EPPP Part 1 Format: 225 Questions, 4 Hours 15 Minutes and No Scheduled Break

The EPPP Part 1 session, minute by minute

The EPPP Candidate Handbook (September 2026) gives Part 1 four timed segments:

Add check-in before all of this. The handbook asks you to arrive 30 minutes early and warns that your appointment time isn't necessarily your start time: you sign in, show ID, have a digital photo taken and a palm vein scan. If you wait more than 30 minutes past your appointment, Pearson VUE staff will ask whether you'd rather reschedule within your eligibility period. Plan on about five hours at the center.

How the 225 EPPP questions are built

• 175 scored, 50 pretest. Pretest items are new questions ASPPB is trying out. They don't count, and ASPPB's 2026 doctoral program report says they're distributed randomly through the exam, so don't count on spotting them. Treat every question as scored.
• One best answer. Each question has three or four options, only one of them correct. The handbook tells you to choose the single best answer.
• Number correct is your score. There's no penalty for a wrong answer, so the handbook says it's to your advantage to answer every item, even when unsure. A blank is always a miss.

The scored items follow ASPPB's eight content areas. ASPPB publishes percentages, not item counts; applying them to the 175 scored items gives a useful approximation:

The item counts are Passy's arithmetic, rounded so they add to 175. Your form won't necessarily match them exactly. The EPPP study plan turns the weights into weekly hours, and practice one content domain at a time in the planned full EPPP prep when you want to drill a single area.

Pacing: 68 seconds per EPPP question

255 minutes for 225 questions works out to 68 seconds each. The pretest items share that clock, so pace yourself on all 225, not 175.

A practical approach is to aim for about 60 questions an hour. At that rate you finish the first pass in 3 hours 45 minutes and keep 30 minutes for flagged questions and any break you take. As a checkpoint, at 68 seconds per question you should be near question 53 after one hour, 106 after two and 159 after three; if you're well behind those numbers, stop rereading and commit to answers.

Pacing is the skill most worth rehearsing at full length. You can rehearse the 4-hour-15-minute sitting with the planned 225-question mock exam that full EPPP prep includes at launch; checkout isn't open yet.

EPPP tools you'll learn in the tutorial

The handbook says the Part 1 tutorial shows you how to:

• highlight text and strike through answer options
• add a comment to a question
• flag questions and skip forward or back to review them

A flagged question still counts as long as you answered it, so you don't need to unflag anything before time runs out. You can use the keyboard or the mouse. Pay attention during the 5-minute tutorial: the handbook warns that test-center staff aren't familiar with the EPPP's navigation tools, so they can't coach you later.

Other details from the handbook:

• Whiteboards are on request. The center supplies one if you ask; it isn't automatic. You can't bring scratch paper or pens, and staff collect the whiteboard at the end.
• Noise. Other candidates may be taking different exams with typing or audio. You can ask for earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones at the center without preapproval, but you can't bring your own earplugs.

Breaks during the EPPP come out of your time

There are no scheduled breaks. You may take a break whenever you like, but the exam clock keeps running. Once the exam starts you can't leave the test center for any reason, and a palm scan is taken each time you leave and re-enter the testing room. A five-minute break costs you about four questions' worth of time, which is one more reason to bank a cushion with the 60-an-hour pace.

Check-in rules that cost EPPP candidates their seat

These come from the handbook and are enforced at Pearson VUE centers:

• Two IDs, matching names. Bring a current, government-issued photo ID (such as a passport or driver's license) plus a second ID with your name and a signature or recent photo (such as a credit card or CPR card). The first and last names on both must match the name on your Authorization to Test email. Without proper ID you can't test, and the fee is forfeited.
• Lateness counts as a no-show. Arriving late without having rescheduled more than 24 hours ahead forfeits your exam fee, sitting fee and Authorization to Test. The registration guide covers the rescheduling fees.
• Report problems on the spot. If your computer malfunctions, tell staff immediately. If it isn't fixed within 30 minutes, you can stay (if the center can fit the extra time) or reschedule. ASPPB says it can't help with a problem that wasn't reported to center staff when it happened.

Sessions are video-recorded and audio-monitored, and proctors watch through an observation window and from inside the room.

How the integrated EPPP format will differ

First-time candidates who test after ASPPB's integrated EPPP launches in fall 2027 will sit a different exam. As of October 27, 2026, ASPPB's beta-test article describes it like this:

The EPPP 2027 guide explains who takes which version.

Practicing the EPPP format before test day

ASPPB sells sample exams to candidates its boards have authorized: 100 retired Part 1 items, either online (SEPPPO, $30, 2 hours of total time) or at a Pearson VUE center (SEPPP, $82.50) with the real test software. Both report a percent correct; the handbook says the test-center report gives no pass or fail result and no detail on missed items. They're good for getting used to the screen and the tools; for stamina, you'll need something closer to 225 items. Start smaller with the 20 free EPPP practice questions, and for quick daily review between full sessions, the 580 flashcards planned for full EPPP prep cover all eight areas.