CNOR guides
Direct answers for CNOR format, studying, exam day, scores, and what to do next.
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CNOR is CCI's certification for perioperative registered nurses, and the letters don't stand for anything. Here is who can earn it, what it takes, how long it lasts, and how it differs from CFPN, CNAMB and the CNOR specialty designations.
Read the guideCCI requires a current, unrestricted RN license, current perioperative work, and 2 years and 2,400 hours as a perioperative RN, half intraoperative. Here is how to check your hours, what the application and audit ask for, and how the 12-month eligibility period and 90-day first attempt replace fixed test dates.
Read the guideThe CNOR has 200 multiple-choice questions, 185 scored and 15 unscored pretest items, in 3 hours 45 minutes at a PSI test center or remotely. Here is how many scored questions each subject area carries, how to pace the sitting, and what CCI has published about the six-area exam planned for 2027.
Read the guideCCI recommends three months of CNOR study, built on its free Task & Knowledge Statements and Study Plan. Here is how to weight your hours by the subject areas, a 12-week schedule and a 6-week fallback, the four references CCI names, and what to do if your date may fall after the 2027 change.
Read the guideCCI publishes CNOR pass rates every year: 68.0% of first-time candidates passed in 2025, and 49.7% of repeat candidates. Here is what five years of official numbers show, what they can't tell you, and the structural reasons the CNOR is demanding.
Read the guideThe CNOR application costs $475 and includes one exam attempt; each retake is $175. Here is the full CCI fee list as of October 27, 2026, the $40 discounts and facility vouchers, five-year recertification costs, and the rules that make you lose a fee.
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