NE-BC pass rate: 63% of first-time candidates passed in 2025
ANCC's latest published figure is 63% — 907 of 1,443 first-time candidates passed the Nurse Executive board certification exam in the 2025 reporting year. That leaves 536 first-time candidates who did not pass. The number counts first attempts only.
| 2025 NE-BC data | Result |
|---|---|
| First-time candidates tested | 1,443 |
| First-time candidates passed | 907 |
| First-time candidates who did not pass | 536 |
| Official pass rate | 63% |
| Total NE-BC certificants at year end | 9,527 |
Source: ANCC 2025 Certification Data, p. 2. ANCC states above the table that its tested, passed, and pass-rate columns are for first-time test takers.
Last verified 18 September 2026 against ANCC's 2025 Certification Data, the current ANCC Nurse Executive certification page, the ANCC Certification Handbook (effective June 2025; Version 4, 23 January 2026), the current Nurse Executive test content outline effective 15 October 2025, and ANCC's current retest policy.
What the 63% counts, and what it doesn't
ANCC attaches a definition to its table that many summaries leave out. It matters, so here is what you are actually looking at.
First-time takers only. The tested, passed and pass-rate columns cover first attempts. Retakers are not included in those three published figures. ANCC also describes its annual pass-rate reporting as first-time test-taker data in its certification FAQs.
The arithmetic, in the open. 907 ÷ 1,443 = 62.86%, which ANCC rounds to 63%. We show the working so you can see that the rounded percentage and the counts agree.
It is not your personal chance of passing. A 63% pass rate does not mean you have a 63% chance. ANCC exams are criterion-referenced, which means your pass/fail result is not determined by comparing your performance with other candidates. ANCC says a panel of subject-matter experts in the nursing specialty sets the minimum passing standard with guidance from a measurement expert. The 63% is a record of what happened to one group of first-time candidates, not a forecast for you.
ANCC's public annual report does not give a repeat-taker pass rate. So if you are here because you did not pass and want a second-attempt percentage, the published annual table does not answer that question.
It is one national annual figure. The report gives one NE-BC first-time pass rate for the reporting year. It does not break that figure out by hospital, employer, review course, or state.
Why "350 to pass" is not "70% correct"
This one catches out a lot of well-prepared people, and it changes how you should read your practice scores.
ANCC reports scores on a scale with a maximum possible score of 500, and 350 is the minimum passing scaled score. That looks like 70%, and it is not the same thing as answering 70% of the scored questions correctly.
Your raw score is the number of scored items you answer correctly. ANCC then converts that raw score to a scaled score using a conversion formula. ANCC's public handbook does not provide a raw-number-correct cutoff that candidates can use to turn a practice percentage into a 350 scaled score.
So a 70% on a third-party practice test does not establish that you have cleared the ANCC passing standard, and a 65% does not establish that you have missed it. A practice percentage is feedback on those particular questions. It is not an ANCC scaled score and not a pass prediction.
Two other scoring facts worth carrying into the test center: there is no penalty for guessing, so answer every question, and 25 of the 150 NE-BC questions are unscored pretest items. ANCC says candidates cannot distinguish the pretest questions from the scored ones.
If you did not pass
In 2025, 536 first-time NE-BC candidates did not pass. ANCC's current retest policy gives you a concrete next step.
You can retest 60 calendar days after your last test date.
You may not test more than three times in any 12-month period.
Wait five days after the exam before submitting the retest application. ANCC asks candidates to do this in its retest process.
A retest requires another application. ANCC reviews retest applications as unique applications. You must meet the eligibility requirements in effect when you submit the retest application and pay the applicable retest fee.
You retake the whole exam. There is no partial retest of only the domains you missed.
Use your failing score report to target review. ANCC says a failing score report includes your scaled score, fail status, and diagnostic feedback for each major content area. Its three feedback bands are LOW, MEDIUM and HIGH, with progressively stronger performance descriptions. That report is a directly personalized starting point for deciding what to review before another attempt.
ANCC also states that candidates cannot challenge the passing score or actions used to set it, the examination or individual test items, or the validity of the test content. Test-center problems are handled differently: the handbook tells candidates to report an issue affecting performance to the test-center associate before leaving, then contact Prometric and ANCC.
The current NE-BC exam changed on 15 October 2025
This date matters when you interpret the 2025 pass rate.
ANCC's current Nurse Executive Test Content Outline took effect 15 October 2025. The 2025 annual pass-rate report covers the whole calendar year, but ANCC's public annual table does not split NE-BC results into candidates who tested before versus after that outline change.
That means the 63% figure is correctly described as the 2025 first-time NE-BC pass rate. It should not be described as a pass rate for only the current blueprint.
The current scored exam is distributed across four domains:
| Current NE-BC domain | Scored questions | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Human Resource Management | 40 | 32% |
| Quality and Safety | 21 | 17% |
| Business Management | 20 | 16% |
| Health Care Delivery | 44 | 35% |
| Total | 125 | 100% |
The outline also states that the exam contains 150 questions in total: 125 scored questions and 25 unscored pretest questions.
If you are preparing now, use the current outline rather than trying to infer a study plan from the 63% pass-rate figure.
Exam facts that get quoted alongside the pass rate
For the current NE-BC exam, ANCC lists:
- 150 questions — 125 scored plus 25 unscored pretest items
- 3 hours of testing time
- Four scored domains
- $395 initial certification fee for non-members and $295 for American Nurses Association members; ANCC says both prices include a $140 non-refundable administrative fee
- 120 days to test after authorization within the testing window
- Eligibility: a current, active U.S. RN license or legally recognized equivalent in another country; a baccalaureate or higher degree in nursing; at least 2,000 hours in a leadership, management, or administrative role with primary responsibility for daily operations and outcomes of one or more units or departments within the last three years; and 30 hours of continuing education in leadership, management, or administration within the last three years
- Five-year certification period
- Accreditation of the NE-BC certification by both ABSNC and NCCA
Fees, requirements, policies and exam content can change. Confirm them on the ANCC Nurse Executive certification page before you apply.
When the next pass rate is published
The 2025 edition is the latest official annual ANCC certification-data report available in this review.
ANCC states on its aggregate-data page that 2026 data will not be available until the first quarter of 2027. That statement appears in the context of ANCC's school aggregate-data reporting, while the same page also links the public 2025 ANCC Certification Data report. It is a useful timing signal, but ANCC does not give a more specific publication date for the next public NE-BC annual table there.
Until a newer official annual report is posted, 63% remains the latest verified NE-BC first-time pass rate on this page.
A few things candidates ask next
Does ANCC publish NE-BC pass rates by hospital, school or state?
The public ANCC annual certification-data report publishes one annual NE-BC first-time pass-rate figure. It does not provide NE-BC pass rates by hospital or state.
ANCC separately produces school-level aggregate reports for APRN programs when minimum reporting conditions are met, but that is a different reporting system and does not create a public hospital- or state-level NE-BC pass-rate table.
Will anyone find out if I failed?
ANCC's handbook says the names of candidates for an examination, the names of people who failed, and individual examination scores are not released. Certification records and exam results are maintained in ANCC's certification database, with access limited to staff involved in the certification process.
ANCC does allow candidates to authorize release of additional information to approved third parties in some circumstances.
How soon will I know my result?
ANCC says candidates testing at a Prometric Test Center can view examination results online through the Prometric Report Validation Portal and receive an email with access instructions after the exam. ANCC receives examination results within 24 to 48 hours.
ANCC does not release examination results by telephone, fax, or email.
Is the NE-BC exam getting harder?
The 2025 pass-rate figure by itself cannot answer that. A pass rate is an outcome for a group of candidates, not a direct measure of exam difficulty, and the 2025 reporting year also straddled an NE-BC test-content-outline change on 15 October 2025.
The defensible conclusion is narrower: 63% of first-time NE-BC candidates passed in 2025. ANCC's public data does not isolate how much of that outcome was associated with candidate preparation, candidate experience, or the exam version.
What to use for preparation instead of the pass rate
Use the current ANCC test content outline to decide what the exam covers and how the scored questions are distributed. The pass rate can give you historical context, but it cannot tell you which domains you personally need to review.
- Open the current ANCC NE-BC test content outline
- Review ANCC's free Nurse Executive sample questions
- Review the broader Castleport NE-BC exam-prep guide
Sources
- ANCC 2025 Certification Data — first-time pass rate, tested/passed counts, and total certificants
- ANCC Nurse Executive Certification page — current exam format, fees, eligibility, testing window, five-year validity, accreditation and Prometric scheduling
- ANCC Certification Handbook, effective June 2025; Version 4, 23 January 2026 — criterion-referenced scoring, 350 scaled passing score, diagnostic feedback, guessing policy, exam results, confidentiality and retesting
- ANCC Nurse Executive Test Content Outline, effective 15 October 2025 — current question count and domain weights
- ANCC Scores and Retest Application policy — 60-day retest wait, three-attempt limit, five-day application wait and current retest process
- ANCC Certification FAQs — annual first-time pass-rate reporting description
- ANCC aggregate-data page — current statement that 2026 data will not be available until Q1 2027
About this page
Written and verified by the Castleport Test Prep Editorial Team. For this update, we checked the ANCC sources listed above and recalculated the public 2025 pass-rate arithmetic from ANCC's reported counts. We did not sit the exam, take a review course, or test any prep product.
Castleport Test Prep is an independent exam prep publisher. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or approved by the American Nurses Credentialing Center or the American Nurses Association. Exam and credential names are used to identify the subject of this page; related trademarks belong to their respective owners.
Nothing on this page guarantees a passing score, certification, licensure or employment. Certification is not permission to practice: nursing licensure is granted by the applicable licensing authority. Fees, eligibility rules, policies and exam content change, so confirm current details with ANCC before you apply or retest.