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Physician Assistant National Recertifying Examination (PANRE)

The proctored recertification examination of the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA), required every ten years to maintain the PA-C credential: a 240-question (four blocks of 60), four-hour multiple-choice exam on the NCCPA core medical content blueprint (effective January 2023), delivered in one five-hour appointment at Pearson VUE test centers, scored 200-800 with a passing standard of 379, and offered as the test-center alternative to the take-at-home PANRE Longitudinal Assessment (PANRE-LA) that shares the same blueprint.

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Questions240 multiple-choice questions delivered as four blocks of 60 questions; the exam includes both scored and pre-test items that examinees cannot distinguish, and no official scored/pre-test split is published

Testing time240 minutes (four hours) of testing time within a five-hour appointment: four 60-minute blocks plus 45 minutes of break time and a 15-minute tutorial

ScoringPassing standard of 379 on a 200-800 scale-score metric, set by a modified Angoff standard-setting panel and approved by the NCCPA Board of Directors; because scores are scaled, the number of correct answers needed to pass varies from one examinee to another

Exam feeUSD 350 PANRE application fee, paid to NCCPA with the application and required before the application is processed; the fee is the same for both recertification options (PANRE and PANRE-LA) and the exam fee is forfeited for no-shows and most late cancellations

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Exam overview

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Who runs it: NCCPA
Category: Physician Assistant Certification
Current version: Content blueprint effective January 2023 (output of the 2021 practice analysis and Core-to-the-profession study); the blueprint is shared by PANRE and PANRE-LA and no later blueprint edition has superseded it
Where it applies: United States — national
Exam languages: English
Score scale: 200-800 scale scores (passing standard 379); the companion PANRE-LA is scored on a separate 1000-1500 scale with a passing standard of 1150
Testing provider: Pearson VUE
Format: Computer-based multiple-choice exam (most items have five answer options), taken in one sitting at a proctored Pearson VUE test center; questions are administered in multiple blocks that may be reviewed and changed only within each block's allotted time
Availability: Administered throughout the year at over 200 Pearson VUE test centers in the US and select international centers, except during the last few weeks of the year; after NCCPA application approval the candidate may schedule anytime within a 180-day exam timeframe, and appointments may be made up to one business day in advance
Results: Results typically within two weeks after completing the exam; score reports include content-area subscores with standard-error bands
Credential validity: Passing the PANRE fulfills the recertification exam requirement for the remainder of the ten-year certification maintenance cycle; PAs must pass a recertification exam by the end of the 10th year of each cycle (PANRE or PANRE-LA)
Remote testing: Not available

Exam structure

240 multiple-choice items in four 60-item blocks, allocated across the January 2023 core content blueprint by organ system: Cardiovascular 12%, Pulmonary 10%, GI/Nutrition 10%, Endocrine 8%, EENT 8%, Musculoskeletal 8%, Infectious Diseases 7%, Psychiatry/Behavioral Science 7%, Dermatologic 5%, Genitourinary 5%, Neurologic 5%, Reproductive 5%, Hematologic 4%, Renal 4%, and Emergent Topics (Legal, Ethical, DEI) 2% (percentages approximate); items are also mapped to task/performance expectations (History & Physical, Diagnosis, Diagnostic Studies, Health Maintenance, Intervention, Pharmacotherapy)

Where rules vary

A single nationwide recertification examination: NCCPA is the only certifying organization for PAs in the United States, and every US jurisdiction relies on NCCPA certification for PA licensure, so the PANRE is one uniform exam administered at Pearson VUE test centers across the US and at select international centers

Eligibility

Hold PA-C certification and be in the 9th or 10th year of the certification maintenance cycle; apply to NCCPA, pay the $350 application fee, and receive an exam acknowledgement before scheduling at Pearson VUE; PAs seeking to regain certification must fulfill CME requirements before applying

Retake policy

Up to two attempts in the 9th year and up to three in the 10th year, with a maximum of four total attempts; one attempt per 90-day period, with the 90-day wait waived when fewer than 90 days remain in the final year and attempts for that year are not exhausted; PAs who do not pass the PANRE-LA get up to three PANRE attempts before the end of their cycle