CEN guides
Direct answers for CEN format, studying, exam day, scores, and what to do next.
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Since July 6, 2026, the CEN exam follows an 11-area outline: Gastrointestinal is its own area, HEENT replaces Maxillofacial and Ocular, and Professional Issues is split into prioritization and legal and ethical issues. Here are the item counts, old and new, and how to spot outdated materials.
Read the guideThe CEN exam has 175 questions, 150 of them scored, in 180 minutes of seat time, at a PSI test center or through Live Remote Proctoring. Here is what the questions look like, how breaks work, the pacing math, and the check-in rules that can cost you the exam fee.
Read the guideBCEN's CEN passing score is 99 correct answers out of 150 scored items, effective July 6, 2026. It is a raw score, not a curve or a percentage. Here is how it was set, why older sources say 106, what equating means, and what your score report shows.
Read the guideBCEN sets no study length for the CEN, but it recommends daily study and a practice exam at the start and the end. Here is an 8-week schedule weighted by the July 2026 item counts, with 4- and 12-week versions and the official BCEN resources to use along the way.
Read the guideBCEN publishes yearly pass and fail counts, not a CEN pass rate. In 2025, 4,198 CEN exams were passed and 3,974 failed. Here is how to read those numbers without over-reading them, and the structural reasons the CEN is demanding.
Read the guideBCEN requires one thing to sit for the CEN: a current, unrestricted RN license or a verified equivalent. Two years of emergency experience is recommended, not required. Here is how to apply, how payment affects your start date, and the 90-day window rules that can forfeit your fee.
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