Format and scoringNCC
The RNC-NIC exam: length, passing standard and results
Facts read in NCC's 2026 Candidate Guide and 3 other documents listed under Sources
The RNC-NIC exam is 175 questions, each with 3 options, and only 150 of them count toward the result. You have 3 hours, with no breaks during testing time. There is no percentage to pass, and nobody tells you the outcome at the test site.
Length, scoring and retakes, row by row
| Item | Fact | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Question format | Multiple choice: each question has a stem and three answer options, one of them correct Options are listed alphabetically and questions appear in random order. Lab values use conventional units with SI units in parentheses; drugs are named by generic and trade name. | 2026 Candidate Guide [1] |
| Answer options | Three options per question (A, B, C) | 2026 Candidate Guide [1] |
| Questions | 175 questions | 2026 Candidate Guide [1] |
| Scored questions | 150 scored questions | 2026 Candidate Guide [1] |
| Unscored questions | 25 unscored pretest questions, not marked as such | 2026 Candidate Guide [1] |
| Exam time | 3 hours, with no breaks during testing time | 2026 Candidate Guide [1][2] |
| Calculator and aids | An on-screen calculator in the exam; personal calculators are not allowed | Guide to Testing Methods [2] |
| How it is scored | Criterion-referenced: each candidate's ability level is estimated with Rasch analysis, and exam forms are equated | 2026 Candidate Guide [1] |
| Passing score | No set percentage: NCC uses a criterion-referenced passing standard set with Rasch analysis on equated exam forms There is no penalty for a wrong answer. | 2026 Candidate Guide [1] |
| Score report | Pass or fail, with a word rating for each content area from "very weak" to "very strong" The report shows no percentages or standard scores. A hand score costs $55 and must be requested within 60 days of the report. | 2026 Candidate Guide [1] |
| Results | Not given at the test site; results reach your NCC account within 15 business days (up to 21 for new exam forms) The certification date is the date of the results. | Guide to Testing Methods [1][2] |
| Other fees | $55 hand score; $30 to reprocess an incomplete application or license; $30 returned payment | 2026 Candidate Guide [1][2] |
| Wait before a retake | 45 days after the attempt | 2026 Candidate Guide [1] |
| Retake limit | No lifetime limit, but no more than two attempts at the same exam in a calendar year | 2026 Candidate Guide [1][3] |
| Retake fee | The full $325 again, with a new application | 2026 Candidate Guide [1][3] |
| Content outline in force | 2026 Candidate Guide; weights unchanged from the 2025 guide | 2026 Candidate Guide [1][4] |
| Next change | None announced NCC republishes its candidate guides each year (read Nov 6, 2026). | 2026 Candidate Guide [1] |
Each row read on Nov 6, 2026. Fees for the first attempt, booking and the testing window: the registration page.
What decides a pass on this exam
You will not find a target count of right answers. The exam is criterion-referenced: a content team fixes the ability level that marks a competent NICU nurse, and Rasch analysis places your performance on the scored items against it. Because forms are equated, drawing a tougher form neither helps nor hurts, and the candidates testing beside you have no effect on your result.
The tryout items scattered through the form carry no weight, yet nothing marks them, so an odd-looking question deserves the same care as the rest.
Reading the score report
The report says pass or fail and then rates each content category with a word, from very weak to very strong, and it carries no percentages or score numbers at all. The candidate guide itself warns that the category ratings rest on few items each, so use them to choose what to restudy after a fail, not as a grade.
Results never appear at the test site; they post to your online account, with the timing in the Results row. If you doubt the machine scoring, you can order a hand score; its fee is in the Other fees row and its deadline in the Score report row.
Pass rate figures for the NICU exam
Neither the 2026 candidate guide nor the 2026 core registration catalog prints a pass rate for the neonatal intensive care exam, so this page gives none.
Second attempts: wait, limit and fee
After a fail you wait 45 days before sitting again. Attempts at the same exam are capped at 2 per calendar year, with no lifetime limit. As of the 2026 catalog, a retake costs the full $325 again, with a new application.
Plan the second attempt from the category ratings: the two largest categories, management and pathophysiology, decide most of the score, so a weak rating there matters more than one in a small category.
No count of right answers that passes is published, and on equated forms a fixed raw count could not hold from one form to the next.
Next steps for the NICU exam
- RNC-NICWho qualifies for the NICU core credential, what it tests and how it is maintained
- RNC-NIC practice testNICU practice items, three choices each, every answer explained
- RNC-NIC registrationRNC-NIC cost, the NCC application, the testing window and booking with PSI
- RNC-NIC study guideThe five NICU content categories, their weights and the common wrong turns in each
Sources
- [1]NCC: 2026 Candidate Guide, Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing (PDF) nccwebsite.org, opened Nov 6, 2026
- [2]NCC: Guide to Testing Methods (PDF, modified Sept. 9, 2026) nccwebsite.org, opened Nov 6, 2026
- [3]NCC: 2026 Registration Catalog, core RNC exams (PDF) nccwebsite.org, opened Nov 6, 2026
- [4]NCC: 2025 Candidate Guide, Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing (archived copy, Jan. 2025) web.archive.org, opened Nov 6, 2026
Questions about NICU exam day
Is there a passing percentage for the RNC-NIC?
There is no fixed score or percentage. The certifying body sets a criterion ability level and estimates yours with Rasch analysis on equated forms; the report then gives a pass/fail verdict plus a word rating for each category.
How long is the NICU certification exam?
3 hours, with no breaks during testing time, for 175 questions.
Will I know whether I passed before leaving the test site?
No. The result is posted to your online account; the table above gives the timing.
Has a new NICU outline been announced?
None had been announced at our November 6, 2026 check. Candidate guides are republished every year, so check the current one before you start.