What Is A CMGT-BC?

What a CMGT-BC Actually Is

A CMGT-BC is a registered nurse who has earned the Case Management Nurse - Board Certified designation. The letters appear after a nurse's name the same way other specialty credentials do, signaling that an independent certifying body has verified both the nurse's experience and their command of a defined body of knowledge.

The credential belongs to the discipline of nursing case management: the practice of assessing a patient's needs, coordinating services across settings, advocating for appropriate resources, and evaluating whether the plan of care is producing the intended outcomes. Case management nurses work at the seams of the healthcare system, where handoffs between hospital, home, payer, and community are most likely to fail.

This article focuses on the nursing credential specifically. Other certifications in healthcare share similar-looking acronyms, but the exam, eligibility rules, fees, and renewal requirements described here belong only to the nursing case management certification. If you want a shorter orientation, our pages on what CMGT-BC is and what CMGT-BC stands for cover the basics, while this guide goes deeper into structure and strategy.

Who Issues It and Why That Matters

The credential is awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), which operates within the American Nurses Association (ANA) and the American Nurses Enterprise. The ANCC is among the most recognized nursing credentialing organizations in the United States, and its board certifications are widely referenced in job postings, Magnet-recognized organizations, and professional practice policies.

Why does the issuer matter? Employers and credentialing committees evaluate certifications partly on the rigor of the issuing body. A credential built on a published test content outline, a formal standard-setting process, and a defined renewal cycle carries more weight than a certificate of attendance. For the CMGT-BC, the exam content is defined by the Nursing Case Management Board Certification Examination Test Content Outline, effective October 23, 2024 and updated September 8, 2025.

The Phaseout Timeline Every Candidate Should Know

This is the single most time-sensitive fact about the credential, and many articles bury or omit it. The ANCC has announced that the nursing case management certification program is being retired. The dates are firm:

Because the 120-day authorization window, retest waiting periods, and the final testing deadline all interact, candidates who are still deciding should read our guide to CMGT-BC exam dates and scheduling before committing to a timeline. You can confirm current program status directly on the ANCC nursing case management page.

Who Qualifies to Sit for the Exam

The ANCC does not let candidates simply register and test. You must document a combination of licensure, experience, and continuing education. The requirements are:

• Licensure: a current, active RN license, or an accepted international equivalent.
• Experience: two full-time-equivalent years of practice as a registered nurse.
• Practice hours: 2,000 hours in nursing case management within the past three years.
• Continuing education: 30 hours in the specialty within the past three years.

The practice-hour requirement is where many applicants stumble. The hours must be in case management, not simply in nursing. A bedside nurse with years of experience but no case management duties may not qualify, while a nurse in a utilization review, transitions-of-care, or care coordination role often will. For a full walkthrough of documentation and edge cases, see our breakdown of CMGT-BC requirements and eligibility.

How the Exam Is Built and Delivered

The CMGT-BC examination is a closed-book, computer-based, multiple-choice test administered by Prometric at test centers. It is delivered in person. Remote proctoring is not available for the certification exam itself, and the fact that an ANCC readiness test can be taken remotely does not change that.

The Numbers

• 150 total questions, of which 125 are scored and 25 are unscored pretest items.
• Three hours allowed for the exam.
• 120 days of standard authorization to test once you are approved.

The 25 pretest questions are indistinguishable from scored ones, so treat every item seriously. They are used to evaluate future questions and do not affect your result.

Test-Day Rules

Personal calculators and all paper or electronic reference resources are prohibited. A dry-erase board is supplied for working through problems. Breaks are permitted but consume examination time, so plan accordingly. You may mark questions and return to them, and there is no penalty for guessing, which means you should never leave an item blank.

The Four Content Domains in Detail

The exam is organized into four domains drawn from the official test content outline. The issuer's rounded percentages total 101%, which is a quirk of rounding, so we present them exactly as published. The scored-item allocation across the 125 scored questions is 27, 37, 32, and 29.

Each domain is explored further in our complete guide to the CMGT-BC exam domains, including the kinds of scenarios that tend to appear under each heading.

Scoring, Pass Rates and Retakes

How Passing Is Determined

The ANCC uses a scaled-score system with a maximum of 500. A candidate needs at least 350 to pass. The passing standard is set using a Modified Angoff process, in which subject-matter experts judge how a minimally competent candidate would perform on each item. This means the cutoff is not a flat 70% of questions answered correctly, and you cannot convert your raw count into a pass or fail by simple arithmetic. See our detailed explanation of the CMGT-BC passing score for more.

What the Data Shows

According to 2025 ANCC certification data, the first-time pass rate was 66%: 188 passes among 286 first-time candidates. As of December 31, 2025, 1,961 certificants were active. The small candidate pool reflects how specialized the credential is. For interpretation, read our analysis of the CMGT-BC pass rate and our companion piece on how hard the exam is.

Retesting Rules

If you do not pass, you may retest after at least 60 calendar days from your previous attempt. You must have renewed eligibility and may make no more than three attempts in any 12-month period. All retesting is subject to the final testing deadline of December 31, 2027, so a failed attempt late in the window may leave little room for another try.

Fees and Registration Mechanics

The initial certification fee is $395 for nonmembers or $295 for ANA members. Included in that fee is a $140 nonrefundable administrative fee, which is worth noting if you are weighing whether to apply and later withdraw. The $100 difference makes ANA membership worth evaluating before you pay.

The registration sequence generally runs as follows:

1. Confirm that you meet the licensure, experience, practice-hour, and continuing-education requirements.
2. Submit your application and fee through the ANCC.
3. Receive authorization to test, which remains valid for 120 days.
4. Schedule your appointment with Prometric at a test center within that window.

Because the authorization window is finite, applying without a study plan can waste the fee. A full accounting of expenses, including renewal, is in our CMGT-BC certification cost breakdown.

Staying Certified: The Five-Year Cycle

The certification lasts five years. Renewal is a significant undertaking and, given the program's phaseout, is the route by which the credential will survive after the exam retires.

Renewal Requirements

• Active RN licensure and current 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 the designated five-year certification cycle and before you submit your application. Renewal fees are $350 for nonmembers, with ANA-member pricing advertised as low as $250. Examination-based renewal will become unavailable once the exam retires, so continuing education is the path forward.

Nurses who are active on January 1, 2028 may continue renewing, which makes earning the credential before the final testing date a meaningful decision for those who want long-term access to the designation.

Where the Credential Fits in a Nursing Career

Case management nurses work in a wide range of settings. Typical employers include:

• Hospitals and health systems, in discharge planning, utilization review, and transitions-of-care departments.
• Health plans and payers, in care management and medical review roles.
• Home health and post-acute organizations, coordinating services after discharge.
• Community and population health programs, supporting patients with complex or chronic needs.

For a look at the kinds of positions that value the credential, see our overview of CMGT-BC jobs. Compensation varies by region, setting, and experience, so we avoid quoting figures here; our salary guide and ROI analysis discuss the question of whether the investment pays off.

One honest consideration: because the program is retiring, some employers may eventually shift their preferences toward other case management credentials. Certification still demonstrates a verified level of competence, but candidates should weigh the shrinking pipeline of new certificants against their own career goals.

Sequencing Your Preparation by Domain

Rather than studying all four domains in parallel, a sequenced approach lets you anchor preparation to the exam's weighting. Here is one way to structure a six-week plan:

Front-loading Care Coordination makes sense because its weight and its overlap with the other domains mean those concepts get reinforced throughout your later study. For a fuller methodology, see our CMGT-BC study guide, and use our cheat sheet for last-minute review. When you are ready to test your recall under realistic conditions, take a timed set on our CMGT-BC practice test platform.

Frequently Asked Questions

Understanding what a CMGT-BC is, and how the exam, eligibility, and renewal rules fit together, is the first step toward deciding whether to pursue it before the program closes to new candidates. For related reading, explore our pages on the CMGT-BC certification and CMGT-BC training options.