- What the Letters Spell Out
- Who Issues the Credential
- What the Designation Signals to Employers
- What the Exam Behind the Letters Looks Like
- The Four Domains Behind the Meaning
- Eligibility: The Prerequisites Built Into the Name
- A Meaning With an Expiration Date: The Program Phaseout
- Keeping the Letters: Five-Year Renewal
- Why This Is Not the Same as Other Case Management Credentials
- Turning the Meaning Into a Plan
- Frequently Asked Questions
- CMGT-BC is the designation Case Management Nurse - Board Certified, awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
- The exam has 150 questions (125 scored, 25 pretest), three hours, delivered in person through Prometric.
- Passing means a scaled score of at least 350 out of 500, not a raw 70% cutoff.
- New applications close December 31, 2026, and testing ends December 31, 2027.
What the Letters Spell Out
If you have seen "CMGT-BC" on a nurse's badge, email signature, or job posting and wondered what it stands for, the answer is straightforward. The designation expands to Case Management Nurse - Board Certified. The "CMGT" portion refers to case management, and the "BC" portion means board certified. Together, they identify a registered nurse who has passed a national certification examination in nursing case management and holds the credential through the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
That is the entire meaning of the abbreviation on this site: Nursing Case Management Certification. If you are comparing it with other case management credentials, the sections below explain how it differs. For a shorter definitional overview, see our pages on what CMGT-BC stands for and what CMGT-BC certification is.
Who Issues the Credential
The certification is offered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), which operates within the American Nurses Association and its American Nurses Enterprise. ANCC is the same body behind many well-known nursing specialty certifications, and it administers this exam through Prometric test centers.
This origin matters because it defines the credential's character. CMGT-BC is a nursing certification. It is built for registered nurses, assessed against a nursing-specific test content outline, and requires nursing-case-management practice hours as part of eligibility. It is not a generic, open-to-any-profession case management credential.
What the Designation Signals to Employers
Board certification in nursing case management tells an employer three things at a glance:
- Licensure foundation: The holder maintains active RN licensure (or an accepted international equivalent).
- Verified specialty experience: Candidates must document 2,000 nursing-case-management practice hours within three years, plus two full-time-equivalent years as an RN.
- Tested competence: The holder passed a proctored exam covering professional foundation, care coordination, quality management, and health promotion.
Case management nurses typically work where care transitions, utilization, discharge planning, and population-level outcomes intersect: hospitals, health systems, payer organizations, care management programs, and community-based settings. Our CMGT-BC jobs overview looks at where these roles appear, and the CMGT-BC salary guide and ROI analysis cover the career-value question in more depth.
What the Exam Behind the Letters Looks Like
The meaning of a certification is inseparable from how it is earned. Here is the format of the Nursing Case Management Certification examination:
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Delivery | Computer-based, closed-book, multiple choice, in person at Prometric test centers |
| Total questions | 150 (125 scored, 25 pretest) |
| Time allowed | Three hours |
| Passing standard | Scaled score of at least 350 on a 500-point scale (Modified Angoff standard setting) |
| Authorization window | 120 days |
| Initial fee | $395 nonmember or $295 ANA member, including a $140 nonrefundable administrative fee |
A few details are worth understanding because they shape how you prepare:
- The 25 pretest questions are unscored and indistinguishable from scored ones, so treat every item seriously.
- No personal calculators or paper/electronic resources are allowed. A dry-erase board is supplied.
- Breaks consume exam time, so plan your pacing around three continuous hours.
- You can mark questions and revisit them, and guessing carries no penalty, so never leave an item blank.
- The exam is in person only. A remotely delivered ANCC readiness test does not mean the certification exam itself can be taken remotely.
The scaled score deserves special attention. Because ANCC uses a scaled system with Modified Angoff standard setting, 350 out of 500 is not the same thing as answering a fixed percentage of questions correctly. Our passing score breakdown explains this further, and the certification cost guide covers fee mechanics.
The Four Domains Behind the Meaning
The official Test Content Outline, effective October 23, 2024 and updated September 8, 2025, divides the exam into four domains. The issuer's rounded percentages add up to 101%, and we report them exactly as published rather than adjusting them. Scored items out of 125 are allocated 27, 37, 32, and 29 respectively.
Domain 1: Professional Foundation (22%, 27 scored questions)
This domain covers the professional underpinnings of the case management nurse role: the standards, ethics, and responsibilities that frame everything else.
- Role definition and professional accountability
- Ethical and legal considerations in case management practice
- Scope of practice and professional conduct
Domain 2: Care Coordination (30%, 37 scored questions)
The largest domain by weight. If CMGT-BC means anything operationally, it means this: coordinating care across settings, providers, and transitions.
- Assessment, planning, and monitoring across the care continuum
- Transitions of care and handoffs between settings
- Collaboration with patients, families, and interdisciplinary teams
Domain 3: Quality Management (26%, 32 scored questions)
Case managers are accountable for outcomes, not just activity. This domain tests how you measure, evaluate, and improve the care you coordinate.
- Outcome measurement and performance improvement
- Resource stewardship and appropriate utilization
- Evidence-based practice applied to case management
Domain 4: Health Promotion (23%, 29 scored questions)
This domain addresses prevention, education, and supporting patients in managing their health over time.
- Patient and family education
- Wellness, prevention, and chronic condition self-management support
- Addressing barriers that affect health outcomes
For a deeper treatment of each content area, read the complete CMGT-BC exam domains guide.
Key Takeaway
Care Coordination carries the most weight at 30%, with 37 scored questions, so it deserves the largest share of your study time. But the other three domains together make up the majority of the exam, so a lopsided plan is risky.
Eligibility: The Prerequisites Built Into the Name
"Board certified" means you earned the right to sit for the exam by meeting specific criteria. The requirements for Nursing Case Management Certification are:
- Current, active RN licensure, or an accepted international equivalent
- Two full-time-equivalent years of experience as a registered nurse
- 2,000 hours of nursing-case-management practice within the past three years
- 30 hours of continuing education in the specialty within the past three years
The practice-hour requirement is the one that most often surprises candidates. It is specific to case management practice, not general nursing hours, so tracking and documenting that work matters before you apply. Our requirements guide walks through how to qualify.
A Meaning With an Expiration Date: The Program Phaseout
Here is the part of the story that makes the meaning of CMGT-BC unusual right now: the program is being retired. This is the single most time-sensitive fact for anyone considering the credential.
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Last day to submit an initial application | December 31, 2026 |
| Examination and retesting end | December 31, 2027 |
| Program becomes renewal-only | After December 31, 2027 |
| Nurses actively certified on January 1, 2028 | May continue renewing |
Retesting rules also interact with the deadline. A retake requires at least 60 calendar days after your previous attempt, renewed eligibility, and no more than three attempts in 12 months, all subject to the final testing deadline. That means a failed attempt late in the window may leave little or no room to try again. Plan your first attempt so you have a realistic buffer. The exam dates and scheduling guide covers the timeline in detail.
Keeping the Letters: Five-Year Renewal
Certification lasts five years. Because the exam is being retired, renewal is what sustains the credential for existing holders. Renewal requires:
- Active licensure and certification standing
- 75 hours of specialty continuing education, including at least 60 formally approved hours
- One additional professional-development category
The 1,000-practice-hour option is one of the additional categories, not a universal requirement. All renewal activities must occur within your designated five-year cycle and before you submit the application. Examination-based renewal will no longer be available once the exam retires. Renewal fees are $350 for nonmembers, with ANA-member pricing advertised as low as $250.
As of December 31, 2025, 1,961 certificants were active, a figure that reflects the size of this credentialed community.
Why This Is Not the Same as Other Case Management Credentials
Healthcare has multiple case management certifications, and abbreviations overlap enough to cause confusion. The practical differences come down to a few questions worth asking whenever you encounter a case management credential:
- Who issues it? For CMGT-BC, the answer is ANCC.
- Is it nurse-specific? CMGT-BC requires RN licensure.
- What is the exam format and scoring? Here: 150 questions, three hours, scaled score of 350 out of 500.
- What is the program status? Here: closing to new applicants after December 31, 2026.
Do not assume that fees, pass rates, or renewal rules from another credential apply to this one. If you are weighing options, verify the specifics with each certifying body directly. Our main CMGT-BC certification page keeps the facts focused on this exact credential.
Turning the Meaning Into a Plan
Because the application and exam windows are finite, preparation should be sequenced around the deadlines. One short, domain-based approach:
Professional Foundation and Eligibility
- Confirm your 2,000 practice hours and 30 CE hours are documented
- Review role, ethics, and scope-of-practice content (22%)
Care Coordination
- Spend the most time here: 30% of the exam, 37 scored questions
- Focus on transitions of care and interdisciplinary collaboration
Quality Management and Health Promotion
- Cover outcome measurement and utilization (26%)
- Review education, prevention, and self-management support (23%)
Timed Practice
- Simulate the three-hour, 150-question format without outside resources
- Practice marking and revisiting questions; answer every item
For the complete study approach, see the CMGT-BC study guide, the one-page cheat sheet, and our honest look at how hard the exam is. When you are ready to test your recall, our CMGT-BC practice tests mirror the multiple-choice, closed-book style of the real exam.
On difficulty and outcomes, ANCC's 2025 data showed a first-time pass rate of 66%, with 188 passes among 286 first-time candidates. That means roughly one in three first-time candidates did not pass, so preparation is worthwhile. See the pass rate analysis for context.
Frequently Asked Questions
CMGT-BC stands for Case Management Nurse - Board Certified. It is the designation awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to registered nurses who pass the Nursing Case Management Certification examination.
Yes, for now. Initial applications are accepted through December 31, 2026, and the examination and retesting end December 31, 2027. After that, the program becomes renewal-only for those who are actively certified.
You need a scaled score of at least 350 on a 500-point scale. ANCC uses Modified Angoff standard setting, so this is not a simple raw 70% cutoff. Of the 150 questions, 125 are scored and 25 are unscored pretest items.
No. The certification exam is delivered in person at Prometric test centers. A remote readiness test from ANCC does not mean the actual certification exam can be taken remotely.
If you are actively certified on January 1, 2028, you can continue renewing every five years. If your certification lapses beyond the two-year reactivation window, you cannot reactivate it by taking the retired exam.
In short, CMGT-BC means a nurse who is board certified in case management through ANCC, with a defined exam, defined prerequisites, and a program timeline that rewards candidates who act deliberately. Whether you are earning the credential for the first time or protecting one you already hold, the dates in this article are the ones that matter most.