NCMHCE Passing Score: How the Cut Is Set and What 2025 Forms Required

How NBCC scores the current NCMHCE

Each form has 130 to 150 questions, and 100 of them are scored. NBCC's candidate handbooks, content outline, and format comparison chart spell out the rest:

• One point per scored question. The highest possible score is 100.
• Unscored items don't count. One whole case study and some other items are there to test new material for future forms.
• No penalty for guessing. A wrong answer and a blank both earn zero, so answer everything.
• One total, not one per domain. NBCC's format comparison chart says you need to score at or above the cut "based on the total number of correct responses." There's no separate minimum per domain or per case.
• No curve. The content outline says neither your score nor the passing score is compared with, or influenced by, other test takers' performance.

How the NCMHCE cut score is set

NBCC uses two steps:

1. Standard setting. A committee of subject matter experts reviews every question on a form and judges the score a minimally qualified candidate would be expected to reach. That becomes the cut for that form.
2. Statistical equating. The cut is carried to other forms and adjusted up or down for each form's overall difficulty. A form with harder questions gets a lower cut, and an easier form a higher one.

The handbooks conclude that "the cut score of each examination version will vary slightly." That's why no fixed number appears in NBCC's materials, and why a number you read on a forum may not apply to your form.

What 2025 NCMHCE forms actually required

NBCC and CCE prepare an annual performance report on the NCMHCE. The 2025 edition prepared for California appears as an attachment to the California Board of Behavioral Sciences' examination report dated July 20, 2026. It covers licensure candidates who tested from January 1 through December 31, 2025, and lists the four forms that had more than 30 examinees:

Across all 14,105 US licensure candidates in the report, 67.6% passed, the average score was 66.8, and the median was 67.

What this does and doesn't tell you:

• The cut moved by up to 5 points between forms. On those four 2025 forms, passing meant 61 to 66 correct answers out of 100 scored, depending on the form you drew.
• You won't know your form's cut in advance. A practical target, as Passy's suggestion rather than an NBCC rule, is to prepare until you're comfortably above two-thirds correct on realistic practice, so a harder-cut form doesn't decide the result.
• These are past figures. The report says six forms were available in 2025 and details only four, and 2026 forms can differ. The report also doesn't separate first-time from repeat candidates, so 67.6% isn't a first-attempt pass rate or a prediction for you.

Practice scores aren't NBCC scores either, but they show where your points come from. Full prep planned for launch will track your accuracy in each scored NCMHCE domain, which is the number worth watching.

Getting your NCMHCE result: unofficial first, official later

You see a result the day you test:

• At a test center, you complete a short evaluation of the exam experience, and the proctor gives you an unofficial score report with your photo. Return all writing materials first, or you won't get the report.
• On OnVUE, you open the report from your Pearson account dashboard with the View/Print Score Report option, or call Pearson at 866-904-4432 if it isn't there.

The official result depends on how you registered:

NBCC's score verification page says state-route scores reach the board about four weeks after your test date. Passing still doesn't guarantee a license or certification; the board or NBCC completes its own review.

An NCMHCE appeal can't raise your score

If you fail, NBCC/CCE's Examination Appeals Policy (revised August 10, 2026) allows appeals on narrow grounds, with tight deadlines:

• Test administration problems you reported to the proctor during or right after the exam: appeal form within 7 calendar days, with the case report number.
• Content appeals claiming specific questions or answers are wrong: within 14 calendar days, supported by professional sources, especially peer-reviewed literature.
• Not accepted: the passing score itself, test anxiety, or a belief that you should have passed, among other grounds.

The policy and the handbooks say one free retake is the only remedy for a successful appeal; NBCC can't change your score. The NCMHCE retake guide covers what to do next, and if you're planning a retake, full prep planned for launch keeps missed questions saved in Fix It for another try.

The 2027 NCMHCE reports scores on a different scale

From July 1, 2027, NBCC's specifications replace the raw score with a scaled score from 100 to 500, and 360 passes on every form. NBCC warns that scaled scores aren't percentages: 400 doesn't mean 400 of 500 or 80%. Score reports will show a preliminary pass or fail and general feedback for each domain. Equating still adjusts for each form's difficulty, so the passing point can stay at 360 on every form. The NCMHCE 2027 changes guide explains which version your date falls under.

Turning the NCMHCE score rules into a study target

Because one total decides the result, a weak domain costs you only as many points as it carries: Counseling Skills and Interventions is 30 of the 100 scored questions, and Intake, Assessment, and Diagnosis is 25. Start by measuring yourself on 20 free NCMHCE practice questions, then spend most of your review where both the weight and your misses are high. When full prep opens, the 1,100 planned NCMHCE practice questions with explanations are organized by the same five domains, and the format guide shows how to pace the 225 minutes so every scored question gets an answer.