Orientation and Mobility Specialist: COMS, Training, Salary

An orientation and mobility (O&M) specialist teaches people who are blind or have low vision to travel safely and on their own, from a child's first steps in a classroom to a bus route across a city. In the US, the main credential is the Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS), awarded by ACVREP after university training, supervised practice and an exam.

This guide uses pages read on October 30, 2026: ACVREP (the certifying body), two universities (Pittsburgh and Nebraska-Lincoln), the Texas Education Agency, Pennsylvania's Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, federal special education rules and the federal O*NET database. Where no official number exists, it says so.

Key points

• The credential is the COMS. ACVREP requires a degree or graduate coursework in O&M, 350 hours of supervised practice and an exam. A COMS recertifies every five years (ACVREP).
• Two doors lead to the exam. One is a bachelor's degree with an emphasis in O&M. The other is graduate-level O&M coursework that covers 13 knowledge areas (ACVREP eligibility rules).
• You can train as a TVI and an O&M specialist at once. The University of Pittsburgh's dual certificates take 46 credits (Pitt). Nebraska's dual program lists 45 (UNL).
• There is no separate national pay series for O&M specialists. O*NET lists the job but takes its wages from occupational therapists (O*NET). Pennsylvania publishes a starting pay grade of its own.
• Braille belongs to the TVI half. Pitt and Nebraska list braille courses for their TVI and dual programs. Nebraska's O&M-only course list has none (UNL).

Orientation and mobility specialists at a glance

Sources: ACVREP COMS, ACVREP handbook, ACVREP scope of practice, Pennsylvania OVR, Pennsylvania pay schedule.

What does an orientation and mobility specialist do?

ACVREP's scope of practice says a COMS teaches "skills for independent travel across the lifespan" to people who have low vision or blindness (ACVREP). The work starts with an assessment: interviews, a records review, observation and a check of how the person uses any vision. The specialist then builds a plan with the person and their family.

The scope of practice lists these areas:

• Concepts. Body image, space, direction and time. This is the base for everything else, and the main focus with young children.
• The senses. Auditory and tactile skills, and making the most of any remaining vision.
• Tools. Human guide technique, long canes, identification canes and adapted mobility devices. How the cane itself works is in our white cane guide.
• Street crossings. Different intersection types, traffic lights, roundabouts and accessible pedestrian signals.
• Public transportation. Buses, rail, paratransit and ride-sharing, plus route planning.
• Technology. Accessible GPS and mapping apps, tactile maps and electronic travel aids.
• Self-advocacy. Asking for help or declining it, and giving and receiving directions.
• Guide dogs. Getting ready for a guide dog and supporting the dog and handler as a team. Guide dog schools set their own rules, covered in our guide dog guide.

Lessons take place where the person will actually travel, and they move from simpler to more complex places while the specialist's support gradually fades (ACVREP). Some O&M specialists also work on the environment itself, talking with traffic engineers and city planners about accessible design.

O&M is the second of nine areas in the expanded core curriculum, the skills blind students need beyond the regular school subjects. Echolocation is a separate topic, covered in our echolocation guide.

Who does an O&M specialist work with?

ACVREP's scope of practice says clients range from children to older adults, and that a COMS working with children focuses more on motor and concept development, while one working with older adults is "more mindful of fall prevention." Many clients also have other disabilities, including deafblindness (ACVREP; see also deafblind communication).

Where the work happens depends on the age:

• Children. In Texas, a COMS serves students from birth through high school in the home, school and community, and gives "consultative services to families, teachers, medical personnel, and government agencies" (TEA). Pittsburgh lists early intervention programs for families of young children and itinerant COMS who travel between schools (Pitt).
• Adults. Pittsburgh also lists rehabilitation agencies for adults who are blind, programs for older blind adults and the Veterans Administration. Pennsylvania's Office of Vocational Rehabilitation hires O&M specialists through six district offices of its Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services (Pennsylvania OVR).
• Anywhere in between. A COMS can work in public schools, hospitals, schools for the blind and agencies, or as a private contractor (ACVREP).

If you are a parent, you are part of the plan: the scope of practice says programs are developed with the client, the family and their support network. A teacher of the visually impaired (TVI) often works alongside the O&M specialist, a role explained in the TVI guide. How children, adults and veterans get O&M services is covered in the white cane guide.

The COMS certification, step by step

ACVREP describes a COMS as a highly trained expert, and adds: "A COMS may be blind, partially sighted or sighted" (ACVREP). More on that in our guide to jobs for blind people.

The steps on ACVREP's page are: create an account, apply for eligibility, schedule the exam, and apply for certification once you pass.

Eligibility. ACVREP's eligibility rules list two categories (ACVREP):

• Category 1: a bachelor's degree from an accredited college with an emphasis in O&M, plus 350 hours of "discipline specific, supervised practice."
• Category 2, Path A: graduate-level O&M courses that meet 13 knowledge areas, plus the same 350 hours.
• Category 2, Path B: a program approved by a national government body that meets the same 13 areas.

A COMS must supervise the 350 hours, on site or off site. The 13 areas include understanding relevant medical information, planning and carrying out O&M assessments, teaching orientation and mobility skills, teaching clients who have additional disabilities, and analyzing and changing environments.

The exam. It has 150 multiple-choice and multiple-select questions. ACVREP's handbook says it tests "entry-level O&M knowledge" and covers preschool, school-age and adult clients (ACVREP handbook).

The fees. ACVREP's fee page lists $140 for the eligibility application, $490 for the exam (up to two attempts) and $125 for the certification, valid for five years. A practice exam is $65 (ACVREP fees). ACVREP also lists an exam fee assistance program.

Recertification. Every five years, a COMS needs 100 points, at least 25 of them from approved continuing education (ACVREP handbook).

There is a second US credential, the NOMC, explained in our white cane guide. Employers set their own rules, too. Pennsylvania's OVR accepts any one of three: the state's own O&M intern program, a degree or certificate from an approved university program with a practicum, or a valid COMS (Pennsylvania OVR).

How to train as an O&M specialist

• Texas. The Texas Education Agency lists a bachelor's degree (Stephen F. Austin State University only), a master's degree (SFASU and Texas Tech) or a graduate certificate (both), plus a practicum, an internship and the ACVREP exam. Both universities offer a competitive service grant (TEA).
• Nebraska. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln offers an O&M master's degree or an added endorsement. Both are 36 credits (it may vary with earlier coursework) and take two to three years. The courses train specialists to work with clients "from early childhood through the aging population." Fall and spring classes are online; summer classes are hybrid, with in-person requirements that vary by program (UNL).
• Pittsburgh. Pitt's O&M certificate is part of its dual program (next section). Its O&M side includes a 350-hour internship, about 12 to 14 weeks, and a seven-week in-person techniques course held in one summer (Pitt).

Nebraska's list of equipment includes "slate/stylus, braille paper, braillewriter, abacus, and cane."

ACVREP points to a list of approved university programs on the AER website, aerbvi.org (the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired), and Pitt says AER accredits its programs. Before you enroll, check that a program is approved and meets ACVREP's eligibility rules. We did not read AER's own list, so this guide ranks no programs.

Dual TVI and O&M programs

• Pittsburgh. Two graduate certificates, 46 credits in all, with an optional master's of education for six more credits. The program is part time (one or two classes per semester) and takes 2½ to 4 years. Students do a 350-hour O&M internship and a full semester of student teaching in Pennsylvania. The program leads to Pennsylvania's TVI certification and to the ACVREP COMS (Pitt).
• Nebraska-Lincoln. A dual master's degree or endorsement of 45 credits (it may vary) that takes three to four years. It combines the O&M courses with TVI courses and student teaching (UNL).

The two credentials come from different places: a state issues the TVI certification, and ACVREP issues the COMS. A dual program prepares you for both. The TVI half is where braille comes in.

Why TVI and dual programs include braille

Three reasons show up in the sources.

1. The law makes braille the starting point for a blind child. Federal rules say the IEP team of a blind or visually impaired child must "provide for instruction in Braille and the use of Braille" unless it decides, after an evaluation, that braille is not appropriate (34 CFR 300.324).

2. Teaching it is part of the TVI job. The Texas Education Agency's description of a TVI lists "Teach reading and writing braille" among its duties (TEA). Our TVI guide covers the full role, and teaching braille to a blind child shows what that teaching looks like.

3. The programs build it in. Pitt's dual curriculum includes Braille (3 credits) and Nemeth Code/Abacus (3 credits) (Pitt). Nebraska lists Braille I and Braille II among the core courses of its TVI and dual programs (UNL). Nemeth Code is the braille code for math and science.

An O&M-only path is different. Nebraska's O&M core course list has no braille course. ACVREP's eligibility rules for the COMS do not mention braille. The handbook does list braille among the literacy formats, with large print, audio and tactile graphics, that a COMS manages when handling O&M information (ACVREP handbook). Requirements vary by university and state, so check your program. If you are a sighted adult weighing a move into this field, our guide to learning braille as a sighted person explains where to start.

How much does an O&M specialist make?

There is no national figure for O&M specialists on their own that we could find in an official source.

The federal O*NET database does list the job. It groups O&M specialists with low vision therapists and vision rehabilitation therapists (code 29-1122.01). Its wage page says: "Wage data collected from Occupational Therapists." That page shows a 2025 median of $100,330 a year, which is the pay of a different job with a different training path. It is not an O&M wage (O*NET).

What an employer publishes is more useful. Pennsylvania's Office of Vocational Rehabilitation says the starting salary for its O&M positions statewide is pay group ST07, level 01, for a 37.5-hour week (Pennsylvania OVR). The state's standard pay schedule, effective July 1, 2026, shows that cell as $30.95 an hour, $2,321.25 every two weeks and about $60,538 a year. The same row rises to about $92,010 at level 20 (Pennsylvania pay schedule). The schedule calls the annual figure approximate: biweekly pay times 26.08.

That is one state agency's starting pay, not an average. Pay in schools, private practice and other states will differ, so ask the employer. Teachers' pay is in our TVI guide, which covers what the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes for special education teachers.

Where Braillito fits

Braillito, our app, teaches braille. It teaches the braille cells in lessons with exercises you play, with lives, levels and a daily streak: 59 lessons in 8 worlds in English. It also has a translator, a dictionary and a cell builder. The English lessons are uncontracted braille (grade 1); they don't teach contracted braille or transcription, and Braillito isn't a braille transcriber.

ACVREP's COMS rules don't mention braille, but TVI and dual programs include braille courses. Braillito's grade 1 lessons can be a first step toward the cells. They are not a substitute for the braille courses those programs require. Without paying, the braille translator works in any browser.

Braillito is a subscription with no free version; depending on the plan, it starts with a free trial or a discounted first period, if it's your first subscription (is Braillito free?). Get Braillito.

Frequently asked questions

What does an orientation and mobility specialist do?

An O&M specialist teaches people who are blind or have low vision to travel independently. That includes cane skills, crossing streets, using public transit and planning routes. They work with children, adults and older adults (ACVREP scope of practice).

What is a COMS?

COMS stands for Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist, a credential from ACVREP. It requires a degree or graduate coursework in O&M, 350 hours of supervised practice and a 150-question exam. It is renewed every five years (ACVREP).

Do you need a degree to become an O&M specialist?

For the COMS, yes: either a bachelor's degree with an emphasis in O&M, or graduate-level O&M coursework (ACVREP eligibility rules). Some employers set other minimums.

Can a blind person become an O&M specialist?

Yes. ACVREP says a COMS may be blind, partially sighted or sighted (ACVREP).

Do O&M specialists need to know braille?

Not for the COMS alone. ACVREP's eligibility rules don't mention braille, and Nebraska's O&M-only course list has no braille course. TVI programs and dual TVI and O&M programs do include braille (UNL, Pitt). Check your own program.

How much does an orientation and mobility specialist make?

We found no separate national wage series for O&M specialists in an official source. Pennsylvania's Office of Vocational Rehabilitation starts its O&M specialists at about $60,538 a year (pay group ST07, level 01, 2026 schedule), which is one employer's starting pay, not an average (Pennsylvania pay schedule).