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Registered Cardiovascular Invasive Specialist (RCIS)
The RCIS examination is CCI's computer-based registry-level certification exam for professionals working in cardiac catheterization, covering pre-procedural activities, diagnostic procedures, interventional procedures, emergency response, and post-procedural activities. It contains 170 questions (150 scored, 20 unscored) in three hours and is delivered at Pearson Professional Centers; the credential renews on a triennial cycle with 36 CEUs.
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Questions170 questions (150 scored and 20 unscored)
Testing timeThree-hour computer-based exam: 2 hours 50 minutes to answer the questions plus 10 minutes for a pre-exam tutorial and post-exam survey
ScoringPass requires a total scaled score of 650; cut score set by a standard-setting study
Exam feeUSD 365 for the RCIS examination (includes a USD 100 non-refundable application review/processing fee)
Prep options
Study resources for RCIS
Independent prep
Courses and study resources
Exam overview
What to know before choosing your prep
- Who runs it
- CCI
- Category
- Cardiovascular Technology
- Current version
- Current Examination Matrix and Task List; no dated version label is published on the RCIS page (content is maintained under CCI's job task analysis cycle, performed every 5 years for all nine CCI examinations)
- Where it applies
- United States — national
- Exam languages
- English
- Score scale
- 0–900
- Testing provider
- Pearson VUE (Pearson Professional Centers)
- Format
- Computer-based exam delivered at Pearson Professional Centers
- Availability
- Year-round by appointment at Pearson test centers, within a 90-day eligibility window that opens when the Authorization to Test is issued after application approval
- Results
- Unofficial score report with total score, pass/fail status, and content-area breakdown onsite at the Pearson VUE testing center; official results letter, certificate, and wallet card approximately 15 business days after the exam
- Remote testing
- Not available
Exam structure
170 questions across five weighted duty domains — Conducting Pre-Procedural Activities (8%), Conducting Diagnostic Procedures (40%), Conducting Interventional Procedures (34%), Responding to Emergency Procedures and Protocols (13%), and Conducting Post-Procedural Activities (5%) — using a mix of traditional multiple-choice, multiple-response, hot spot, and drag-and-place item types.
Where rules vary
The RCIS is a private, non-governmental U.S. certification (not a state license) with one uniform exam; CCI administers it at over 230 Pearson Professional Centers in the United States and U.S. territories and at over 3,000 Pearson VUE Authorized Test Centers internationally, but the credential identity is U.S.-based.
Eligibility
High school diploma or GED at time of application plus one documented pathway: RCIS235 (graduate of a health-science certificate/degree program PLUS one year full-time invasive cardiovascular technology experience PLUS 600 cardiac diagnostic/interventional procedures), RCIS4 (graduate of a programmatically accredited program in invasive cardiovascular technology), or RCIS5 (graduate of a non-programmatically accredited invasive CV technology program with at least one year of specialty training and 800 clinical hours)
Retake policy
Candidates who fail must complete a new application and pay the fee again; an application may be resubmitted one day after testing, and a 45-day waiting period applies before the second attempt