Firefighter Testing Fees and the Three Ways to Get Them Waived

Written & reviewed by the Quibank editorial team · Last reviewed 2026-09-12 · Editorial standards

A firefighter written test costs around $50 and a CPAT costs somewhere between $125 and $180 depending on who administers it, and if you cannot afford either, three separate routes exist to having the fee paid. Which one is open to you depends almost entirely on who runs your test, not on how tight your finances are.

That is the part candidates get wrong. A fee waiver is not one thing. In California a firefighters' charity pays for your entire testing package and the hiring department never learns you asked. Through National Testing Network, the department you are applying to is the body that reads your hardship documents and decides. In New York City, the waiver is a stated entitlement you claim on the application form. And in states that run the CPAT through their own fire academy, there is often no waiver at all.

What the tests actually cost

California's Firefighter Candidate Testing Center is the rare vendor that publishes flat prices: $50 per written test, $160 for the CPAT including two orientation sessions, $30 per timed practice run, and $25 for the written prep course. All of it is non-refundable.

The CPAT has no national price. Connecticut's Commission on Fire Prevention and Control charges $175 for its five-day program or $125 for a test-day-only special session. National Testing Network publishes no flat figure at all — its pricing page says cost varies by location, test type, and the department job you apply to, with the total shown only at checkout, and its candidate FAQ describes a base testing fee plus an extra charge for every department you select.

So a price quoted in a forum thread is someone else's state in someone else's year. Candidates on Firehouse Forums trade CPAT prices constantly and the numbers rarely transfer — one candidate hunting for an open Colorado date reported an $85 test with a registration deadline two weeks out and an eight-hour drive to reach it.

California: the whole package, decided in five business days

The California Fire Foundation funds testing fees for FCTC candidates in financial hardship. The award covers two CPAT practices at $30 each, the $160 CPAT with its two orientations, two written prep courses at $25 each, and the $50 written test — and for awards approved after 1 July 2026, one $25 online practice written test as well. That is roughly $345 of testing and preparation.

You qualify by documenting receipt of unemployment insurance, CalWORKs, CalFRESH, Medi-Cal or SSI/SSP, or by submitting proof of income. You need an FCTC account with your FCTC ID number in hand to apply, and applicants are notified within five business days.

Two limits are worth planning around: the awarded fees must be used within 12 months of the award date or you have to reapply and requalify, and an individual may be granted two awards maximum.

The provision that should settle any hesitation is the confidentiality clause. The Foundation states that applicant information and award documents are kept confidential, that hiring agencies have no knowledge of the award, and that personal financial information is never given to HR or fire department personnel. San Francisco's own prospective-candidate page sends H2 applicants to this program rather than running anything of its own.

Everywhere NTN operates: your future employer decides

National Testing Network's program is real but structurally different, and the difference matters. Its FAQ says some client agencies might provide a fee waiver for applicants who cannot afford the fee. You download the waiver form, attach proof of hardship, and email it to support; NTN forwards the packet to the department, which makes the final decision.

Four mechanics change how you should use it. The form must be submitted separately for each agency you are applying to. The documentation NTN names as acceptable is specific — a SNAP benefit letter, a current unemployment check stub or statement, a cash assistance benefit letter from a state agency, or a form from WorkSource or the unemployment office verifying job-related hardship — and NTN asks you to black out any personal details not safe to send by email.

Timing is the trap. The form says the process may take up to two weeks; the candidate FAQ says it may take several weeks. When a vendor's own two documents disagree, plan for the longer one, because both state plainly that submitting a waiver request does not exempt you from testing deadlines. Apply the day a posting opens, not the week it closes.

Finally, read the declaration before you sign it. It states that if the information or documentation proves untrue, any possibility of having the fee waived is voided along with any test scores, regardless of where you are in the testing process. That is a heavier penalty than most application forms carry.

Civil-service cities: the waiver is an entitlement, not a favor

Where a city runs its own competitive examination, the rules come from civil-service law instead of a vendor's discretion. New York City's Notice of Examination for Firefighter Exam No. 4044 sets a $30 application fee and states in capital letters that candidates who demonstrate they are a veteran, unemployed, receiving public assistance, or receiving Supplemental Security Income are entitled to a waiver of the application fee.

Note the veteran category. Neither the California award nor NTN's hardship program treats veteran status as qualifying on its own — this route does, and it is the one waiver of the three you claim rather than request.

Two other numbers from that notice are worth knowing before you pay: the 2% service fee for paying by card is non-refundable, and a candidate marked "Not Qualified" forfeits the application fee and receives no score. Confirm you meet the education and experience requirements before submitting, not after.

Where there is no waiver at all

Several states run the CPAT through their own fire academy on a cost-recovery basis. Connecticut's CPAT page documents its fees and its withdrawal policy in detail — you may withdraw if the request arrives at least two days before your first scheduled orientation, and processing takes up to 30 days — and says nothing about waivers or assistance.

If that is your situation, stop asking the testing center and start asking the department's recruitment officer, a local IAFF affiliate, or a regional fire academy's own scholarship fund. The waiver exists wherever somebody chose to fund one; it is not a feature of the test.

The costs no waiver covers

Every one of these programs pays a testing fee and nothing else. Travel is the big uncovered expense — the eight-hour drive above cost that candidate more in a day than the exam did.

Three recurring charges catch people who budgeted once. Adding a department to your NTN results after you have scheduled costs $15 per job. CPAT attempts are unlimited but each one requires the same payment as the initial test. And your result has a shelf life: NTN keeps CPAT results available to departments for one year, while the employer decides how long to honor them, with some requiring a pass within six months of hire. A card that lapses mid-search is another full fee — which is also why a long-running argument on the Firehouse Forums holds that the CPAT is money you will spend eventually anyway, since the card is good for a year and goes to any department that accepts it.

Scale your budget to the search, not the test. Candidates on those forums describe roughly $1,000 in fees across 30-plus tests over a serious multi-year hunt, and one poster's group of ten fire technology classmates targeted six departments in the northwest and reported nobody hired or ranked high enough to be considered after almost two years. If you are eligible for a California award, remember the cap of two: spend them on the cycles you are genuinely ready for.

What to do first

Before you pay anything, find out which body administers your test — FCTC, NTN, a city civil-service commission, or a state academy — because that single answer determines which of the three routes exists for you and how long it takes. Then apply for the waiver the day the posting opens, since only one of the three is fast and none of them pauses a deadline.

Quibank's free firefighter written exam practice test covers the four domains these written exams are built on — reading comprehension, mathematics, mechanical reasoning, and spatial orientation — in English, Spanish, and Chinese. It costs nothing whether or not your fee waiver comes through.

Try the free firefighter written test practice →