- The Number: 350 on a 500-Point Scale
- Why It Is Not a 70% Cutoff
- How the 150 Questions Break Down
- Where the Scored Questions Come From
- What the 2025 Pass Data Says
- Turning the Cut Score into a Study Plan
- Test-Day Rules That Affect Your Score
- If You Fall Short: Retesting Rules
- The Exam Retirement Clock
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Passing requires a scaled score of at least 350 on a 500-point scale, not a raw 70% cutoff.
- The exam has 150 questions: 125 scored and 25 pretest, with three hours allowed.
- Care Coordination carries the most weight at 30%, which equals 37 scored questions.
- The 2025 first-time pass rate was 66%: 188 passes among 286 first-time candidates.
The Number: 350 on a 500-Point Scale
The Case Management Nurse - Board Certified (CMGT-BC) credential is awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). To earn it, you need a scaled score of at least 350, on a scale with a maximum of 500. That is the whole passing standard: one number, applied to every candidate.
The score you see on your report is not a count of correct answers. It is a scaled score, which means your performance on a particular set of questions is converted onto a common scale so that results are comparable across different versions of the exam. A candidate who sees a harder set of items and a candidate who sees an easier set are both measured against the same 350 standard.
If you are still deciding whether to sit for this exam at all, our guide on how hard the CMGT-BC exam is puts the score into practical context, and the CMGT-BC requirements article walks through who is eligible to attempt it.
Why It Is Not a 70% Cutoff
A common mistake is to assume that 350 out of 500 means 70%, and therefore that you can miss 30% of the questions. That math does not hold, for two reasons.
- The scale is not a percentage. Scaled scores are produced by a statistical conversion, so 350 does not correspond to a fixed number of right answers.
- The standard is set by expert judgment. ANCC uses a Modified Angoff standard-setting method, in which subject-matter experts judge how a minimally qualified candidate would perform on each item. That judgment, not a round-number percentage, defines what 350 represents.
How the 150 Questions Break Down
The CMGT-BC is a closed-book, computer-based, multiple-choice exam delivered by Prometric at test centers. You receive 150 questions in three hours. Of those, 125 are scored and 25 are pretest items that are being evaluated for future exams and do not count toward your result.
You will not be told which questions are pretest, so every item deserves your full effort. The practical consequence is that the 350 standard is built on the 125 scored items only. Treat all 150 as if they count.
| Exam Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total questions | 150 |
| Scored questions | 125 |
| Pretest (unscored) questions | 25 |
| Time allowed | Three hours |
| Format | Closed-book, computer-based, multiple-choice |
| Delivery | Prometric test center (in person) |
| Passing standard | Scaled score of 350 or higher (maximum 500) |
Three hours for 150 questions works out to roughly 72 seconds per item if you use every minute. Because breaks consume exam time, pacing is part of the passing strategy, not an afterthought.
Where the Scored Questions Come From
The exam content follows the official Test Content Outline, effective October 23, 2024 and updated September 8, 2025. It has four domains. The issuer's rounded percentages add up to 101%, and the scored-item allocations out of 125 are listed alongside them below.
| Domain | Weight | Scored Items (of 125) |
|---|---|---|
| Domain 1: Professional Foundation | 22% | 27 |
| Domain 2: Care Coordination | 30% | 37 |
| Domain 3: Quality Management | 26% | 32 |
| Domain 4: Health Promotion | 23% | 29 |
The item counts total 125, matching the scored portion of the exam. The percentages are the issuer's rounded figures, so do not expect them to sum to exactly 100.
Domain 2: Care Coordination (30%, 37 scored items)
This is the single largest slice of your score. Since passing is determined by overall performance across all scored items, a strong showing here carries more weight than any other domain.
- Expect scenario-based questions about coordinating care across settings and transitions
- Prepare to apply case-management process steps to realistic patient situations
- Weakness here is difficult to offset elsewhere
For a detailed breakdown of what each content area covers, see our complete guide to the four CMGT-BC exam domains.
What the 2025 Pass Data Says
ANCC's 2025 certification data reports a first-time pass rate of 66% for this exam, reflecting 188 passes among 286 first-time candidates. As of December 31, 2025, there were 1,961 active certificants.
Read those numbers carefully. A 66% first-time pass rate means roughly two of every three first-time candidates cleared 350, and about one in three did not. That is a meaningful failure rate for a credential taken by experienced nurses who have already met practice-hour requirements. The sample is also modest, so treat the percentage as a general signal rather than a precise prediction of your own odds. We dig further into this in CMGT-BC Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows.
Turning the Cut Score into a Study Plan
Because you cannot know your raw-score margin, the smartest use of the 350 standard is to build broad competence weighted by the domain allocations. Here is one way to align your preparation with where the scored questions actually sit.
Domain 2: Care Coordination
- Start with the heaviest domain (37 scored items)
- Work scenario questions on transitions and coordination across settings
- Note every miss and categorize the underlying concept
Domain 3: Quality Management
- Cover the 32 scored items tied to quality and outcomes
- Practice applying measures and improvement concepts to case examples
Domains 4 and 1
- Health Promotion (29 items) and Professional Foundation (27 items)
- Shorter domains, but together they hold 56 scored items
Timed full-length practice
- Simulate 150 questions in three hours
- Review misses by domain and revisit your weakest area
This sequence is a template, not a mandate. If your daily work already lives in coordination, you might front-load quality management instead. For a fuller method, see the CMGT-BC study guide, and use realistic CMGT-BC practice tests to check where you stand relative to the cut score before exam day.
Key Takeaway
Do not chase a percentage. Aim for consistent, scenario-level mastery across all four domains, with the deepest preparation in Care Coordination. Because pretest items are mixed in and unmarked, there is no safe place to coast.
Test-Day Rules That Affect Your Score
Several exam-day conditions shape how you can earn those 350 points:
- In-person only. The certification exam is administered at Prometric test centers, not through remote proctoring. A remote ANCC readiness test is a separate product and does not mean the certification exam is available remotely.
- No outside resources. Personal calculators and paper or electronic resources are prohibited. A dry-erase board is supplied.
- Breaks cost time. The clock keeps running during breaks, so plan your pacing around that.
- Mark and revisit. You may flag questions and return to them within the time limit.
- No guessing penalty. There is no deduction for wrong answers, so never leave an item blank. Eliminate what you can and choose the best remaining option.
The no-penalty rule is the most actionable of these. A flagged question you run out of time on should still carry a selected answer. Details on scheduling windows are in our exam dates and scheduling guide.
If You Fall Short: Retesting Rules
A score below 350 is not the end of the road, but retesting has conditions:
- You must wait at least 60 calendar days after your previous attempt.
- You must have renewed eligibility on file.
- You may make no more than three attempts in 12 months.
- All of this is subject to the final testing deadline for the exam.
That last point matters more than usual for this credential, as the next section explains. Each attempt also carries cost: the initial fee is $395 for nonmembers or $295 for ANA members, and that figure includes a $140 nonrefundable administrative fee. See CMGT-BC certification cost for the full pricing picture.
The Exam Retirement Clock
The CMGT-BC program is being phased out. This changes how you should think about your passing attempt:
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Last day for initial applications | December 31, 2026 |
| Examination and retesting end | December 31, 2027 |
| Program becomes renewal-only | After December 31, 2027 |
Nurses who are actively certified on January 1, 2028 may continue to renew. However, once the exam retires, certification that lapses beyond the two-year reactivation window cannot be reactivated by taking the retired exam. For anyone planning to test, this means a failed first attempt leaves a finite number of retest opportunities before the deadline. Build in a buffer rather than scheduling your first attempt near the end.
Certification lasts five years. Renewal requires active licensure and certification standing, 75 specialty CE hours (including at least 60 formally approved hours), plus one additional professional-development category. The 1,000-practice-hour option is one such additional category, not a universal requirement, and exam-based renewal is no longer available once the exam retires. Renewal fees are $350 for nonmembers, with ANA-member pricing advertised as low as $250. To judge whether pursuing the credential now is sensible, read Is the CMGT-BC Certification Worth It?
Frequently Asked Questions
You need a scaled score of at least 350 on a maximum-500 scale. This is a scaled score set through Modified Angoff standard setting, not a raw 70% cutoff.
There are 150 questions in total. Of these, 125 are scored and 25 are unscored pretest items. You have three hours, and you cannot tell which questions are pretest.
No. Guessing carries no penalty, so answer every question. You can mark questions and revisit them, but make sure each has a selection before time expires.
Care Coordination is the largest, at 30% of the content and 37 scored questions. Quality Management follows at 26% (32 items), then Health Promotion at 23% (29 items) and Professional Foundation at 22% (27 items).
You must wait at least 60 calendar days between attempts and may make no more than three attempts in 12 months, with renewed eligibility. All retests must occur before the exam ends on December 31, 2027.
Reaching 350 comes down to broad, scenario-ready command of all four domains, weighted toward Care Coordination, and a testing timeline that respects the exam's retirement date. When you are ready to gauge your readiness against the real format, take a few timed sets on the CMGT-BC practice test site and review your results by domain.