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Open free CPCT/A prep resources ↗Exam facts & prep options
Certified Patient Care Technician/Assistant (CPCT/A)
Find the current format, timing, scoring, fees, eligibility, and testing options for CPCT/A, with direct links to official sources.
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Questions100 scored items plus 20 unscored pretest items (120 total)
Testing time2 hours
ScoringScaled-score pass rule: passing scaled score of 390 or higher, consistent across exam forms; cut scores set using a modified Angoff (1971) standard-setting method
Exam feeUSD 169 for the CPCT/A exam application (NHA online store price; a separate examination fee is required for each exam attempt)
Prep options
Study resources for CPCT/A
Independent prep
Courses and study resources
Exam overview
What to know before choosing your prep
- Who runs it
- NHA
- Category
- Patient Care Technology
- Current version
- 2018 job-analysis test plan (current form; NHA labels it 'Current CPCT/A Exam Test Plan (for exams prior to January 2027)'); a revised exam from a new job task analysis launches January 2027
- Where it applies
- United States — national
- Exam languages
- English
- Score scale
- Scaled scores 200-500; passing score 390
- Testing provider
- PSI (PSI testing centers and Live Remote Proctoring); institutional administration at schools is also offered
- Format
- Computer-based: at the candidate's school/institution, at a PSI test center, or via live remote proctoring (LRP)
- Availability
- On-demand; candidates have six months after registering to schedule and sit for the exam
- Results
- Preliminary pass/fail at or shortly after completion depending on mode; official results posted online to the candidate's NHA account page (within two days of scoring for online exams; within 48 hours for PSI test-center/LRP exams)
- Credential validity
- Certification must be renewed every two years by completing 10 continuing education credits and paying the recertification fee; a 1-year reinstatement window applies after expiration
- Remote testing
- Available
Exam structure
100 scored multiple-choice items across 5 domains — Patient Care (45), Compliance, Safety, and Professional Responsibility (20), Infection Control (11), Phlebotomy (14), EKG (10) — plus 20 unscored pretest items; administered under proctored conditions
Where rules vary
U.S. national allied-health certification; eligibility is defined in terms of a U.S. high school diploma/GED and U.S. training or supervised work experience.
Eligibility
High school diploma or GED/high school equivalency (or scheduled to earn it within 12 months) AND either a completed patient care technician training/education program within the last 5 years OR supervised PCT work experience (1 year within the last 3 years, or 2 years within the last 5 years)
Retake policy
A new examination fee is required for each attempt; no published waiting period for the current exam — but candidates who test and fail within 30 days before the January 2027 launch of the new version must retest with the new exam