CHPNA Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows

2025 CHPNA Pass Rate Results

If you're weighing whether to pursue the Certified Hospice and Palliative Nursing Assistant credential, the most concrete question you can ask is simple: how many candidates actually pass? The Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center (HPCC), which awards the CHPNA credential, published official 2025 results showing a 79.5% pass rate for first-time candidates (232 of 292 test-takers) and an 82.5% overall pass rate (316 of 383 test-takers, which includes repeat attempts).

Those two numbers together tell a more useful story than either one alone. A majority of candidates pass on their first try, and the overall rate climbs slightly higher once retakes are folded in - meaning the exam is passable with focused preparation, but it isn't a formality. For a deeper look at how these numbers compare to candidate expectations, see our complete difficulty guide.

What "Passing" Actually Means

The CHPNA exam doesn't use a simple "70% correct" cutoff. Instead, candidates must reach a scaled score of 500 on a 200-800 scale. Scaled scoring adjusts for slight variations in question difficulty across different exam forms, so the number of raw questions you need correct can shift slightly from one test form to another even though the passing standard stays fixed at 500.

This distinction matters when you're interpreting pass-rate data: a 79.5% first-time pass rate doesn't mean the "average" test-taker got 79.5% of questions right. It means that percentage of candidates cleared the 500-point threshold. For a full breakdown of how scoring works and what it implies for your study targets, read CHPNA Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.

Exam Format Behind the Numbers

Pass rates are only meaningful in context, and the CHPNA exam's structure explains a lot about why preparation quality - not just study time - drives outcomes. The exam consists of:

• 110 multiple-choice questions total
• 100 scored questions and 10 unscored (pretest) questions, indistinguishable from each other during the test
• 2 hours 30 minutes to complete the full exam
• Each question offers four choices with one best answer
• No reference materials permitted during testing

Because unscored questions are mixed in without identification, every question deserves full attention - you can't skip items you assume are "just pretest." The exam is delivered by PSI, either at a physical test center or through live remote proctoring, giving candidates some flexibility in how they sit for it.

Domains, Difficulty, and Where Candidates Lose Points

The 2026 candidate handbook is built on the 2024 job analysis and organizes exam content into four domains. Understanding these domains is far more useful for interpreting pass-rate data than any generic study advice, because weak performance tends to cluster around specific content rather than being spread evenly across the test.

HPCC also notes that the exam follows an approximately 20% recall and 80% application cognitive distribution - this describes how questions are written (testing judgment and application, not just memorized facts), not how the four domains are weighted against each other. For a question-by-question breakdown of each domain's content, see CHPNA Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 4 Content Areas.

The Gap Between First-Time and Overall Pass Rates

The three-point spread between the 79.5% first-time rate and the 82.5% overall rate is worth pausing on. It suggests that candidates who don't pass on the first attempt and choose to retest do improve their odds - the overall rate is higher than the first-time rate, not lower. That's an encouraging signal for anyone who doesn't clear the 500 threshold initially: a second attempt, prepared with knowledge of exactly which domain areas were weak, has a real chance of success.

It also reinforces why generic "cram the night before" strategies underperform compared to structured review tied to the four domains above. Candidates who treat a first attempt as a diagnostic - identifying which of Patient Care, Patient Status and Environment, Psychosocial/Spiritual Care, or Professional Skills needs the most work - tend to close that gap more efficiently on a retake.

If You Don't Pass: The reTEST Assured Program

HPCC's reTEST Assured program gives candidates who don't pass a discounted path back to the exam: one retake at $135, available within one of the next three testing windows following the unsuccessful attempt. This is meaningfully lower than the standard initial fee and gives candidates a defined window to regroup rather than an open-ended timeline.

Given CHPNA testing runs on a fixed quarterly schedule, knowing your retake window in advance helps you plan a realistic study runway rather than rushing back into the next available date unprepared. See CHPNA Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling for the full calendar.

Eligibility Hours and Why They Matter to the Data

Pass rates don't exist in a vacuum - they reflect who is eligible to sit for the exam in the first place. To qualify, candidates need 500 hours of hospice and palliative nursing-assistant practice in the preceding 12 months, or 1,000 hours in the preceding 24 months, performed under registered-nurse supervision in the United States. This experience requirement means most test-takers arrive with substantial hands-on exposure to the four domains before they ever open a study guide, which likely contributes to a majority-passing outcome on the first attempt.

If you're still confirming whether your current role and hours qualify, review CHPNA Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify before scheduling anything.

Fees, Testing Windows, and Deadlines

Registration mechanics shape how candidates plan their study timeline, which in turn affects readiness on test day. Initial examination fees are $190 for HPNA members and $280 for nonmembers. The exam is offered in four windows each year - March, June, September, and December - with online application deadlines of February 15, May 15, August 15, and November 15 respectively.

Certification lasts four years, and renewal requires ongoing qualifying practice plus either successful re-examination or completion of the Hospice and Palliative Accrual for Recertification (HPAR) program, including its professional-development requirements. One nuance worth flagging: a candidate who fails a renewal examination must continue through the examination route rather than switch over to HPAR. For the full cost picture including these fees, see CHPNA Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown.

Preparing Domain-by-Domain, Not Generically

Rather than a generic multi-week study calendar, the most efficient approach for CHPNA candidates is to sequence review around the four domains in order of how confidently you already perform each one in practice.

Running full-length, timed practice exams close to your test date is especially valuable given the 2-hour-30-minute limit and the mix of scored and unscored items. Our practice test platform is built specifically around these four CHPNA domains, letting you gauge readiness under realistic conditions before you commit to a testing window. For a structured week-by-week plan, pair this with the CHPNA Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt.

It's also worth understanding where this credential fits into your broader career plans before investing in exam fees and study time. If you're deciding whether certification is the right move, Is the CHPNA Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 and CHPNA Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis cover the practical upside, while CHPNA Jobs outlines who typically hires candidates holding this credential. If you're brand new to the credential itself, start with What Is CHPNA? for the basics before diving into pass-rate specifics.

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