NBRC Exam Retake Policy

Here is how many times you can take each NBRC exam before a wait applies, what a retake costs, and how the January 2027 exam change affects your count. Your first sitting counts as attempt 1.

Sources: NBRC Candidate Handbook, rev. Sept. 3, 2026, p. 13 (attempts and waits) and p. 8 (fees); NBRC Repeat Attempt Policy; RT Exam FAQs (transition dates).

The policy does not specify a fixed lifetime maximum. The wait doesn't end your chances. It applies before your 4th attempt (your 3rd on specialty exams) and before every attempt after that. Further attempts still depend on your eligibility and whether the exam is offered.

An ordinary retake requires a new application and fee. You can reapply online two business days after your exam.

Your count starts over on the RT Exam. NBRC says TMC and CSE attempts don't count toward RT Exam attempts. If you've already used three TMC attempts, you can still sit the RT Exam from January 4, 2027 without carrying over the TMC waiting period — as long as you meet its admission requirements.

Last verified October 29, 2026: NBRC attempt limits, waiting periods, repeat fees, application rules and the announced 2027 transition dates. By the Castleport Test Prep Editorial Team.

Find your situation

How the waiting period works

• TMC, CSE and RT Exam: attempts 1, 2 and 3 have no extended waiting period. Before attempt 4, and before every attempt after it, at least 120 days must pass.
• Specialty exams (PFT, NPS, SDS, ACCS, AE-C): attempts 1 and 2 have no extended waiting period. Before attempt 3, and every attempt after it, at least 180 days must pass.

Each exam keeps its own count. Three TMC attempts don't touch your CSE count, and vice versa. NBRC's stated reason for the rule is integrity: it wants people to pass on knowledge, not because the questions started to look familiar.

The policy specifies the interval between attempts. The examples below add 120 or 180 calendar days to the last test date to illustrate planning; they do not establish your authorized retest date. Confirm the actual date with NBRC before booking.

Worked examples

You may see claims online of a fixed maximum number of attempts. No fixed lifetime maximum appears in NBRC's handbook or policy page.

How to retake an NBRC exam

1. Read your score report. PSI, NBRC's testing agency, emails it after you finish. If it hasn't arrived within 24 hours, contact PSI at 833-256-1424 or examschedule@psionline.com. (Handbook, p. 12)
2. Check whether a wait applies. Use the table above.
3. Sort out accommodations first. If you've never had approved accommodations for an NBRC exam, NBRC must receive your request form before you apply and pay. Otherwise they won't apply to that appointment. (p. 3)
4. Reapply. Online reapplication opens two business days after your exam — that's processing time, not 48 hours, and it doesn't cancel a required wait. Apply through the NBRC Practitioner Portal, or mail or fax the paper application in the Candidate Handbook. If you're applying as a repeat applicant, select that category on the paper form; repeat applicants don't resubmit eligibility information with the application. (pp. 13, 17, 21–22)
5. Pay the repeat fee. See the table. The AARC member discount is a one-time $40 discount for first-time applicants to certain exams, so it won't lower a retake fee. (NBRC RRT page, CSE FAQs)
6. Schedule within your window. In most cases you have 90 calendar days from acceptance to test, and your assigned window shows when you apply. If you don't schedule in time, you forfeit the application and fee. Schedule with PSI. (p. 8)

You can move your appointment once, without penalty, inside your 90-day window if you contact PSI at least one business day ahead. Holidays don't count as business days. (pp. 8–9)

If your assigned window doesn't fit a required wait or an exam's end date, contact NBRC before you pay or pick a date.

The 2027 switch: what it means for your retake

On January 4, 2027, NBRC begins offering one Respiratory Therapy (RT) Examination: 185 multiple-choice items (160 scored), four hours. The low cut score earns CRT. The high cut score earns RRT. Applications opened October 1, 2026. (NBRC RT Exam page)

Sources: NBRC RT Exam FAQs; NBRC Resources FAQs; NBRC Examinations.

The TMC application deadline isn't consistent on NBRC's own site. The RT Exam page says December 15, 2026. The Resources FAQ says December 17, 2026. If you're applying late, confirm the cutoff with NBRC before relying on either date.

The RT Exam uses the same rule as the TMC and CSE: three attempts, then at least 120 days before each later attempt. Your TMC and CSE attempts don't carry over.

You failed the TMC

• On attempt 1 or 2, with time left in 2026: you can retake the TMC (apply before the deadline above and test by December 31), or move to the RT Exam from January 4, 2027, if eligible. Passing the TMC at the high cut in 2026 keeps the CSE open to you through 2027 if you meet its admission requirements.
• On attempt 3: check whether your required wait leaves time to test by December 31, 2026. A wait never creates permission to take a retired exam. If you cannot retest before the TMC ends, check your eligibility for the RT Exam. Your TMC attempts do not count toward its attempt total.
• Testing on December 31 itself: NBRC's Examinations page says the CSE stays open to those who reach the TMC high cut "by Dec. 31, 2026," while its RT Exam FAQs say "prior to." If your plan depends on a December 31 result, confirm with NBRC.

You passed the TMC high cut but failed the CSE

You can keep taking the CSE through December 31, 2027, under the usual three-then-120-days rule, as long as you meet its admission requirements. If you meet RT admission requirements, you also have a second route: take the RT Exam and reach its high cut to earn RRT. CSE attempts don't count against you there.

If your CSE wait would run past December 31, 2027, check whether you qualify for the RT Exam. NBRC lists the RT fee as $360 for new applicants and $300 for repeat applicants. A previous TMC or CSE attempt does not by itself establish your RT fee category; check the fee NBRC shows when you apply.

You earned CRT at the low cut and want RRT

From January 4, 2027, you can take the RT Exam and earn RRT at its high cut score. The standard admission route requires you to be 18 or older with an associate degree or higher from an entry-into-practice respiratory therapy program supported or accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC). NBRC's RT page and application also list the Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists (CSRT) RRT credential as an admission route. (RT Exam page; Handbook, pp. 5, 21)

You qualified through CRT-to-Registry (no respiratory therapy degree)

This admission route ends December 31, 2026, and only works while your CRT is active. If you don't earn RRT by then, you cannot use CRT-to-Registry to enter the RT Exam. You must meet an RT admission route, such as the qualifying CoARC program or the separately listed CSRT RRT route. If you reach the TMC high cut in 2026 under this route and plan to take the CSE in 2027, confirm your CSE eligibility with NBRC before counting on it. (RT Exam FAQs)

Already a CRT? Retaking for the high cut

You won't lose your CRT by retaking. NBRC says a CRT who scores below the low cut on a TMC retake — or on the RT Exam — keeps the credential. (NBRC CRT page, TMC FAQs; RT Exam FAQs)

Those retakes still count as attempts. After your third TMC attempt, the 120-day wait applies to you like anyone else. The RT Exam works the same way.

Specialty exam retakes (PFT, NPS, SDS, ACCS, AE-C)

Two attempts before the extended wait, then at least 180 days before each further attempt. Repeat fees: PFT $170, NPS $220, SDS $250, ACCS $250, AE-C $250. (Handbook, pp. 8, 13)

The PFT has two cut scores: the low cut earns CPFT, and the high cut earns both CPFT and RPFT. A CPFT retakes the same PFT exam to pursue RPFT, so the standard PFT rule applies. NBRC says a CPFT who scores below the low cut on a retake keeps the CPFT credential. (Handbook, pp. 5, 13; PFT FAQs)

Missed appointments, emergencies and test-center problems

Source: NBRC Candidate Handbook, pp. 8–10, 13.

Misconduct is different. NBRC can cancel a result, and copying or sharing exam content can cost you the ability to retake at all. (NBRC Candidates page)

Don't let your eligibility go inactive

Your application record becomes inactive after a year without being scheduled for an exam or indicating that you still intend to attempt one. When the record goes inactive, you reapply as a new candidate under the rules in effect at that time. (Handbook, p. 10)

This matters most if you're between the TMC and CSE. NBRC says an inactivated record nullifies a passing TMC or CSE result. Keep your contact details current so NBRC's warning notices reach you. (NBRC CRT page, Record Retention Policy)

One old rule no longer applies: the three-year limit to earn RRT after graduating ended January 1, 2021. (NBRC policy elimination notice)

Before you book again

1. Name the exam. Use the exam name on your score report, not "the boards." TMC, CSE and RT each keep a separate count.
2. Count your attempts at that exam. Include your first sitting. Note which number you're about to take.
3. Match the wait. Use the table above. If you owe a wait, don't choose a test date before it ends.
4. Check the exam will still exist. The TMC ends December 31, 2026. The CSE ends December 31, 2027. Make sure your admission route still applies on your test date.
5. Check your window, fee and records. Look at your assigned 90-day window, the fee category NBRC shows, and any open accommodations or record issue before you pay.
6. Pick what to study before you pick a seat. Use the content areas on your score report and the Detailed Content Outline for the exam you'll actually sit. If you're switching to the RT Exam, study to its outline. It has its own structure (a breadth-of-knowledge portion and a depth-of-clinical-judgment portion), so a TMC plan won't map onto it exactly. (RT Detailed Content Outline, p. 1)

The earliest allowed date isn't always the right one. NBRC's free practice exams use the same software as the real test; you'll find them on the CRT, RRT and RT Exam pages. A timed run before you rebook is a useful check.

If you hold a graduate or temporary state permit, ask your state board how a failed attempt affects it. NBRC credentials are the basis for licensure, but each state runs its own process. (Handbook, p. 7)

NBRC retake FAQ

How many times can you fail the TMC? NBRC's published repeat policy does not specify a fixed lifetime maximum. After three attempts you wait at least 120 days before each further attempt. The TMC ends December 31, 2026. After that, check your eligibility for the RT Exam, where TMC attempts do not count toward your total.

Is a retake cheaper than the first attempt? For most exams, yes:

• TMC: $150 (vs. $190)
• PFT: $170 (vs. $200)
• NPS: $220 (vs. $250)
• SDS and ACCS: $250 (vs. $300)
• AE-C: $250 (vs. $350)
• RT Exam: $300 (vs. $360)

The CSE costs $200 either way. (Handbook, p. 8)

Do I have to resubmit transcripts as a repeat applicant? The repeat-applicant sections of NBRC's forms do not require eligibility information with the application. If your record has gone inactive, though, you reapply as a new candidate. Use the application category NBRC assigns when changing exams. (Handbook, pp. 10, 17, 21–22)

Can I retake an exam I've already passed? Yes. A CRT may retake the TMC to pursue its high cut score while the exam is still offered; the usual attempt and waiting-period rules apply. Retaking and passing the exam for your highest credential subject to the Credential Maintenance Program during the last year of your five-year cycle is also one of NBRC's three ways to renew. (NBRC CRT page; Handbook, p. 7)

Sources

Last verified October 29, 2026.

• NBRC, Candidate Handbook, rev. Sept. 3, 2026. Covers accommodations (p. 3), RT admission and PFT cut scores (p. 5), credential maintenance and licensure (p. 7), fees and application expiration (p. 8), fee transfers, score verification and cancellation (pp. 8–9), appeals and inactive records (p. 10), score reports (p. 12), retakes and no-shows (p. 13), and repeat-applicant forms (pp. 17, 21–22). The RT application on p. 21 also lists the CSRT RRT admission route.
• NBRC, Repeat Attempt Policy.
• NBRC, Respiratory Therapy (RT) Examination and FAQs.
• NBRC, Resources — exam fees and RT Exam FAQs.
• NBRC, Examinations overview.
• NBRC, Certified Respiratory Therapist (CRT) — TMC FAQs.
• NBRC, Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) — CSE FAQs.
• NBRC, Three-Year RRT Time Limit policy elimination.
• NBRC, Pulmonary Function Technology — CPFT and RPFT FAQs.
• NBRC, Content Outlines.
• NBRC, RT Detailed Content Outline, effective January 2027.
• NBRC, Candidates — application instructions and examination integrity.

Questions about your own eligibility go to NBRC: nbrc.org/contact, info@nbrc.org, or 913-895-4900.

Castleport Test Prep is an independent exam prep publisher. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC) or PSI. Exam and credential names identify the subjects discussed; trademarks belong to their respective owners. NBRC's documents and your NBRC account are the final word on your eligibility.