CMGT-BC Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown

The CMGT-BC Cost at a Glance

The Nursing Case Management Certification, awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) as the Case Management Nurse - Board Certified (CMGT-BC) designation, has a cost structure that is simpler than many professional credentials. There is one application fee tied to your ANA membership status, a separate preparation budget that is entirely under your control, and a renewal fee every five years. The numbers that follow come from ANCC's published fee schedule, and they are worth confirming on the issuer's certification page before you pay, since fees can be revised.

The gap between member and nonmember pricing is $100 on the initial exam and $100 on renewal. Because ANA membership carries its own annual dues, whether joining pays off depends on what else you would use membership for. Run that comparison before assuming membership is a bargain; the exam discount alone may or may not exceed the dues you would pay.

Initial Exam Fee: What the $395 and $295 Actually Cover

The fee you pay at application is a single charge that bundles an examination component with a $140 nonrefundable administrative fee. That nonrefundable portion matters in two situations: if you apply and then discover you do not meet eligibility, or if you let your authorization to test expire unused. Standard authorization lasts 120 days, so scheduling your appointment at Prometric early in that window protects your investment.

What the Fee Does Not Cover

The application fee pays for the credential process and exam seat. It does not include study materials, practice questions, travel to a Prometric test center, or time off work. It also does not cover the specialty CE hours you must have completed before applying. Candidates who budget only for the $295 or $395 figure are often surprised by the surrounding costs described below.

The Exam You Are Paying For

Knowing the format helps you judge how much preparation spending is appropriate. The exam is closed-book and computer-based, delivered in person at Prometric test centers (the certification exam is not remotely proctored). It contains 150 questions: 125 scored and 25 pretest items that do not count toward your result. You have three hours. To pass, you need a scaled score of at least 350 on a 500-point scale, set through a Modified Angoff process rather than a flat raw percentage. For a deeper look at how scoring works, see our breakdown of the CMGT-BC passing score.

What a Retake Really Costs

A failed attempt is the most expensive thing that can happen to your budget, because a retake requires a fresh application and a fresh fee. The retest rules add a time cost as well: you must wait at least 60 calendar days after your previous attempt, your eligibility must still be valid when you reapply, and you are limited to three attempts within 12 months. All of this is subject to the program's final testing deadline.

The 2025 first-time pass rate was 66%, based on 188 passes among 286 first-time candidates. That means roughly one in three first-time candidates did not pass. Treat that as a reason to invest sensibly in preparation rather than as cause for alarm; our CMGT-BC pass rate analysis explains what the data does and does not tell you.

Preparation Spending: Where Money Helps Most

There is no mandatory purchase beyond the exam fee, so preparation spending is a judgment call. The most useful way to allocate it is by exam weight. The four domains and their official weights are:

Note that the issuer's rounded percentages sum to 101%, a quirk of rounding in the published outline rather than an error on your part. The scored-item allocations of 27, 37, 32 and 29 add up to the 125 scored questions. Our complete guide to the four CMGT-BC domains covers each area in detail.

Free Versus Paid Resources

Free resources worth using include the official test content outline, ANCC's published exam page, and your own practice experience. Paid spending is best directed toward realistic practice questions that mimic the scenario-driven, multiple-choice style, since you cannot bring personal calculators or reference materials into the exam and must rely on recall and clinical reasoning. A CMGT-BC practice test that mirrors the 150-question format is the single most transferable purchase because it also trains pacing: three hours for 150 questions leaves about 72 seconds per item, and breaks consume exam time.

For a structured plan that pairs spending with a schedule, see the CMGT-BC study guide.

Indirect Costs Candidates Overlook

Continuing Education Before You Apply

Eligibility requires 30 hours of specialty continuing education completed within three years. If you are already working in case management and attending employer-provided education, you may have these hours banked at little or no cost. If not, accredited CE can range from free employer sessions to paid courses, so check what you already have before buying more.

Test Center Logistics

Because the exam is taken in person at a Prometric center, factor in travel, parking and possibly a day of unpaid leave. Since breaks consume examination time, plan your schedule so you are rested and not rushing from a shift. A dry-erase board is supplied, so you do not need to bring writing materials, and personal calculators and paper or electronic resources are prohibited.

Time Off and Lost Wages

For many nurses, the largest hidden cost is time. Three hours of testing plus travel and arrival buffer can consume most of a day. Employers vary on whether they grant paid certification leave, which is worth asking about before you schedule.

Five-Year Renewal Costs

Once certified, your credential lasts five years. Renewal is where the long-term cost sits, and it has two components: the fee and the work required to qualify.

The renewal fee is $350 for nonmembers, with ANA-member pricing advertised as low as $250. Beyond the fee, renewal requires an active license and certification standing, 75 specialty CE hours (at least 60 of which must be formally approved), plus one additional professional-development category. The 1,000-practice-hour option is one such additional category rather than a universal requirement. All renewal activities must fall within your designated five-year cycle and be completed before you submit your application.

Spread across five years, 75 CE hours is modest for a practicing case manager, and much of it can be earned through work-related education you would pursue anyway. The key is tracking hours as you go rather than scrambling near the deadline.

Budgeting Around the Program Phaseout

This is the most important cost-timing issue specific to the CMGT-BC. ANCC has announced a phaseout of the Nursing Case Management program. Initial applications are accepted through December 31, 2026. The examination and retesting end December 31, 2027, after which the program becomes renewal-only. Nurses who are actively certified on January 1, 2028 may continue renewing.

There is also a reactivation consideration. After the exam is retired, a certification that lapses beyond the two-year reactivation window cannot be revived by taking the retired exam. Examination-based renewal also becomes unavailable once the exam retires, so future renewals will rely on the professional-development pathway. That makes meticulous CE tracking an ongoing cost-protection habit. To plan your timing, see our CMGT-BC exam dates and deadlines guide.

Building Your Total Budget

Here is a practical framework for estimating what you will personally spend. Fill in the variable items with your own figures:

1. Fixed fee: $395 (nonmember) or $295 (ANA member) for the initial exam application.
2. Optional membership: ANA dues, if you are joining specifically to get the lower exam and renewal rates.
3. Preparation: practice questions and any review materials you choose to buy.
4. Eligibility CE: any of the 30 specialty hours you still need to complete.
5. Logistics: travel to the Prometric center and any unpaid time off.
6. Contingency: a second application fee, in case a retake is needed.
7. Long-term: $350 (or as low as $250 for members) every five years, plus CE costs.

Subtract any employer reimbursement from the total. Many candidates find that employer support covers a large share, which changes the personal return calculation considerably.

Weighing Cost Against Career Value

Whether the investment makes sense depends on your career plan. Board certification in case management signals specialized competence to employers such as hospitals, health systems, payers, home health and care coordination organizations, which commonly hire nurses into case management, utilization management and transitions-of-care roles. Certified nurses may also qualify for pay differentials or advancement at employers that recognize credentials. Because compensation varies widely by region, employer and role, we avoid quoting a single salary figure here; instead, review our CMGT-BC salary guide and our ROI analysis of the CMGT-BC certification to weigh the return against your costs.

Given the phaseout, there is also a timing dimension to value. Candidates who certify before the cutoff and keep their credential active can continue renewing after the exam retires, which gives the certification a defined lifespan for those who earn it in time. If you are exploring openings that value this credential, our CMGT-BC jobs overview outlines where certified nurses tend to work. For a full orientation to the credential itself, start with what CMGT-BC certification is.

When you are ready to move from budgeting to preparing, a timed CMGT-BC practice exam can show you where your knowledge stands across the four domains before you spend your application fee.

Frequently Asked Questions