CPNP-PC exam facts, from application to retest

Three things are checked before an application is approved (eligibility page, archived June 2026):

1. License: an active, unencumbered RN license.
2. Program: an accredited master's, DNP or post-master's program with a primary care PNP focus; a formal dual acute and primary care program also qualifies. Pharmacology, pathophysiology and physical assessment must each be a separate graduate course.
3. Clinical hours: at least 500 supervised direct-care hours in pediatric primary care. Simulation does not count toward them, which catches out programs that log lab time as clinical.

Announced for 2030: From January 1, 2030, CPNP candidates must have graduated within the previous 5 years, according to PNCB's notice of the change (archived April 2025). A graduate of 2024 who has not tested by the end of 2029 would no longer qualify. This rule is the pediatric board's; the NCC rule for women's health and neonatal NPs starts in a different year and is explained on NNP-BC eligibility.

A form holds 175 multiple-choice questions; 150 are scored. The unscored 25 are mixed in among them and cannot be told apart. Each question has four options, A to D, with one best answer; you can flag a question, come back and change an answer, and the test does not stop early the way the NCLEX can (handbook, p. 3).

Questions give the generic drug name, usually with the brand name beside it; brands are used only for products still sold, and some items name the generic alone (outline, p. 4).

After approval, a scheduling email arrives and you book a date with PSI inside a 90-day window. Remote proctoring is not offered for this exam; it is given at PSI test centers in the United States, Canada, some US territories and the UAE (handbook, p. 10).

• Rescheduling: PSI allows a change up to 48 hours before the appointment.
• Arriving late: after 15 minutes PSI will not seat you; it counts as a missed appointment and every fee is forfeited (p. 13).
• Extension: one 90-day extension for $155, asked for at least 5 business days before the window closes.
• Withdrawal: a written request at least ten business days before the window closes returns the exam fee but not the registration part (handbook, p. 13).

A pass or fail appears on screen when you submit. It is unofficial: the official result comes by email, usually within 2 to 3 weeks, with performance broken down by content area. Treat the breakdown as a map for review, since a few items per area cannot rank you reliably.

The mark itself is a scaled score of 400 on a 200–800 scale (a raw score of zero maps to 200, a perfect paper to 800). A panel sets the cut by the Angoff method. Forms are equated to one standard, so the raw count behind a 400 differs from form to form. The board adds that candidates who pass usually land more than 100 points above 400 (2022 statement, p. 4).

You can reapply once the official result has arrived. Before that application, PNCB wants one of two things, completed after the failed attempt and within the 12 months before you apply again: a review course, or 15 contact hours for each content area the score report marked as weak (retest page, archived April 2026). The retest fee is $288. After a fourth unsuccessful attempt, PNCB sets the requirements itself, so contact the board before applying again. The family NP board handles retakes its own way, on FNP-C exam facts.

PNCB reports first-time results in a yearly statistics report. In the latest one we could open, 80.69% of first-time takers passed in 2024, against 81.49% in 2023. A 2025 figure has been quoted by prep sites, but we could not open the PNCB report it would come from, so it is not shown here. For comparison, the acute care exam had a first-time rate of 69.6% (2024).

Area IV, Leadership, Ethics, and Practice Management, carries 5% of the score, roughly 8 questions. It covers evidence-based practice and quality improvement, advocacy, privacy, consent and scope of practice, and documentation, billing and telehealth. There is no separate page for it; its questions are mixed into the practice test.