WHNP-BCNational Certification Corporation (NCC) · Women’s health
WHNP-BC pass rate, 2016 to 2025
Facts read from nccwebsite.org · last checked Nov 7, 2026
In 2025, 80% of the 743 candidates tested passed, according to the board's statistics page. From 2016 to 2023 the rate stayed between 87% and 94%, then fell to 79% in 2024. The figures count every candidate tested, first attempt or not.
Practice questions
60 questions written to the WHNP-BC outline; each choice is explained once you pick.
Start the WHNP-BC practice testExam rules and dates- Questions
- 175150 scored
- Time
- 3 h
- Cut score
- No set percentage
- Exam fee
- $325
- Pass rate
- 80% (2025)
- Valid for
- 3 years
Figure 1.Test content outline drawn to scale: each run is one domain’s weight
2026 guide · checked Nov 7, 2026Results and scoring at a glance
sources [1]–[3]| Fact | Value | Source | Read on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pass rate | In 2025, 80% of the 743 candidates tested passed79% in 2024 (878 tested) and 87% in 2023 (821 tested). NCC reports all candidates tested, not only first-time ones. | NCC [1] | |
| Recent changes | The pass rate fell from 87% in 2023 to 79% in 2024 and was 80% in 2025 | NCC [1] | |
| Pass standard | Criterion-referenced ability score with no set percentage to passForms are statistically equated, and a wrong answer costs nothing extra. Score reports use words (very weak to very strong), not numbers. | WHNP-BC candidate guide, 2026 edition (NCC PDF), pp. 2–8, 18–21 [2] | |
| Questions that count | 150 scored questions | WHNP-BC candidate guide, 2026 edition (NCC PDF), pp. 2–8, 18–21 [2] | |
| Item format | Multiple choice with 3 options: one answer and two distractorsOptions appear in alphabetical order; labs show conventional units first, SI in parentheses. | WHNP-BC candidate guide, 2026 edition (NCC PDF), pp. 2–8, 18–21 [2] | |
| Result | Nothing at the test site; NCC posts pass or fail to your online account in up to 15 business daysNew exam forms can take up to 21 business days. | NCC [3] |
Nine published years, 2016 to 2025
Share of candidates tested who passed, with the number tested (statistics page):
- 2025: 80% of 743
- 2024: 79% of 878
- 2023: 87% of 821
- 2022: 89% of 754
- 2021: 93% of 724
- 2020: 94% of 635
- 2018: 92% of 610
- 2017: 90% of 614
- 2016: 89% of 542
The page has no row for 2019. These are all candidates tested that year; no separate first-time rate is published, so a figure labeled first-time for this exam did not come from the board.
Reading the 2024 drop
Before 2024 no published year was below 87%. In 2024 the rate fell eight points from the year before, the largest number of candidates in the series sat the exam, and 2025 stayed close to the new level. No reason has been published, and we will not guess one.
What a candidate can take from it: roughly one in five people tested in both 2024 and 2025 did not pass, so plan for a real exam rather than a formality, and keep the retake rule (45 days; 2 a year) in the budget (cost).
No percentage to aim for
The candidate guide describes a criterion-referenced standard. The pass line is an ability level set in advance by the board's content team, weighing how critical the content is and how the items performed before. Your count of right answers is converted to an ability level and compared with that line, and the analysis uses item response theory, the Rasch model (guide, p. 18). Forms are equated to one scale, which lets someone on a tougher form pass with fewer right answers; so no fixed count is published.
Two practical points follow. No points are deducted for an incorrect choice, so leave nothing unanswered. And the 25 unscored pretest questions are invisible, so a run of strange questions says nothing about how you are doing. The NNP-BC uses the same scoring; its own yearly results are on NNP-BC exam facts.
A 70% cut score that does not exist often wrong
NCC sets no passing percentage for this exam or the NNP-BC, so a fixed figure such as 70% does not come from the board. A practice-test score of 70% is a study signal, not a prediction.
What the score report shows
Beyond pass or fail, the report rates four reporting groups, each with a word on a five-step scale, 'very weak' at the bottom and 'very strong' at the top. Those groups merge the six outline areas (guide, pp. 18–19). After a fail, the weakest group points to the study pages to reopen first: gynecology, obstetrics, or assessment and primary care.
A few questions a day until test day
Study on a phone
After the numbers: plan, cost, practice
- WHNP-BCNCC's board certification for women's health nurse practitioners
- WHNP-BC practice testQuestions from every outline area, each with three choices
- WHNP-BC exam factsEligibility, format, results, retakes and maintenance from the 2026 guide
- WHNP-BC costOne NCC exam fee, retake and change charges, and the maintenance bill
- WHNP-BC study guideStudy hours by outline share, guideline editions and skipped topics
About passing
Is the WHNP exam hard?
It is a graduate-level board exam, and in both 2024 and 2025 about a fifth of candidates did not pass. The table and the series above have the exact figures.
Is there a number of correct answers that guarantees a pass?
No. The pass line is an ability level, and equating moves the needed raw score up or down with each form's difficulty.
Are these first-time pass rates?
No. The statistics cover everyone tested in the year, including repeat candidates.
Sources
all read Nov 7, 2026- [1]NCC: Exam statistics, 2016 to 2025 nccwebsite.org read Nov 7, 2026
- [2]WHNP-BC candidate guide, 2026 edition (NCC PDF), pp. 2–8, 18–21 nccwebsite.org read Nov 7, 2026
- [3]NCC: Women’s Health Care Nurse Practitioner exam nccwebsite.org read Nov 7, 2026