NHA CET (EKG) Pass Rate 2026: 70.5% — How Hard Is the Test?

The Certified EKG Technician (CET) exam from the National Healthcareer Association (NHA) is one of the more approachable allied-health credentials to earn on the first try. According to NHA's 2025 annual pass-rate report, 70.45% of the 23,429 CET examinations administered in 2025 ended in a pass — and NHA counts 40,366 active CET certifications as of the end of 2025. That is a majority-pass exam, but the roughly three-in-ten who don't pass on a given attempt are a reminder that the CET is a real assessment, not a formality.

How the CET exam is scored

The CET is a 100-question exam that you have 120 minutes to complete. NHA reports these as 100 scored questions — meaning every scored item feeds into your result — and the two-hour window works out to roughly 72 seconds per question if you pace evenly. Rather than reporting a raw percentage-correct, NHA converts your performance to a scaled score. Scaling adjusts for small differences in difficulty between exam versions, so a slightly harder set of questions doesn't unfairly lower your result compared to an easier set.

The passing score

To pass the CET you need a scaled score of 390 or higher, according to NHA. Because the score is scaled rather than a simple count of correct answers, there is no fixed "you must get X of 100 right" threshold you can compute in advance — the same scaled 390 can correspond to slightly different raw counts across exam forms. The practical takeaway: aim for consistent competence across every content area rather than banking on hitting an exact raw number.

What drives pass and fail outcomes

An observed pass rate above 70% doesn't mean the exam is easy — it largely reflects that CET candidates arrive prepared. NHA's eligibility path is built around real clinical exposure: candidates are expected to complete an EKG technician training or education program within the last 5 years, and to provide evidence that they have successfully performed a minimum of 10 EKGs on live individuals. Candidates who have genuinely done that hands-on work tend to recognize lead placement, rhythm patterns, and artifact troubleshooting on the exam because they've done it in front of a real patient.

The candidates who struggle are usually those who memorized rhythm strips in isolation but never built the underlying reasoning — why a lead reversal mimics a certain pattern, or how patient movement produces artifact. The scaled-scoring model rewards broad, even competence, so a candidate who is strong in rhythm interpretation but weak in equipment handling or safety can still fall short of 390.

How to improve your odds

The single most reliable lever is treating the 10-EKG minimum as a floor, not a target — the more real tracings you acquire and read, the more the exam feels like recognition rather than recall. Beyond hands-on practice, build a study routine around full-length, timed rehearsal so the 100-question, 120-minute format never surprises you on test day. Working a free NHA EKG (CET) practice exam under realistic timing is one of the highest-value things you can do: it surfaces your weakest content area while you still have time to fix it, and it trains the roughly-72-seconds-per-question pace so you don't leave points on unanswered items.

Logistics matter too. Candidates take the two-hour CET exam either at their school, at a PSI testing center, or through live remote proctoring, so choose the setting where you'll be most comfortable and confirm your equipment and ID requirements in advance — an avoidable technical or check-in problem on a remote-proctored exam is a needless way to lose focus.

After you pass

Passing is the start of an ongoing commitment. The CET credential must be renewed every 2 years, and holders must complete 10 continuing education credits to maintain it, at a standard renewal fee of $195. The exam fee itself is $117. Knowing these numbers up front helps you plan the full cost and cadence of staying certified — and reinforces why passing on your first attempt, rather than retaking, is worth preparing for.