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What is the passing score on the NP board exams?

ANCC requires a scaled score of 350 out of a maximum of 500. The AANP board does not publish a passing number in its 2026 documents.

Checked November 10, 2026

Short answer: ANCC requires a scaled score of 350 or higher, on a scale with a maximum possible score of 500. The AANP board does not publish a passing score number in its 2026 handbooks, exam pages or frequently asked questions.

The AANP board is the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board (AANPCB), which now operates under the name NPCB. ANCC is the American Nurses Credentialing Center. The rules below are the same for the family nurse practitioner (FNP) exam and the adult-gerontology primary care exam at each board.

ANCC: a scaled score of 350

ANCC first counts your raw score. The raw score is the number of scored questions that you answered correctly. ANCC then converts the raw score to a scaled score. You pass with 350 or higher.

ANCC states the maximum of the scale, which is 500. It does not state the minimum of the scale. It does not publish a percentage or a number of correct answers that equals a pass.

ANCC sets the minimum passing score with the Modified Angoff Method. Your result is not compared with the results of other examinees.

If you fail, your ANCC score report shows your scaled score. It also shows high, medium or low performance for each major content area. ANCC does not allow you to challenge a passing score, the exam, single questions or the test content.

The AANP board: no number is published

The AANP board handbooks say that candidates must meet a passing score "established using recognized standard-setting methodology". The board does not name the method. The handbooks also say that scores are not reported as a percentage of correct answers.

The board's practice exam page says that practice exam scores are percentages and are not scaled like certification exams. This is the only place where the board suggests that certification scores are scaled. You may see a passing number for this exam on other websites. We did not find any number or score range in the board's 2026 documents, so we do not print one. If you need the number, ask the board.

You can ask the AANP board for a rescore by email after a fail. A rescore checks only that the score was calculated correctly. A review fee applies, and the board does not publish the amount.

Pass rates published by the AANP board

Year FNP pass rate FNP exams AGNP pass rate AGNP exams
2025 81% 15,395 85% 1,463
2024 83% 15,491 87% 1,630
2023 73% 17,362 90% 1,864
2022 74% 17,968 83% 1,964
2021 84% 17,924 84% 2,016
2020 85% 18,514 86% 2,220
2019 86% 19,031 84% 2,391

AGNP is the adult-gerontology primary care exam. The 2024 and 2025 sheets label the figure "1st Time Pass Rate". The 2019 to 2023 sheets label it "Pass Rate" under "Initial Examinations". The exam counts are initial exams.

Pass rates published by ANCC

ANCC posts one Certification Data file and replaces it each year. The figures are for first-time test takers.

Year Exam Tested Passed Pass rate
2025 FNP-BC 7,719 6,358 82%
2025 AGPCNP-BC 882 754 85%
2016 FNP-BC 5,107 4,205 not printed
2016 AGPCNP-BC 1,309 1,049 not printed

The 2016 file has no pass rate column. Dividing passed by tested gives 82.3% for FNP-BC and 80.1% for AGPCNP-BC. These two figures are our calculation, not ANCC's. ANCC does not publish the years 2017 to 2024 on its website.

What to do next

  1. Plan to answer every question. ANCC states that there is no penalty for guessing.
  2. See how many questions are scored in How many questions are on the NP board exams, and how long are they?.
  3. If you did not pass, read How many times can you retake an NP board exam?.

Common questions

What percentage do I need to pass?

Neither board publishes a percentage. Both boards report a result that is not a percentage of correct answers.

Do pretest questions change my score?

No. Pretest questions are not scored at either board.

When do I see my score?

See When do NP exam results come out?.

Prep from our team

NPractitioner has 2,500+ practice questions for the FNP and adult-gerontology primary care board exams, written to American guidelines, with study sheets by topic. All Nursing Exams, NCLEXPace and NPractitioner are run by the same team. See https://www.npractitioner.com.

Sources