aPHR Cheat Sheet.
The night-before summary, built like the exam.

The numbers to remember

• 65 scored questions
• 25 unscored pretest questions mixed in (you can't tell which is which — answer all with full effort)
• 105 minutes (1 hour 45 minutes) total time limit
• $300 exam fee + a separate, non-refundable $100 application fee
• $150 cancellation/rescheduling fee if you need to change your appointment
• Check in 30 minutes before and no later than 15 minutes after your scheduled online-proctored start time
• Eligibility: high school diploma or global equivalent
• Certification is valid for 3 years; maintaining it requires 45 recertification credit hours

Subtests and scores

The aPHR has one exam session covering all five functional areas — there are no separate subtests to pass individually. HRCI does not publish a specific passing score or cut percentage for the aPHR; don't fixate on hitting an exact percentage in practice, focus instead on consistent accuracy across every functional area.

High-yield review areas

• Compliance & Risk Management (25%) — the single largest area. Employment law basics, workplace safety, recordkeeping.
• Employee Relations (24%) — nearly tied for largest. Workplace conduct, policies, employee experience.
• Talent Acquisition (19%) — recruiting, hiring, and onboarding fundamentals.
• Compensation & Benefits (17%) — pay structures and benefit program basics.
• Learning & Development (15%) — the smallest area, but don't skip it — training and employee growth concepts.

Compliance & Risk Management and Employee Relations together account for nearly half the scored questions. If you're short on time the night before, review those two first.

Top traps

• Don't blank on unsure questions. Since pretest and scored questions look identical, a thoughtful guess beats leaving anything unanswered.
• Don't over-focus on your favorite domain. A strong Learning & Development score can't offset a weak Compliance & Risk Management score if you haven't reviewed all five areas.
• Don't chase a mythical passing percentage. No specific cut score is published — prepare broadly instead of gaming a number.
• Don't forget the cancellation window. Rescheduling after committing costs $150, so only book a date you're confident about.
• Don't skip the check-in window. Arriving outside the 30-minutes-before to 15-minutes-after window for online proctoring can cost you the appointment entirely.