In my state, there are 9 tests being given at 9 different locations within 100 mile radius of my zip code during the next 30 days. There are 29 in the next three months at 16 locations within 150 miles. I can determine this because most of the EMS councils in my state actually use a common website to register for the practical exams. It appears that most of the local EMS councils administer the tests about once a month. On the state website, though, there are only two exams listed in the same period, statewide - it looks like that schedule hasn't been updated since the beginning of the year. Only one of the test locations is at a community college, one is an EMS council office, one is at a church, most are held at elementary/middle/high/magnet schools (rented out by the EMS council). Not one is held at a 4 year college or university, the other community colleges in the area don't have tests listed and the only one that does has the test about once a month - i.e. more associated with the local EMS council than with classes held there. An EMS council is an organisation representing a geographic/political subdivision that is frequently centered around one or more major hospitals and the surrounding counties that feed into them; there are 11 in the state. They may have a different name in your state. In LA, they are apparently called Regional EMS Commissions.
Check with your local EMS council and those in adjacent areas. Start with the website, then try a person. Ask about their test schedule and the test schedules in surrounding areas. Check your state EMS website. Check with your local rescue squads. Ask how they find test locations in their area. Check with other EMT instructors. Attend continuing education classes for EMTs in your area and ask there.
If you are willing to divulge your current state or location, you would probably get much more meaningful responses from forum members who live in that state. However, having both states could make it harder to maintain anonymity on this site if you don't wish people in your future EMS system to be able to guess who you are online.
I would also suggest you seriously consider getting your certification in the state you are about to leave. It may cost little in time or money beyond what you already need to do. And then you will always be formerly certified in that state and potentially eligible for the lapsed reentry pathway. And I would also consider renewing the certification in that state, if it is feasible to apply your CE credits to both. It is very easy to lose your medical certifications due to an extended disability, moving, demands of other jobs, etc. I have seen it happen. And it is really bad news, and a serious possibility, to have to restart the whole certification process from square one by taking a full EMT class, which can be difficult to do with the rigid attendance requirements, tuition, related expenses, classroom hours, and loss of income when you are recuperating. Having only a single state certification and NREMT, both on the same expiration schedule, can leave you vulnerable to a certification expiration due to even a short term personal crisis at the end of the certification cycle. Extra certifications mean you have alternate pathways to reentry which have slightly different bureaucratic requirements and loopholes.
