Upcoming Guide Written Examinations

The written Licensed Battlefield Guide exams are normally conducted the first Saturday in December when the guide candidates from the prior exam have been depleted.  Over the past ten to twelve years the exam has been offered approximately every other year however there have been as many as six years between exams in the modern era. (Historically the longest period between written exams and the addition of new guides was 22 years- 1929 to 1952!!!!  During that period the guide force fell to an all time low of less than fifty individuals licensed.) One guide from that 1952 test was still active until December 14, 2012. 

According to precedent  the top scorers from this very competitive test will be offered the opportunity to compete in the oral exam phase. As a result of the 2008 written exam, 135 individuals took the test with 19 moving on.  Of those 19 individuals, nine completed the process and were licensed, ten failed the oral exam process or withdrew before completing it.   The December of 2010 exam saw 165 candidates take the test with the top 20 scores moving to the oral exam phase.  One could not make the required two day training session and was dropped,  The remaining 19 were tested with approximately half receiving their guide license. The 2012 written exam had 153 candidates register with twenty qualifying to move on.The minimum qualifying score was approximately 90%.

The next examination is not scheduled and is unlikely to occur before 2015 and perhaps later.  Please contact Guide Supervisory Ranger Clyde Bell for any additional information or to have your name placed on the waiting list for this or future upcoming exams.  Mr. Bell can be reached at the National Park Service Visitor Center, 1195 Baltimore Pike, Suite 100,
Gettysburg, PA 17325 or by phoning (717) 339-3171.

If and when an exam is announced the Association of Licensed Battlefield Guides, Inc. will offer a series of test-prep classes starting in mid-August of the year of the exam.  

Picture used with permission of Robert Housch, LBG, Gettysburg Daily.com