarity on your career goals and your L&D Niche; create your personal and professional Brand; network intentionally and build your L&D Community around your L&D niche; and, identify your interests, skills, and belief systems, all key to building a Development plan for achieving your career goals.In this volume, Sarah dissects job application, resume and cover letter writing, and interview processes. She covers the hard-felt topics of rejection and job searches after layoffs and explores the mindset shifts and self-awareness needed to be successful to land a stable and fulfilling position. Follow along with stories of how Sarah has helped clients to secure their dream role. Take the next step on your own with more than 40 activities, reflection questions, and worksheets.A cover-to-cover resource for landing your next role while choosing your own path, this is a book you will turn to again and again throughout your career.

Land Your Next L&D Role

Gain a systematic approach for developing and administering tests that will meet your organization's needs and follow professional standards. Learn more!

Test Design and Delivery Certificate

This blended learning program helps you learn best practices for using the proper mix of learning technologies to design effective blended solutions. Learn more!

 Blended Learning Certificate

Create an effective onboarding program that builds engagement with your new hires right away. Get started today.

New Employee Onboarding Certificate

Your All-In-One Guide to ISDKnown as “the man who wrote the book on ISD,” Chuck Hodell offers a comprehensive and practical handbook on core instructional systems design (ISD) practices and principles with a practitioner’s eye. This updated fifth edition covers all the basics and many advanced tenets of ISD, walking you through each phase, including advanced concepts such as microlearning, social media, and leveraging technology. Stand-alone chapters offer crucial support to practitioners building foundational skills, while in-depth tutorials on subjects such as collaborating with experts offer rich insights to guide the credentialed designer. This fully revised and expanded volume offers new case studies, discussion questions, and sample design and lesson plans, ISD From the Ground Up demystifies the learning design process. Whether you are just getting your feet wet or have extensive experience in ISD, this industry staple provides the essential building blocks and more for ISD mastery.

ISD From the Ground Up, 5th Edition

Game On! Action-Based Training Designs for Better Learning Passive learning just doesn’t cut it in today’s evolving, competitive workplace. Research demonstrates that action-first learning works because it engages the mind immediately and makes sure that knowledge and skills will stick. With a more diverse array of action-based training designs, organizations can motivate learners, provide hands-on, collaborative practice, and drive behavioral change. In Action-First Learning, educator and tech expert Karl Kapp covers nine distinct types of learning experiences in one volume—from card and board games, escape rooms, and branching scenarios to augmented reality and AI-powered coaching. He explains why each design works and how to choose, plan, and execute the right kind of project for your goals.The book includes a chapter by instructional designer Amy Pape about how to improve action-first learning through accessibility and another by L&D expert Kevin Thorn on the use of comics in action-first learning. Each chapter includes a detailed case study, a design checklist, and tips on how to leverage AI in the creation of action-first learning.

Action-First Learning

Unlock the full potential of your employees with effective feedback.Providing performance feedback is one of the most challenging tasks leaders face. Feedback often sparks frustration and fear for both leaders and their teams. Why? Because there is a disconnect between what leaders think they are communicating and what employees receive. In this essential book, leadership experts Mashihi and Nowack offer leaders their four-part Performance Feedback Coaching Model, designed to bridge this gap. After over a decade spent developing, testing, and refining their model with leaders around the world, the authors offer this powerful framework based on research in neuroscience and psychology. The book equips leaders at all levels with practical strategies and tools to deliver tailored feedback that aligns with each employee’s unique skills and interpersonal strengths. By personalizing feedback, leaders can inspire significant improvements in employee behavior, creating a workplace where leaders achieve their goals and employees thrive—a true win-win situation. The authors share powerful stories, real-life examples, and user-friendly tips, as well as questionnaires, worksheets, and other tools leaders can apply immediately.With this book as your roadmap, you will have the guidance you need to improve your employees’ development, performance, motivation, satisfaction, and retention.

Performance Feedback Strategies

Integrate technology into your learning solutions using proven application approaches, practical models, templates, and a comprehensive process that considers learner and organizational needs.

Registration Opens	Registration Deadline	Exam Window	Prohibited (Blackout) Dates
12 months before exam window begins	30 days before exam window begins	January 1 - March 31	All dates in February
12 months before exam window begins	30 days before exam window begins	March 1 - May 31	All dates in April
12 months before exam window begins	30 days before exam window begins	May 1 - July 31	All dates in June
12 months before exam window begins	30 days before exam window begins	July 1 - September 30	All dates in August
12 months before exam window begins	30 days before exam window begins	September 1 - November 30	All dates in October
12 months before exam window begins	30 days before exam window begins	November 1 - January 31	All dates in December

What to Expect from the APTD Exam

APTD Exam Windows and Deadlines