NBCRNA Examinations

As a guardian of the public safety, the NBCRNA takes very seriously the integrity of the exams that are the gateway to nurse anesthesia credentials and that are an integral part of nurse anesthesia training. The primary purpose of the NBCRNA is to seek to ensure that nurse anesthetists have the necessary knowledge and skills to practice safely and effectively. In so doing, it also protects the value of the CRNA credential.

Use the navigation menu on the right to access more information and resources on the various examinations including the Self-Evaluation Examination (SEE), the National Certification Examination (NCE), the CPC Assessment (CPCA), statistics, and more.

New Fees Effective January 1, 2019

 New NCE Fee $995 (also applies to repeat fee)
 New SEE Fee $250

For the past 10 years—since 2009, the NCE initial exam fee of $725 and repeat exam fee of $625 have remained unchanged. The same holds true for the SEE for the past two years since its realignment with the content outline of the NCE. After years of remaining stable while costs to produce these important credentialing resources continued to rise, an adjustment was needed to support the complex management and delivery of the two exams. It was consequently announced earlier this year that a new NCE and SEE fee schedule will take effect beginning January 1, 2019. 

It takes a great deal of resources, technology and expertise to develop and support these highly specialized testing programs. Below are some of the many expenses that accompany that work:

  • Both exams utilize computer adaptive technology and require large item banks with dynamic content. 
  • As with all psychometrically sound and defensible examinations, the NBCRNA is required to conduct periodic Practice Analyses, Standard Settings, and Item Analysis reviews. While much of this effort is completed by volunteers there are still substantial costs associated with this important work, which continue to increase annually.
  • Some costs associated with test development and delivery include holding working item-writing meetings (which involve travel, lodging and other costs), staff salaries for the testing professionals needed to manage the volunteers and their work products, and updates to the specialized Item Banking software and computer interface that allow us to securely and efficiently manage these materials. 
  • Additional testing-related costs including NBCRNA support staff, testing center costs, and fees for our exam integrity vendor. 

While efforts are always exercised to control costs, a fee increase was required to effectively continue this high-quality work. By sharing the outlined expenses, we hope to provide a clear rationale for the increased exam cost after nine* years of unchanged fees.

*for NCE; two years for SEE