CHPNA Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling

2026 Testing Windows and Deadlines

The Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center (HPCC) does not offer year-round, on-demand testing for the CHPNA credential. Instead, candidates apply into one of four scheduled testing windows per year, and each window has its own hard application deadline. For 2026, plan around these four windows:

Miss the deadline and you are pushed to the next quarterly window - there is no late-application exception built into the process. If you're still confirming whether you meet the practice-hour thresholds, review CHPNA Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify well before the deadline you're targeting, since gathering supervisor documentation can take longer than expected.

How PSI Scheduling Actually Works

PSI is the third-party test administrator responsible for actually delivering the CHPNA exam once your application is approved. You have two delivery options:

• In-person at a PSI test center - traditional proctored testing room with check-in, ID verification, and secure testing stations.
• Live remote proctoring - you test from a private location using your own computer, monitored in real time by a remote proctor via webcam.

Once your eligibility is confirmed inside the relevant testing window, you'll receive instructions to schedule a specific date and time slot with PSI. Slots inside a single quarterly window fill up, especially near the middle of the window when most candidates try to schedule - so approved candidates should book their seat as soon as scheduling opens rather than waiting until the final days of the window.

Application Timeline: From Submission to Test Day

Because CHPNA testing is windowed rather than continuous, your personal timeline needs to work backward from the deadline, not forward from "whenever I feel ready." A realistic sequence looks like this:

1. 6-8 weeks before the deadline: Confirm your hospice/palliative nursing-assistant hours meet the 500-hour (12-month) or 1,000-hour (24-month) threshold under RN supervision.
2. 4 weeks before the deadline: Submit your online application with supporting documentation.
3. Deadline date: Application window closes (Feb 15, May 15, Aug 15, or Nov 15).
4. Following month: Testing window opens; schedule your PSI appointment as soon as you're eligible.
5. Final 2-3 weeks before your appointment: Concentrated review of all four content domains and practice questions.

For a domain-by-domain breakdown of what to review during that final study stretch, see CHPNA Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt.

Fees, reTEST Assured, and What Happens If You Fail

Initial examination fees depend on HPNA membership status:

• $190 for HPNA members
• $280 for nonmembers

If you don't pass on your first attempt, the reTEST Assured program allows one discounted retake for $135, provided you take it within one of the next three testing windows following the unsuccessful attempt. That means if you fail in the March window, you have the June, September, or December windows to use your discounted retest - but the discount doesn't carry forward indefinitely.

For a full breakdown of every fee scenario, membership discounts, and retake math, see CHPNA Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown. If you want a clearer sense of how likely a first-time pass is and what separates first-attempt passers from retake candidates, CHPNA Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows breaks down the official numbers.

Exam Day Format: What the 110 Questions Look Like

Understanding the exam's structure matters just as much as understanding the deadlines, because it shapes how you pace your final review. The CHPNA exam contains:

• 110 total multiple-choice questions - 100 scored, 10 unscored (you won't know which are which)
• 2 hours 30 minutes total testing time
• Four answer choices per question, with one best answer
• No reference materials permitted during the exam
• Passing standard: a scaled score of 500 on a 200-800 scale

The questions are drawn from four content domains reflecting the 2024 job analysis:

Note that the handbook's roughly 20% recall / 80% application split describes cognitive level, not how heavily each domain is weighted on the test - most questions ask you to apply knowledge to a scenario rather than simply recall a fact. For a deeper walkthrough of each domain with sample question styles, see CHPNA Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 4 Content Areas. If you want the exact score mechanics explained further, CHPNA Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass covers how the scaled score is calculated.

Picking the Right Window for Your Domain Prep

Some candidates choose their testing window strategically, based on how much runway they have to prepare rather than simply picking the nearest date. A generic study calendar isn't useful here - what matters is mapping your remaining weeks to CHPNA's specific domains.

If your schedule only gives you four weeks before an application deadline, compress this into a two-week version rather than skipping domains - every domain appears on the actual exam. For candidates weighing whether the intensity of this prep is proportional to the payoff, How Hard Is the CHPNA Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 and Is the CHPNA Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 are worth reading alongside this timeline.

Eligibility Hours and Timing Your Application

Because eligibility is hour-based rather than course-based, timing your application around your actual practice hours matters more than timing it around your confidence level. You qualify by documenting either:

• 500 hours of hospice and palliative nursing-assistant practice within the preceding 12 months, or
• 1,000 hours within the preceding 24 months

In both cases, that practice must occur under registered-nurse supervision in the United States. If you're close to a threshold but not quite there by an upcoming deadline, it's often better to apply for the next window rather than rush documentation that might get flagged as incomplete. Employers who typically hire CHPNA-certified staff - hospice agencies, palliative care teams within hospitals, and home health organizations - can usually help verify supervised hours quickly if you ask early. See CHPNA Jobs for more on where this credential is used in practice.

Once certified, remember that the credential lasts four years. Renewal requires either qualifying practice hours plus successful re-examination, or completion of the Hospice and Palliative Accrual for Recertification (HPAR) pathway with its professional-development requirements. One important detail: if you attempt a renewal exam and fail it, you must continue through the examination route rather than switching over to HPAR afterward - so weigh that choice carefully before your four-year certification expires.

For readers still getting oriented on what this credential actually involves before diving into scheduling logistics, background pieces like What Is CHPNA?, CHPNA Meaning, and What Is CHPNA Certification? cover the fundamentals. And once your test date is locked in, running through timed practice questions on our CHPNA practice test platform is one of the most direct ways to simulate the 2-hour-30-minute format before walking into a PSI center or logging into remote proctoring. You can also work through additional condensed review material and a quick-reference CHPNA Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts in the days right before your appointment on the main practice site.

Frequently Asked Questions