CHM Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass

What the NBHHC Actually Publishes About Scoring

Candidates searching for the Certified Hospice Manager passing score usually want one number: the percentage they must hit to earn the credential. Here is the direct answer, and it is not what most people expect. The National Board for Home Care and Hospice Certification (NBHHC) reports CHM results as pass/fail. The 2024 candidate handbook does not publish a fixed "you need X% correct" figure for candidates to aim at, and this article will not invent one.

That matters for how you prepare. If you came to this page hoping to find "you need 70%" or "you need 75%," treat any such claim about the CHM with suspicion. Many certification exams use a scaled or criterion-referenced standard, meaning the cut score reflects a judgment about minimum competence for the role rather than a flat percentage of questions. For the CHM, what you can rely on is the structure of the exam, the blueprint weights, and the scoring rules the handbook does state.

What a Pass/Fail Report Means for You

With pass/fail reporting, a narrow pass and a comfortable pass look identical on your result. The certification works the same either way: you earn the Certified Hospice Manager designation, valid for four years. Conversely, a narrow miss gives you little granular feedback to work from, which is why it pays to build your own diagnostic data during preparation instead of waiting for the real exam to tell you where you are weak.

Exam Format That Shapes Your Score

You cannot talk about passing without understanding the container your knowledge has to fit into. According to the NBHHC candidate handbook, the CHM exam works like this:

• Length: 80 to 100 questions. The handbook gives a range rather than a single fixed count.
• Time limit: 2 hours total.
• Question type: single-answer selected response (one best answer from the options).
• Reference materials: closed book.
• Guessing: no penalty for wrong answers.
• Result reporting: pass/fail.
• Delivery: computer-based testing at Pearson VUE centers, or approved onsite paper testing. Professional Testing (PTI) coordinates administration.

Pacing Math for a 2-Hour Session

With 80 to 100 questions in 120 minutes, you have roughly 72 to 90 seconds per question on average. That is comfortable for straightforward recall items but tight for scenario-style questions that ask you to choose the best management response to a staffing, discipline, or compliance situation. Practice reading a scenario, identifying what is actually being asked, and eliminating options that violate an employment-law or regulatory principle. Our complete difficulty guide discusses which question styles tend to slow candidates down.

The Practical Meaning of No Guessing Penalty

Because wrong answers are not penalized, never leave a question blank. If you are running low on time, mark an answer for every remaining item. Beyond that, on questions you are unsure about, a disciplined elimination process turns a 25% blind guess into a much better one. Look for the answer that aligns with documented policy, legal compliance, and patient-centered, interdisciplinary hospice practice rather than the quick fix that skips process.

Where Your Points Come From: The Seven Domains

The official CHM blueprint divides the exam into seven domains. Because the scoring standard is pass/fail, your best lever is knowing where the questions concentrate. Here is the weighting at a glance:

Notice the concentration. Three domains account for 70% of the blueprint. Two more add another 20%. The remaining two small domains together make up just 10%. A full walkthrough of each content area is available in our CHM exam domains guide.

Why Domain 7 Decides Most Outcomes

Human Resource Basic Practices and Law is the largest single domain at 30%. For a candidate who comes from a clinical background, this is frequently the least familiar territory. Nurses and social workers who rose into supervisory roles often know patient care deeply but have handled hiring paperwork, progressive discipline, and employment-law questions only occasionally. Since this domain alone can account for roughly three in every ten questions, a weak showing here puts enormous pressure on every other domain.

What CHM Human Resources Questions Tend to Probe

The NBHHC emphasizes practical manager-level HR competence rather than abstract legal theory. Practice cases should center on:

• Hiring: structured interviewing, lawful questions, reference checks, and onboarding.
• Coaching and discipline: distinguishing coachable performance gaps from conduct issues, documenting progressive steps, and treating similar situations consistently.
• Staffing: scheduling, coverage, and balancing workload against quality and cost.
• Documentation: contemporaneous, factual, objective records of performance and conduct conversations.
• Employment law: recognizing situations that implicate discrimination, wage-and-hour rules, leave, accommodation, and retaliation concerns, and knowing when to involve HR or counsel.

Cross-Domain Overlap Works in Your Favor

Domain 7 does not exist in isolation. Staffing decisions appear in Management Skills, documentation appears in both HR and Regulatory Processes, and ethical conduct runs through Leadership. Studying the HR domain thoroughly therefore pays dividends well beyond its 30% share, because the same habits of mind (document, be consistent, follow policy, respect legal limits) recur across the exam.

Building a Pass Strategy Around the Blueprint

Since the exam reports pass/fail and publishes no percentage target, the sensible goal is broad, defensible competence weighted by the blueprint. One short way to translate the weights into a calendar is to allocate study time roughly in proportion to domain weight, front-loading the heavy hitters:

Adjust the timeline to your own background. A candidate with years of regulatory survey experience might compress Weeks 3-4, while someone new to supervision might extend the HR block. Use the free questions on the CHM practice test site to find your gaps early, and consult the CHM cheat sheet for a condensed review of must-know facts in the final days.

Fees, Eligibility, and Scheduling Mechanics

Your passing strategy has to account for the financial and logistical reality: you pay before you test, and the process has several steps. Initial certification costs US$598, made up of a US$99 application fee and a US$499 examination fee. The optional CAHSAH hospice manager course tuition is separate. If you want the full pricing picture, including preparation and renewal costs, see our CHM certification cost breakdown.

Eligibility Pathways

The NBHHC requires hospice supervisory or management experience, with the required length depending on your education:

Applicants also need relevant management or leadership employment for at least 12 of the last 48 months, documentation of education and work history, and three healthcare-industry references (with the current employer listed first when applicable). Experience is prorated for the proportion of time spent on management duties. Our CHM requirements guide covers the details and common application pitfalls.

Application Approval and Authorization to Test

Once approved, your application remains valid for 12 months. Before you can book a seat, you must obtain an Authorization to Test, and only then can you schedule with Pearson VUE. Build this lead time into your plan, because the application deadlines fall before each testing window opens.

2026 Testing Windows and Deadlines

The CHM is offered during defined computer-based testing windows rather than continuously. The 2026 schedule is:

Work backward from your target window: confirm eligibility, gather references and employment evidence, submit by the deadline, receive approval, secure your Authorization to Test, and then reserve your slot. Windows can fill, so scheduling promptly after authorization is wise. A full scheduling walkthrough lives in our CHM exam dates guide.

After the Exam: Results, Retakes, and Renewal

Because results are pass/fail, your outcome arrives as a simple determination. If you pass, the certification is valid for four years. Renewal requires 50 points, of which at least 36 must be continuing-education contact hours and no more than 14 may be other points, plus relevant management or leadership work for 12 of the preceding 48 months. Renewal costs US$398 (a US$99 application plus a US$299 renewal fee), and a late renewal within the permitted one-year period adds US$99.

If you do not pass, review your preparation by domain before re-registering, since a retake means another round of fees and another testing window. Candidates weighing whether the credential justifies the investment can look at our ROI analysis and the CHM salary guide for earnings context.

Frequently Asked Questions