What Is CMGT-BC?

The Plain Definition

CMGT-BC is the designation earned by registered nurses who pass the ANCC Nursing Case Management Board Certification Examination. The full credential title is Case Management Nurse - Board Certified. It signals that a nurse has met defined practice-hour and continuing education requirements and has demonstrated competence across the core responsibilities of nursing case management: coordinating care across settings, managing quality and outcomes, supporting health promotion, and practicing within professional and ethical standards.

The acronym is shared by other credentials in other fields, so it is worth being precise. Everything on this page concerns the nursing credential from ANCC, and nothing else. If you want a quick-reference version of the meaning, see our short explainers on what CMGT-BC stands for and the meaning of CMGT-BC.

Who Issues It and What the Credential Awards

The American Nurses Credentialing Center is the credentialing arm within the American Nurses Association enterprise. ANCC offers board certifications across many nursing specialties, and Nursing Case Management is one of them. Successful candidates are entitled to use CMGT-BC after their names, in the same way other ANCC-certified nurses use their specialty designations.

Two features distinguish this credential from many other case management certifications. First, it is explicitly a nursing credential: active RN licensure is a prerequisite, and the content is framed around nursing practice. Second, it is a board certification awarded by a nursing credentialing body rather than a general healthcare-professional certificate open to multiple licensure types.

The Phaseout Timeline You Need to Know

Any honest answer to "what is CMGT-BC?" in 2026 must address the program's retirement schedule. ANCC has announced that the Nursing Case Management certification is being phased out:

For the practical scheduling consequences, see our guide to CMGT-BC exam dates, testing windows and deadlines. Confirm all dates directly with ANCC through its program page and certification FAQs before committing to a timeline.

How the Exam Is Built and Delivered

The certification exam is a closed-book, computer-based, multiple-choice test administered by Prometric at test centers. Key format facts:

• 150 questions total: 125 are scored and 25 are unscored pretest items used to evaluate future questions. You will not know which are which.
• Three hours to complete the exam. Breaks consume examination time.
• In-person only. The certification exam is not remotely proctored. An ANCC readiness test may be offered remotely, but that does not mean the certification exam itself can be taken from home.
• No personal calculators and no paper or electronic reference materials. A dry-erase board is supplied at the test center.
• Mark and revisit: you can flag questions and return to them within the session.
• No guessing penalty: an unanswered question can only cost you; a guess cannot.
• Authorization window: standard authorization to test lasts 120 days, so schedule deliberately.

Expect scenario-driven questions that ask what a case manager should do first, best, or next in situations involving transitions of care, payer barriers, patient goals, and quality outcomes. For a realistic view of difficulty, read how hard the CMGT-BC exam really is.

The Four Content Domains

The exam follows the Nursing Case Management Board Certification Examination Test Content Outline (effective October 23, 2024, updated September 8, 2025). It has four domains. The issuer's rounded percentages add up to 101%, and we keep them exactly as published rather than adjusting them.

Because the examples above illustrate typical content areas, always check the official outline for the precise objectives. Our complete guide to all four CMGT-BC content areas breaks them down further.

Eligibility, Fees and Registration Mechanics

Who Can Sit for the Exam

To qualify, a candidate must hold a current active RN license (or an accepted international equivalent) and meet all of the following:

• 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

Details and edge cases are covered in CMGT-BC requirements: eligibility and how to qualify.

What It Costs

The initial examination fee is $395 for nonmembers and $295 for ANA members. Each price includes a $140 nonrefundable administrative fee. That means the membership discount can matter if you were already considering ANA membership. See the full CMGT-BC cost breakdown for renewal and retake considerations.

Retesting Rules

If you do not pass, you must wait at least 60 calendar days after the previous attempt, renew your eligibility, and stay within a limit of three attempts in 12 months. All retests are also bound by the final testing deadline of December 31, 2027, which makes your first attempt more consequential than it would be for an open-ended exam.

Scoring: What 350 of 500 Really Means

CMGT-BC uses a scaled scoring system with a maximum of 500, and a passing score is at least 350. The passing standard is set through the Modified Angoff method, in which expert panels judge how a minimally qualified candidate would perform. As a result, the cut score is not a simple 70% of questions answered correctly, and you should not try to reverse-engineer a raw-score target from it.

For context on outcomes, ANCC's 2025 data reports a 66% first-time pass rate, with 188 passes among 286 first-time candidates. As of December 31, 2025, there were 1,961 active certificants. These are the only figures we cite here; for interpretation, read what the CMGT-BC pass rate data shows and exactly what score you need to pass.

Renewal and Long-Term Maintenance

CMGT-BC certification lasts five years. Renewal requires:

• Active licensure and certification standing
• 75 hours of specialty continuing education, with at least 60 hours formally approved
• One additional professional development category

The 1,000-practice-hour option counts as one of the additional categories; it is not a universal requirement. All renewal activities must fall within your five-year certification cycle and be completed before you submit the application. Renewal fees are $350 for nonmembers, with ANA-member pricing advertised as low as $250.

One important change: examination-based renewal becomes unavailable once the exam retires. After that point, maintaining the credential depends entirely on meeting the renewal requirements above and keeping the certification active.

Where It Fits in a Nursing Career

Nurse case managers work in hospitals, health systems, payer organizations, home health and community settings, and population health programs. In those roles, board certification can serve as a credible signal of specialty competence to employers and colleagues, particularly in organizations that value or require certified staff for case management positions.

Whether the credential delivers value for you depends on your employer, your role and your timeline. Because the exam is closing, the calculation is different from that of an evergreen credential: certificants who stay active may hold a designation that fewer nurses can newly earn. Explore the trade-offs in whether CMGT-BC is worth it, browse realistic expectations in the CMGT-BC salary guide, and see the types of roles in CMGT-BC jobs.

Sequencing Your Preparation by Domain

Rather than a generic study template, use the domain weights to decide where your hours go. Care Coordination carries the most scored questions, so give it the most time, but schedule it after you have the professional framework in place.

For a fuller plan, see our CMGT-BC study guide and the one-page cheat sheet. When you are ready to test yourself under realistic conditions, use the CMGT-BC practice tests and explore the training options available.

Frequently Asked Questions

If the details above fit your career plans, review the CMGT-BC certification overview and start practicing at our main practice test site while the exam remains available.